Dudamel Brings Mahler's 'resurrection' To Salzburg As Symbol Of Optimism In Time Of Tragedy

Salzburg, Austria — “Optimism doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine,” nan Belarusian flutist and governmental activistic Maria Kalesnikava said successful this year’s Salzburg Festival keynote address. “It intends deciding to measurement up and act, moreover successful nan look of uncertainty.”

Picture-perfect, Mozart-drunk Salzburg can’t dress everything is fine. Temperatures are rising and usually rainy Salzburg now worries astir h2o shortage and nan biology ravage of over-tourism. The artistically and culturally exceptional six-week Salzburg Festival, which began mid-July pinch a two-week Ouverture Spirituelle this twelvemonth titled “miserere” (mercy), is facing its ain governmental and administrative turmoil and uncertainty.

Salzburg’s worries are our worries; its triumphs tin beryllium ours arsenic well. Los Angeles and nan Salzburg Festival person been taste and governmental soulmates for adjacent to a century, opening erstwhile playwright, head and filmmaker Max Reinhardt, who co-founded nan Salzburg Festival successful 1920, recovered mercy successful L.A. arsenic refuge from nan Nazis.

Reinhardt’s star-studded 1934 music-theater accumulation of “Midsummer Night’s Dream” astatine nan Hollywood Bowl offered a template for spectacle successful nan young amphitheater, and nan Los Angeles Philharmonic’s information crucially reinforced a young orchestra’s early venturesome ambition pursuing an avant-garde Bowl play nan erstwhile summertime that astir bankrupted nan Bowl. Over nan adjacent decade this Salzburger’s power connected Hollywood dramaturgy would go legend.

L.A. has reciprocated by sending our visionaries to Salzburg, wherever head Peter Sellars and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, for instance, person been given nan license and intends to animate a reinvention of philharmonic and theatrical thinking. L.A. arts patrons Betty Freeman and Richard Colburn provided important support for Salzburg during their lifetimes that included commissioning caller work.

Gustavo Dudamel conducts Strauss’ ‘Alpine Symphony’ pinch nan Vienna Philharmonic astatine nan Grosses Festspielhaus successful Salzburg Aug. 25, 2024.

(Marco Borrelli / Salzburg Festival)

Gustavo Dudamel, L.A. Phil’s optimist these 17 seasons, has agelong been a Salzburg regular arsenic well, and he arrived past week conscionable successful clip to return up Kalesnikava’s challenge. Her proclamation of optimism comes connected nan heels of her having been released successful December from a sadistic Belarusian situation for supporting an guidance campaigner moving against nan country’s authoritarian leader.

In Dudamel’s case, his life has been turned astir by nan caller earthquakes that devastated Venezuela conscionable 2 weeks aft his past concerts successful Walt Disney Concert Hall arsenic L.A. Phil euphony and creator director. His activities this summertime now revolve astir partnering pinch nan United Nations Development Program to stitchery world support for Venezuela’s recovery, which is estimated astatine $6.7 billion.

Although small noted, Dudamel’s buoyant World Cup halftime quality pinch 20 members of nan Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and 20 from nan New York Philharmonic was arsenic a FIFA fundraiser supporting children affected by world crises, successful this lawsuit earthquake alleviation successful Venezuela. Dudamel has further turned his past Hollywood Bowl programme arsenic L.A. Phil euphony head into a use connected Aug. 23.

Prophetically, Dudamel had months agone been invited to adjacent this summer’s Ouverture Spirituelle by starring nan Vienna Philharmonic successful Mahler’s Second Symphony, known arsenic nan “Resurrection.” One measurement to deliberation astir Mahler’s royal 90-minute workout successful his hunt for life’s meaning is arsenic an workout successful attaining optimism successful nan look of tragedy.

“Rise again, yes, you shall emergence again,” Mahler extols successful a last ecstatic climax, and it is pinch nan “Resurrection,” which includes chorus and a brace of vocal soloists, that Dudamel began his “Gracias Gustavo” L.A. Phil play past fall. Raising roof, nan connection was clear: optimism is nan autochthonal connection of Walt Disney Concert Hall.

In Salzburg, wherever Dudamel’s 2 Vienna Philharmonic performances were dedicated to nan group of Venezuela, those lines took connected evident caller meaning. Earlier successful nan day, Dudamel gave a nationalist talk pinch a lively German journalist, Marco Frei, successful which he described himself arsenic a “resurrectionist” successful much ways than one.

The symphony has been a been a philharmonic and belief guideline for him since his boyhood. He became truthful excited astir a caller consciousness of state he feels successful nan 2nd activity that he leaned backmost successful his chair and kicked his achromatic sneakers successful nan air.

After nan talk, I walked pinch Dudamel backmost to his edifice arsenic he displayed a different, much intense passion describing nan toll nan earthquakes person taken connected El Sistema, nan Venezuelan younker programme that has been down his acquisition activism successful L.A.

“At slightest 140 members of nan El Sistema unit and educators were killed aliases are unaccounted for,” Dudamel said, and that’s not counting what whitethorn person happened to a awesome galore children and their families. But remarkably, Dudamel noted, successful places wherever fewer structures remain, nan nucleos (the mini El Sistema organization schools) are amazingly still standing. They person go centers for food, assistance and shelter.

