Return to blogI recently attended the dress rehearsal of the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Parsifal. I had heard great things about the conductor, Daniele Gatti, and was excited to see and hear what he’d achieved.
The Met orchestra always sounds great. But this time it seemed to speak with one voice. It was as if every musician had the very same idea about every moment in the music – the shape of the phrase, the synchronicity of attack and release, the quality and texture of the sound – every element of the music was like a thread in a vast tapestry, woven by a single weaver.
I know how rare it is to hear an orchestra so aligned and unified. It is never an accident. It is always caused. So I spent much of my time during Act III watching the conductor. I had already heard how the orchestra was amazed that he was conducting this complex, five and a half hour opera by memory – quite a feat! But watching his movements and hearing the orchestra’s response gave me a clue about how he was drawing that stunning sound.
Conducting an orchestra is not at all like driving a car. It is more like a navigator, giving directions to the driver, whose hands are on the wheel. The navigator’s art is in timing the direction so that the driver can easily execute it. The direction is in one time zone; the execution in another.
Few conductors have mastered this concept so well as Gatti. As I watched his movements I could always anticipate the sound that was about to come from the orchestra. And if I could see it from my seat in the house surely the musicians could see and feel it so close to him in the pit. Every gesture was timed as to leave little doubt about the intent. That’s in important part of how the unity was achieved.
It impressed me, yet again, how the behaviors that make for great conducting are the same as those that make for any great leadership: well-defined vision, translated through a clear direction, given at exactly the right time.
You can see a live HD broadcast performance of Daniele Gatti conducting Parsifal at the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday, March 2 at 12:00 noon.
Roger Nierenberg
