After the reopening, the National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet after Al. Spendiaryan is continuing the project “Concert in the lobby”, this time on the stage equipped with high-technology. This time, the deputy director of Music of the Opera and Ballet theatre after Lucerne, a Swiss conductor Michael Vandenberg will conduct the orchestra of the theatre. The concert will take place on June 29. A few days ago, to the suggestion of “Aravot” to conduct an interview with the guest on tour conductor, the director of the theater Hrach Grigoryan conveyed that Vandenberg’s hobby is mountain climbing and he is on the Aragats for this purpose. During the meeting with Michael Vandenberg, we discovered that following the example of the 20th century Austrian composer Gustav Mahler he is engaged in mountain climbing. The lowest southern peak of four-vertex Aragats, which is 3879 meters high, Vandenberg overcame accomapied with the opera theater musicians, bassoon players Shmavon Harutyunyan and Vigen Grigoryan.
He said that he had studied the Armenian Highland very well because once when Shmavon was a student at the institute of arts in Zurich, they made friends and implemented several projects and he is still in the opera theater of Yerevan thanks to Shmavon, with the help of whom he was in pen and creative relationship for nearly a year with the music director and principal conductor of opera theatre Karen Durgaryan. Half jokingly and half serious we asked whether while visiting any country as a guest tour, the first he does is his hobby. The conductor stated that he is involved in mountain climbing if the the nature of the country attracts him. Then he added,- “I was ready to climb the highest northern peak of Aragats, 4090 m, but my commitment to the rehearsals with the orchestra for the coming concert held me back. I can not compare my satisfaction received from climbing Aragatz with climbing the Alps …”
We asked the opinion from the opera conductor about the theater orchestra. “Unlike my theater orchestra, your musicians have passed a Russian school, which I welcome, because many famous musicians of that school are known in the world, including the Armenians,” – said Vandenberg. In response to our inquiry as to what schedule policy Lucerne theater runs, and in addition to opera and ballet performances of the world, what evenings of classical music they conduct, our interlocutor said that the opera and ballet performances in his theatre are held about 6 months. He detailed saying,- “In the century of high speed, there is no need for a scheduled theatre. Even if we put the “century factor” aside, playing the same performance for years becomes senseless. As for conducting evening of classical music, not only we, but also any theater orchestra in the world performs such projects, which, in my belief, is necessary first of all to the orchestra musicians.”
We found out that in Lucerne theater, in parallel to the samples of world classical opera and ballet literature, parallel design, works of contemporary authors are also presented. To this respect, the conductor said jokingly,- “Classical is necessary, contemporary is a requirement, playing classical outlines the past, and the modern is the reflection of the classical.” Commenting on the view circulation in Armenia that the theaters do not need artistic or musical leaders, Michael Vandenberg laughed,- “I do not know of any theater in the world that does not have an artistic or musical director.”
Samvel DANIELYAN
In the photo: Vigen Harutyunyan (from the left), Michael Vandenberg, and Shmavon Grigoryan.
“Aravot” daily