In Salzburg, Dudamel indulged nan Vienna Philharmonic’s incomparable lushness, those plush strings, glowing winds, aureate brass, voluminous timpani. The symphony received mixed reviews, pinch critics complaining of a deficiency of transparency, statement and depth. Had they been successful Disney Hall, they would person had it all.

But present Dudamel became much simply an designer of awe, unfazed by Mahlerian uncertainty arsenic he worked his measurement to an inevitable cosmic grandeur unfazed by uncertainty. An enthralled assemblage near opening its corporate wallets. Ushers stood astatine each nan exits of Great Festival Hall pinch baskets for donations for Venezuela. I did not spot a azygous personnel of nan assemblage time off without throwing successful a measure aliases several.

Dudamel’s “Resurrection” mightiness besides beryllium publication arsenic a connection from L.A. to Salzburg. In nan outpouring nan show committee dismissed its creator head of nan past decade, Markus Hinterhäuser, saying location is simply a quality successful vision. Hinterhäuser’s penetrating and uncompromising imagination is what has made nan modern show matter. Hinterhäuser has implied governmental meddling.

It is simply a immense festival, pinch much than 200 performances. Last year’s assemblage exceeded 200,000, pinch visitors from 88 countries. The arts arsenic a conveyance for coming together tin beryllium cliché. In Salzburg, sharing becomes essence, not nan benignant of narcissism that appears to beryllium adopted by our upcoming LA28 taste Olympiad, successful which Angelenos are invited to taxable entrees that show disconnected our equipment alternatively than a taste exchange.

Over 100 artists person protested Hinterhäuser’s removal, including 2 Nobel Prize laureates. Hinterhäuser is besides an insightful pianist, and he joined baritone Matthias Goerne successful a chilling capacity of Schubert’s existential opus cycle, “Winterreise.” Hinterhäuser sewage thunderous ovations.

Salzburg’s early is anyone’s guess, but moreover pinch Hinterhäuser connected nan sidelines, this summertime is still his festival, meaningful arsenic ever.

A caller accumulation of “Carmen” could not beryllium darker, nor much brilliant. It is nan latest task of conductor Teodor Currentzis, who has worked extensively pinch Peter Sellars successful Salzburg and elsewhere, and who brings energy to each infinitesimal pinch his Utopia Orchestra and Choir. Argentine choreographer Gabriela Carrizo makes her debut directing opera and utilizes her alarmingly vibrant Belgian creation company, Peeping Tom. Performing successful a immense quiet space, 2 gripping singers — Asmik Grigorian plays an understated Carmen arsenic a subsister successful a dispute society, while Jonathan Teltelman’s Don José is incapable to header pinch that nine — move Bizet’s opera into revelatory existential theatre successful which endurance is toleration.

A segment connected nan satellite successful head Yuval Sharon’s magical caller accumulation of Janacek’s neglected opera “The Excursions of Mr. Broucek to nan Moon and nan 15th Century” astatine nan Bregenz Festival.

(Daniel Ammann / Bregenz Festival)

Something akin happens successful “Faust, Part 1,” successful which nan actors walk nan full 4 hours successful a caller accumulation by German head Ulrich Rasche stepping against nan guidance of of a revolving disc. To stay successful beforehand of nan audience, they must stay successful motion. They’re dressed successful modern business attire, but arsenic they bare their souls, they bare their torsos arsenic they measurement against forces that forestall progress. The backdrop is brightly illumined screens that wounded your eyes.

This, however, tin service arsenic a reminder of a “Faust” staged by Reinhardt astatine nan Pilgrimage Theater (now John Anson Ford Theater) erstwhile it was designed to look for illustration nan gates of ancient Jerusalem successful 1935. Practically each of Hollywood personage showed up for what was nan theatrical arena of nan season.

I asked Lukas Crepaz, who directs nan Salzburg Festival’s administrative and business operations, whether it would beryllium imaginable and whether location still is clip for nan Salzburg and L.A. to collaboration connected an opera production. He said yes, if backing could beryllium found. In fact, nan L.A. Phil will equine successful February “One Morning Turns Into an Eternity,” a Salonen/Sellars effort successful strength from Salzburg past summer.

Another option: The Bregenz Festival, besides successful Austria, has conscionable staged a caller accumulation by Yuval Sharon of Janacek’s little-known opera, “The Excursions of Mr. Broucek to nan Moon and nan 15th Century.”

Sharon — who was responsible for nan fabulous excursions of his L.A. experimental company, nan Industry — supplies his characteristic wit, imagination and penetration into a hard-to-please opera astir a beer-besotted philistine landlord, who comes to nary bully successful his drunken dreams of going to nan satellite and backmost successful history, arsenic he does arsenic an angry aged man stumbling location from nan barroom aliases sitting watching TV (Sharon’s invention).

L.A. optimism whitethorn matter much to Austria this summertime than it does to L.A. We person 2 years to measurement up and act, moreover successful nan look of uncertainty.