As of: March 14, 2024, 6:00 p.m
By: Markus Thiel
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Antonio Pappano conducts “La Gioconda” with Anna Netrebko in Salzburg.
© Erika Mayer
A year ago, Sir Antonio Pappano gave up being chief conductor of a musical theater when he left the Royal Opera House in London.
The 64-year-old is also only associated with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia as a guest.
The Brit will still be taking part in this year's Salzburg Easter Festival with her, with Ponchielli's “La Gioconda” at the center.
You were principal conductor of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia for almost two decades. How does returning feel? A melancholic situation? Or is it like a former lover?
Not at all.
After my time as chief conductor, I have already had two concert projects in Rome including a tour.
It was a bit strange at the first appointment.
During the second one, a Verdi Requiem, I felt nothing but joy at working with my orchestra again.
I am proud and very happy that we are now at the Easter Festival.
It is very rare that an orchestra is entrusted with such a project.
They were brought to Salzburg for an all-Italian program. What does an Italian orchestra do better at these works than a German, British or American one?
In this case it is also about the relationship between the conductor and the orchestra.
And: I have been interested in opera all my life.
“La Gioconda” forms a strange bridge between the middle and late Verdi but also to Puccini.
It is also a piece in which voices play an extremely important role.
You have to love voices, especially know them, especially for this work.
My orchestra has the right access to this literature - because of its tradition, its temperament, but also its feeling for cantabilità.
“La Gioconda” is not part of the core repertoire of the opera houses. How risky is it to bring this piece to the Easter Festival, when traditionally only a narrow repertoire is required?
This work used to be played very often.
A lot depends on the singers, you need a star cast.
And perhaps there is a need for certain conductors who can convey the special features of this piece to the singers and musicians.
I don't mean that in a vain way, it has to do with experience.
In any case, I hope, no: I believe that this is one of the reasons why people will be curious about our production with this fantastic, passionate piece.
Speaking of star cast: There are artistic directors who no longer hire Anna Netrebko. How do you assess that?
A complicated thing.
In Great Britain, for example, this attitude towards it exists, not in Italy, and hardly in Germany.
The situation also has to do with the media.
I think Anna is a very important singer and a very nice colleague.
I like her very much and admire her.
She has family in Russia.
None of us can know exactly what this means for them.
There are no easy answers here.
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Back to “La Gioconda”: You once said that, as with many Italian operas, it is the melodies that are so convincing. So directing is secondary?
My job is to bring direction and music together.
You should see, hear and feel unity – that is the big challenge.
Director Oliver Mears is the director of the Royal Opera House in London, so I worked with him a lot during my time there.
Of course there is something traditional in “La Gioconda”, and you also have to make sure that the audience can enjoy an evening at the opera.
And if you make sure that words and their meaning are conveyed in a coherent way, then directing is right for me.
Not only in London, but also during your time at the Brussels Opera, you had a lot to do with modern directing languages. Would you describe yourself as a progressive conductor?
I'm a big defender of directors - if they're musical.
And I was very lucky to work with such directors.
I also learned a lot from them, like how they deal with the text and the subtext.
Even as Daniel Barenboim's assistant, I worked with greats like Harry Kupfer, Götz Friedrich and Jean-Pierre Ponnelle.
I was able to watch her every second and I will never forget that.
Why then did you move from Covent Garden to the London Symphony Orchestra as an opera man?
I worked in opera houses for 35 years.
That's enough, right?
Why didn't you actually become general music director of the Bavarian State Opera? You were in conversation.
(Laughs.) When the house was about to change, I was chief conductor in Rome and also in London.
The timing may not have been right.
And I think that would have put a lot of pressure on myself.
A new opera house – that just wasn’t the right moment for me.
They bring the music closer to the audience not only through conducting, but also through explanatory videos or talk concerts. This is not known from most prominent colleagues, especially from earlier times. Was or is that a mistake?
We conductors have to sell our product better.
And I don't mean that commercially.
There are many people who have no experience with classical music.
Schools offer fewer and fewer opportunities to engage with this art.
So we have to explain things.
And not in a highly technical way, but with heart.
And also with elements of entertainment.
I'm very enthusiastic about something like this, including on social media.
The only danger is that too little information is conveyed there.
A TikTok post, for example, does not provide enough answers.
You have to take some time for this art.
You can explain an incredible amount in ten minutes.
The interview was conducted by Markus Thiel.