Santa Fe, New Mexico — “I Was Skeptical” James Gaffigan Said while waiting for huevos rancheros during a recent lunch here. Tuesday.
Skepticism isn’t usually a sentiment expressed, or at least acknowledged, when interviewing conductors for their next big role. But Gaffigan, 43, is a good-natured, fast-talking musician who is more honest and outspoken than many of his peers. And the post in question — which he was initially skeptical about — Komische Oper BerlinFrom next year, he will be appointed general music director.
already doing a similar job Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Valencia, Spain, included his first season “Wozek” and Mozart’s Romeo Castellucci staging Requiemhe said, seemed silly to take on a second opera house, especially when it was Komische.
“It was Barry’s show, so my first instinct was to say no.
it is hesitant Philip Brokinga former internal director and promoted to co-manager position with the former managing director of the Commissé, Suzanne Moserhe makes no excuses for certain features of the house, but he understands.
“We have to admit that our choices, and these were my choices as well, were not as successful as we had hoped,” Bröking said in an interview. “When Suzanne and I got the job as attendants, we asked ourselves, ‘Where can we really improve?’ increase.”
But Gaffigan marveled at the orchestra’s flexibility when it conducted its first streaming concerts of Webern, Gulda and Mozart in April 2021, and announced two new productions, four concerts, and two new productions in each of its four contracted seasons. agreed to be responsible for numerous revivals. Kosky convinced him that, as he said, there had been a double appointment. Nono like Handelas committed to musical about Canon — It will be an opportunity, not a burden.
“The more I thought about it, the more I realized they were the most versatile orchestra in town,” explains Gaffigan, noting that his first experience as an audience member at the Komische was a rendition of Offenbach’s “Orphée aux Enfers.” I added that it was a snowy Tuesday night and they were sold out. ‘ showed him how much his diverse audience trusted what he called the ‘wackiness’ of the house.
“Because of what Barry has done, we’ve already given the public a boost, and if we took the music to another level, it wouldn’t just be Reggie’s Theatre,” he said. “I want people to want the full package. I think it’s possible.”
Still, it’s a dizzying move. Gaffigan’s future always seemed to lie on the symphony stage, not the opera house. He began his career in the junior posts of the Cleveland Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony, then served as principal conductor of the Lucerne Symphony for ten years, amassing an eclectic recording list. He has also been principal guest of both the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, although his tenure ends at the end of this season.
Just a few years ago, Gaffigan was said to have been on the shortlists of several American ensembles looking for a new music director, and his enthusiasm, keen interest in teaching, and a flair for programming made him a contender. became a good candidate.
“He’s definitely someone that American orchestras have their eyes on,” said Gary Ginn, incoming president and chief executive of the New York Philharmonic, which will lead the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, where Gaffigan will conduct Bernstein. String said. “mass” To celebrate the Kennedy Center’s 50th anniversary in September. “I think he has a lot of options and will continue to do so.”
However, Gaffigan has run for many American posts, but has decided to stay out of contention for the time being.
“It has to be the right city in America with the right vision,” he said. “I don’t want to do the whole Brahms symphony. Who cares? It has to be a forward-thinking institution. I don’t want to repeat the same thing over and over again, and I don’t know that right now.”
Gaffigan is fed up with the program’s old routine, announced long before it ran through the overture, concerto and symphony, and is also annoyed by the orchestra’s refusal to take their whiteness into account.
“I hate being defined as elitist for something I love so much,” said Gaffigan, a native Staten Islander and public school graduate. As an American, it hurts me. It’s not just there, that’s what I believe.
Gaffigan may not be able to find the right person for him at home, or find anything open to him.
“My first phone call with James was in April 2020,” Broking recalls. “What was very special about this call was that he didn’t ask, ‘What is my repertoire? Verdi, Puccini, or Wagner?” These are the questions I get asked a lot as a music director in general, especially as I want to present myself in a central repertoire in Berlin. He was more interested in the special situation of the Komische Opera, between the State Opera and the Deutsche Oper. “
What also appealed to Komische was that Gaffigan seemed to be ambitious but unselfish, actually doing what many of his colleagues preach about a conscious collaborative style.
“In Berlin I have experience with old master conductors,” Bröking said sarcastically. “Of course they do a great job, but half of our orchestra is female and we have a lot of young instrumentalists and they don’t want to be treated like they used to. I want to build something for the team, I want to be a team, and that’s something James can do well.”
Gaffigan’s “Tristan” in Santa Fe sounded like it was well-prepared. He listened to every historical recording he could find, and even became, as he puts it, “addicted to poetics.” But it was also clear that he was more concerned with keeping the rendition in front of him than he was with pursuing his own interpretation of the drama.
“He serves the whole,” he said Zack WinokerHe is the artistic director of the American Modern Opera Company, a professed egalitarian, co-directing “Tristan” with Lisenka Highball Castagnon. “It’s rare for a conductor to be non-Machiavellian and not feel manipulated,” Winoker said of his experience. “It felt really supportive.”
Tamara WilsonA soprano who made his groundbreaking debut as Isolde, he agreed that Gaffigan’s style was a rarity in the opera world, and fortunately it was.
“The first thing he asked was,” Wilson recalled an early meeting at Zoom. For a singer, it’s unheard of. That’s never how it goes. She knew this was going to be a collaboration instead of being yelled at, which put her at ease immediately. “
She added: And that’s what he does. he makes things special. “