Lyric Opera 2018-2019 Issue 3 Idomeneo

16 | October 13 - November 2, 2018 L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O and person, emotionally and intellectually sensitive to every nuance. At least 50 percent of the time, a suggestion from her would be welcomed by [director] John Cox with open arms. It was a very collaborative process, but always with John’s very clear vision for how the scene should end up. I thought all opera productions happened like that!” In Davis’s early career, Söderström continued to be a huge inspiration. en there was Dame Janet Baker, with whom Davis worked frequently: “She was supremely professional – she was everything . If you did a piece with her, then musically, psychologically, spiritually, it was just all ther e, in a way that is very rare with any artist.” roughout his operatic career, Davis has enjoyed working with singers one on one. “At the Met, for my first Salome , Dame Gwyneth Jones and I had a session to go through the entire title role. I remember saying, ‘Gwyneth, what you just sang isn’t exactly the rhythm Strauss wrote’ – and she proceeded to explain why what she was doing was better than what Strauss had in the score. Sometimes singers have very creative views of what the composer wrote!” With singers who are readily open to new things, Davis can have a very relaxed exchange of musical thoughts. He values having everyone be open to everyone else’s ideas. On the other hand, “the conductor does have the overall responsibility for the style, the structure of any given opera. e most intelligent, experienced artists know that. However much you may negotiate, they understand what the conductor has to do, so they won’t try to sabotage it.” With most singers, a conductor’s choice of tempo can become an issue – this is a matter that needs to be worked out carefully. It does depend on the music: “Certain composers inherently have more leeway built in! With Handel or Mozart, you’re dealing with a structure where tempo needs to be consistent. With others – say, Puccini – there’s more freedom.” In most cases, it becomes relatively easy to come to an agreement with the singer during the course of rehearsals, “although of course, if I feel something is bent out of shape beyond what the music can sustain, I’ll try to persuade the singer to my point of view.” Surprisingly, there are times when singers don’t necessarily know what tempo will be most comfortable for them from a technical point of view. When Davis took over Lyric’s Don Giovanni [2004/05 season] from Christoph Eschenbach, Susan Graham was singing Donna Elvira and “She’s a dream for a conductor,” says Sir Andrew Davis of Christine Goerke, pictured (top) as Cassandre in Les Troyens at Lyric. Davis conducts Goerke in this season’s Siegfried . (Above right) Sir Andrew Davis leading the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with a frequent colleague, soprano Erin Wall. In the Ryan Opera Center alumna’s singing, Davis relishes “a glorious sound, a fantastic sense of phrase.” Davis and Wall continue their collaboration this season in Lyric’s Idomeneo . Matthew Polenzani, whose artistry Sir Andrew Davis describes as “perfection,” is pictured (above) in the title role of La clemenza di Tito at Lyric. Davis conducts Polenzani in this season’s Idomeneo . TODD ROSENBERG TODD ROSENBERG MALCOLM COOK