“Arena di Verona is the most magical place in the world. “I feel great joy and pride in bringing that magic to Korea.”
Israeli conductor Daniel Oren (69), who has been the music director of the ‘Arena di Verona Festival’, synonymous with large-scale opera performances, since 2019, will perform Puccini’s performance of the Arena di Verona production at the KSPO Dome at Jamsil Olympic Gymnastics Stadium from the 12th to the 19th under his direction. This is how he expressed his feelings about presenting the opera ‘Turandot’. We met him, who entered the country on the 6th, at his hotel in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, on the 7th.
Director Oren said, “You will be able to feel a special emotion through the ‘crowd’ in the work embodied by master director Franco Zeffirelli.” The following is a Q&A.
―It has been 40 years since you first conducted Puccini’s ‘Tosca’ at the Arena di Verona in 1984, and you have conducted over 500 performances here and have been the ‘face’ of the Arena di Verona. What are the advantages of such a large-scale opera?
“In larger spaces, productions on a much larger scale are possible. All kinds of amazing things that are impossible indoors are possible. The person who knew how to handle this best was maestro Franco Zeffirelli, who was in charge of directing the original performance of this performance. At first he didn’t want to come to Arena di Verona, but we eventually convinced him.
Zeffirelli directed numerous works in Verona, including Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ and Verdi’s ‘Il Trovatore’, but his handling of crowd scenes was particularly unique. While many directors just make the crowd move left and right, he memorized each person’s name and treated each person as if they were important. In ‘Turandot’, as soon as the performance begins, you get the feeling that ‘China is on the move’. Of course, Zeffirelli also directed ‘Turandot’ at the Metropolitan Opera, but this feeling is only possible in a large space.”
―I know that there are many difficulties in conducting a large opera. When we met in Verona in 2005, you said, ‘I pay particular attention to driving the stage strongly at an appropriate tempo that can maintain tension.’
“In the Arena di Verona, the distance between singers and conductor is over 30 meters, and sometimes it is 50 meters. For operas in large spaces, it becomes very complicated to coordinate the colors between the choir, vocalists, and orchestra. You need experience. It’s not something you can do by stepping up to the podium overnight. I conduct in large spaces with the idea of playing with music.
I remember a time when I performed Verdi’s ‘Requiem’ with tenor Luciano Pavarotti in a large outdoor space near Naples. Pavarotti was so moved by the atmosphere of the performance that he said, ‘I will not accept a guarantee today. The theater director said, ‘Use it for good causes.’ I also conducted performances of ‘Turandot’ and Verdi’s ‘Aida’ at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, which were amazing. “What kind of heart you perform in is more important in eliciting emotion than where you perform it.”
―Why is Puccini’s opera, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of his death this year, so loved by people around the world today?
“Puccini was able to penetrate deeply into the psyche of the peoples of Japan (Madame Butterfly), California (Lady of the West) or China (Turandot) without visiting them. He envisions a stage that is more dreamy than realistic. In ‘Turandot’, when we meet an icy princess, even in that cold world, we dream of love in Puccini’s way. This is the great thing about Puccini.
The first opera I conducted was Puccini’s ‘Manon Lescaut.’ That’s when I fell in love with Puccini. When I got home, I sang every part of this opera like a crazy person.
Puccini dictated to the score everything he wanted. So conducting his operas may seem easy, but it is definitely not. His music changes with every beat. “If you play only halfway through the many colors of his music, you will be destroying his music.”
―Let me ask you something personal. At the age of 13, he sang a solo song in his own song ‘Chichester Psalm’ conducted by Leonard Bernstein… .
“My mother always said that after she gave birth to me, she prayed to God that I would become a musician. You wanted a son who thought of music as his life’s mission. That wish seems to have come true. When I turned ten, my mother made me start studying singing. I went to audition for ‘Chichester Psalms’ and the people in charge stopped me, saying I was too young, but my mother did not despair and asked me to audition with Bernstein. And I passed.”
―Seven years later, in 1975, he received attention from around the world when he won the first Karajan Conducting Competition.
“It was my mother who told me that I was not suited to be a pianist or cellist, that I should become a conductor, and that I should participate in the Karajan Competition when I was only 20 years old. Until then, I had never conducted an orchestra before.
If you compare Karajan and Bernstein, Bernstein directed the music with his whole body, from his toes to his facial expressions. Even during breaks during rehearsals, I talked to the members and even asked them about their families. He was a man with a big heart. Karajan, on the other hand, was a cold person. To meet him, I had to go through four rooms, first meeting the secretaries. Of course, Karajan created great music with a very captivating tone.”
―It is rare for an opera from an Arena di Verona production to be performed abroad. What meaning are you attaching to it?
“Creating opera with Italians is sharing the history of opera. I am glad that Arena di Verona is contributing to the musical development of Korea. I practiced for the first time yesterday, but Korean musicians really have excellent sounds. “Your country holds the world’s treasures.”
The KSPO Dome Arena di Verona production of ‘Turandot’ will feature sopranos Olga Maslova, Oksana Dika, and Jeon Yeo-jin singing the title role of Princess Turandot, and tenors Martin Muhlet and Arturo Chacon Cruz singing the role of Prince Calaf.
2024-10-08 22:35:36