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,” the Belarusian flutist and governmental activistic Maria Kalesnikava said successful this year’s Salzburg Festival keynote address. “It means deciding to measurement up and act, adjacent successful the look of uncertainty.”

Picture-perfect, Mozart-drunk Salzburg can’t unreal everything is fine. Temperatures are rising and usually rainy Salzburg present worries astir h2o shortage and the biology ravage of over-tourism. The artistically and culturally exceptional six-week Salzburg Festival, which began mid-July with 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 the Salzburg Festival person been taste and governmental soulmates for adjacent to a century, opening erstwhile playwright, manager and filmmaker Max Reinhardt, who co-founded the Salzburg Festival successful 1920, recovered mercy successful L.A. arsenic refuge from the Nazis.

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

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

Gustavo Dudamel conducts Strauss’ ‘Alpine Symphony’ with the Vienna Philharmonic astatine the 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 helium arrived past week conscionable successful clip to instrumentality up Kalesnikava’s challenge. Her proclamation of optimism comes connected the heels of her having been released successful December from a brutal Belarusian situation for supporting an absorption campaigner moving against the country’s authoritarian leader.

In Dudamel’s case, his beingness has been turned astir by the 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 present revolve astir partnering with the United Nations Development Program to stitchery planetary enactment for Venezuela’s recovery, which is estimated astatine $6.7 billion.

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

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

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

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

The symphony has been a been a philharmonic and spiritual usher for him since his boyhood. He became truthful excited astir a caller consciousness of state helium feels successful the 2nd question that helium leaned backmost successful his seat and kicked his achromatic sneakers successful the air.

After the talk, I walked with Dudamel backmost to his edifice arsenic helium displayed a different, much solemn passionateness describing the toll the earthquakes person taken connected El Sistema, the Venezuelan younker programme that has been down his acquisition activism successful L.A.

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

In Salzburg, Dudamel indulged the Vienna Philharmonic’s incomparable lushness, those plush strings, glowing winds, aureate brass, voluminous timpani. The symphony received mixed reviews, with 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 helium worked his mode to an inevitable cosmic grandeur unfazed by uncertainty. An enthralled assemblage near opening its corporate wallets. Ushers stood astatine each the exits of Great Festival Hall with baskets for donations for Venezuela. I did not spot a azygous subordinate of the assemblage permission without throwing successful a measure oregon several.

Dudamel’s “Resurrection” mightiness besides beryllium work arsenic a connection from L.A. to Salzburg. In the outpouring the festival committee dismissed its creator manager of the past decade, Markus Hinterhäuser, saying determination is simply a quality successful vision. Hinterhäuser’s penetrating and uncompromising imaginativeness is what has made the modern festival matter. Hinterhäuser has implied governmental meddling.

It is simply a immense festival, with much than 200 performances. Last year’s assemblage exceeded 200,000, with visitors from 88 countries. The arts arsenic a conveyance for coming unneurotic tin beryllium cliché. In Salzburg, sharing becomes essence, not the benignant of narcissism that appears to beryllium adopted by our upcoming LA28 taste Olympiad, successful which Angelenos are invited to taxable entrees that amusement disconnected our goods 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 helium joined baritone Matthias Goerne successful a chilling show of Schubert’s existential opus cycle, “Winterreise.” Hinterhäuser got thunderous ovations.

Salzburg’s aboriginal is anyone’s guess, but adjacent with Hinterhäuser connected the sidelines, this summertime is inactive his festival, meaningful arsenic ever.

A caller accumulation of “Carmen” could not beryllium darker, nor much brilliant. It is the latest task of conductor Teodor Currentzis, who has worked extensively with Peter Sellars successful Salzburg and elsewhere, and who brings energy to each infinitesimal with 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 bare space, 2 gripping singers — Asmik Grigorian plays an understated Carmen arsenic a subsister successful a hostile society, portion Jonathan Teltelman’s Don José is incapable to header with that nine — crook Bizet’s opera into revelatory existential theatre successful which endurance is toleration.

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

(Daniel Ammann / Bregenz Festival)

Something akin happens successful “Faust, Part 1,” successful which the actors walk the full 4 hours successful a caller accumulation by German manager Ulrich Rasche walking against the absorption of of a revolving disc. To stay successful beforehand of the audience, they indispensable stay successful motion. They’re dressed successful modern concern 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 the Pilgrimage Theater (now John Anson Ford Theater) erstwhile it was designed to look similar the gates of past Jerusalem successful 1935. Practically each of Hollywood personage showed up for what was the theatrical lawsuit of the season.

I asked Lukas Crepaz, who directs the Salzburg Festival’s administrative and concern operations, whether it would beryllium imaginable and whether determination inactive is clip for the Salzburg and L.A. to collaboration connected an opera production. He said yes, if backing could beryllium found. In fact, the L.A. Phil volition 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 the Moon and the 15th Century.”

Sharon — who was liable for the fabulous excursions of his L.A. experimental company, the Industry — supplies his diagnostic wit, imaginativeness 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 the satellite and backmost successful history, arsenic helium does arsenic an aggravated aged antheral stumbling location from the barroom oregon sitting watching TV (Sharon’s invention).

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