International Ramblings 2: New York Opera and Symphony

 I was in NYC for a few days at Thanksgiving. The highlight was playing some excellent chamber music with some friends, but I also attended some interesting music events. 

The outstanding Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra played in Carnegie Hall under its new 28-year-old Finnish wunderkind conductor Klaus Mäkelä. He has been the subject of much dishy scrutiny and discussion in the classical music world: for his nascent music directorships of three of the world's best orchestras (Amsterdam, Chicago, Paris), his svelte good looks, and for his dating the charismatic and hot pianist Yuja Wang. 

I hand not heard him before. Is the hype warranted? Based on this high-profile concert, yes and no. His greatest virtue was a strong sense of sonority, color and timbre. He drew lush sounds out of the strings for Arnold Schoenberg's 1899 Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night). . This piece of post-romanticism (or pre modernism) was originally for string sextet, but is often done, as here, with a full orchestral string section. Increasing the numbers makes the piece more romantic-sounding and voluptuous, and the Amsterdam strings sounded wonderful: precise, subtle, and displaying a wide dynamic range. A risk of this and other postromantic music (Zemlinsky, Strauss) is that, without a firm conductorial hand, the music can amble and wander off into the gnarly thickets of late romantic harmony, never more to return. Mäkelä did not solve this problem well. The piece seemed long and unfocused, and moved from event to event without much transition or dramatic setup. It was pretty but not very dramatic. 

The same critique applies to the following Mahler Symphony No. 1. The first movement seemingly arises from a primordial forest, and this passage sounded quivering and atmospheric, just right. However, afterwards the symphony too often lost momentum and failed to prepare adequately for the spectacular (and well-played) dramatic climaxes that end movements 1 and 4. Compared to the great Kubelik recording, there was a general lack of momentum and dancelike quality, both needed for this fresh rethinking of the symphony. The interludes of Jewish music in the third movement were not quite witty and ironic enough, and this entire "Frere Jacque" movement seemed a bit affectually flat. Mäkelä leaps and writhes about quite a lot, and cuts a sexy and dashing figure on the podium, but his big gestures did not always translate into actual orchestral results, unlike, say, Bernstein. Obviously, the members of two great orchestras liked him enough to award him their music directorships, but I think he still has a ways to go in the realm of structure and pacing. 

I also saw a decent, if not fire-spitting Il Trovatore (Verdi) at the Metropolitan Opera. The production (by David McVicar) and conducting (by Daniele Calligari) were solid, as was the singing, and I enjoyed myself. I was not quite as overwhelmed as I was when, on my inaugural trip to Europe in 1978, I stumbled into a legendary Il Trovatore  in the Roman arena in Verona. This featured, among others, Luciano Pavarotti. I know little about opera then, but quickly recognized that this guy (and his fellow cast members) could really sing. That's a pretty high standard to have in my head, and is essential for this opera. The cast at the Met were not at this level, but certainly acted and sang well, esp. the fill-in tenor managing "Di Quella Pira" with convincing high notes. 

Music aside, the NY vs Verona vibe and audience could not have been more different. In 1978 Verona I was surrounded by happy families, many attendees drinking wine in the arena (and occasionally singing along with the arias, fun but annoying). The jammed aisles were a fire hazard, and I struggled when I had to leave early to catch the last train back to Venice, since every possible space to walk was blocked by excited fans. The short (2 1/2 hour) opera was still going at midnight after an 8pm start, mostly due to endless intermissions where paparazzi photographed elegant starlets there for the opening of the festival. This was truly opera as popular entertainment, and I have never seen anything like this since. 

The Met vibe was a bit depressing. Since COVID the Met has struggled to fill its seats. They try popular works like Il Trovatore, they try modern topical operas to appeal to a younger crowd, they emphasize relaxed dress codes, but not much seems to be working. At this perfectly good performance of a popular opera,  there were only about half the seats filled. How is this sustainable? As I looked around I noted that I was among the older attendees, never the case before. On the upside, there were many young people, but they seemed mostly obsessed with dressing up (not down) and taking selfies at intermission. The Met now even provides a photographer in the lobbies to assist them! It's fun to feel glamorous, but I hope that the GenZ and Millennial crowds can get beyond self-obsession and social media sharing in the great museums and concert halls of the world, and can work to study and appreciate the art itself. I feel like a crotchety old guy, but I am increasingly irritated by selfie behavior wherever I go to a museum or concert hall. 

The most concerning thing at the Met was the absence of my (and older) age group. The common explanation is that the elders grew cautious during COVID and gave up their season tickets, then never really returned. Huh? In Lisbon the Gulbenkian remains filled with older, wealthy patrons who buy an entire year of concerts. Why the abandonment of one of the world's great opera houses by the older NYC patrons? This creates quite a dilemma for the Met management. Do they try to lure back the elders, or experiment to draw the youngsters? Can they do both? For the younger crowd I think some tailored live and/or online education would be helpful, done in an engaging and age-appropriate style. Needed, as I heard a lot of confusion and lack of knowledge in intermission conversations in the lobbies. Seeing this small crowd, I would fully expect the Met to reduce its performance schedule soon. This would be a sad event, as it remains the only US opera house to have a full (8-9 month) season with 5-6 performances per week. It would also help to have compelling contemporary opera produced, but I have not heard any pieces that warrant much enthusiasm in recent years. Is opera dead?