Lake Zürich from the Zürich Opera House noon Sunday January 7 2018
I had a day trip to Zurich yesterday and realised that it had been a long time since I had been there - a regular port of call during the 70s and 80s. It has had a long tradition of finding and promoting young artists. It was there that I heard for the first time the 20 something Francisco Araiza as Don Ottavio. And when the studio was established, by the then Intendant Herbert Graf under the leadership of Marc Belfort, it soon became a primary source of young talent. That was back in 1974.......44 years ago! I made so many visits to Zurich all those decades ago, and had so much fun there with Ponnelle and Harnoncourt in the Restaurant Conti over the road from the stage door - but that is another story!
It is clear that the International Opera Studio is very much back in that position now, so I was delighted to return to this delightful place yesterday, primarily to see Barrie Kosky's remarkable production of Fanciulla del West. Of course there were many members of the studio in the large cast. But the three protagonists would be hard to beat - Catherine Nagelstad as the Minnie of our day, Brandon Jovanovich, from Montana but a citizen of the whole opera world, as an impossible to beat Johnson, and the really excellent Scott Hendricks that unpleasant Jack Rance character!
I wont go into the detail of Barrie Kosky's simple approach to this opera - simple because there was no silly operatic fluff, just superlative direction of top notch artists resulting in theatre, music theatre, of totally absorbing power that created instant suspension of disbelief. Great stuff - the man is a genius.
And that top notch cast were supported by the ensemble drawn largely from the IOS. There are some stunning talents there but I am not going to reveal trade secrets! Go and listen and experience your own "eureka" moments! There are names that you will die to hear five years from now! And all thanks to the leadership of Zurich's Brenda Hurley and Sophie de Lint. And maybe also to original vision of Graf and Belfort!
I am now back in London and will write tomorrow about the Jette Parker recital which I greatly enjoyed at lunchtime today.
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