What Does an Opera Director Really Do? W/ Tabatha McFadyen

Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

Joshua Weilerstein

Clarinet, Timpani, Performing, Trombone, Cello, Trumpet, Bassoon, Classicalmusic, Performing Arts, Arts, Violin, Flute, Piano, Conductor, Music, Weilerstein

4.9 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 March 2023

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Have you ever wondered what exactly goes on behind the scenes putting together an opera? Have you ever asked yourself how a director make decisions on how to interpret the libretto of an opera? Why do some productions look so completely different to others? What is "regie theater" and why it is so controversial? Well, all of these questions and more are answered by my guest today, the fantastic director, performer, and writer Tabatha McFadyen, who takes us through the process of directing an opera from first commission to first performance, a process that can take a few years of work! This was a fascinating conversationa and I myself learned a lot from it. Join us!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Sticking Ones, the Classical Music Podcast.
0:06.6	My name is Joshua Weylerstein, I'm a conductor, and I'm the Music Director of the Phoenix
0:10.1	Orchestra of Boston, and the Chief Conductor Designate of the All-Borx Symphony.
0:14.6	This podcast is for anyone who loves classical music, works in the field, or is just getting
0:19.0	ready to dive into this amazing world of incredible music.
0:22.8	Before we get started, I want to thank my new Patreon sponsors, Cheryl, Jay, Leandro,
0:27.7	and all of my other Patreon sponsors for making season 9 possible.
0:31.8	If you'd like to support the show, please head over to patreon.com, slash Sticking Ones
0:35.6	Podcast.
0:36.6	And if you are a fan of the show, please just think of a moment to give us a rating or
0:39.7	review on Apple Podcasts.
0:42.0	It is greatly appreciated.
0:45.4	So I am in Sweden this week with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.
0:49.5	I had a wonderful time last week with the National Orchestra of Belgium in this crazy
0:53.4	program of Deforte's Human Voices, only the Beethoven Violin Concerto, and then John
0:58.6	Luther Adams's Become Ocean.
1:01.9	It was really quite an adventure.
1:03.4	The program was almost two and a half hours long, and the Adams I talked about on my Patreon
1:07.8	exclusive mini episode, but it was really quite an intense experience, exhausting experience
1:13.7	to conduct that remarkable brilliant piece that really shouldn't work the way it's written,
1:20.6	but it works remarkably well.
1:23.1	I am a little bit speechless talking about it.
	...

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