“Try to imagine Gustavo Dudamel conducting 50 musicians huddled in an orchestra pit, with 75 singers packed on the stage above and 1,000 people on hand just to watch, all indoors,” writes James C. Taylor in Tuesday’s (3/30) Los Angeles Times. “That’s exactly what maestro Dudamel pulled off on Saturday night … when the Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor premiered a starry Bavarian State Opera production of Verdi’s ‘Otello’ at the Gran Teatre del Liceu…. Dudamel made his Spanish opera debut in an uncut, fully-staged production that many hoped would mark the beginning of the post-COVID-19 era. The sold-out audience was told to arrive at staggered times to avoid lines and to sanitize hands after scanning tickets…. Every other seat in the 2,292-capacity house was roped off. Black tie was not required, but masks were…. Only about 5% of Spain’s adults are fully vaccinated. Catalans watched the opera Saturday with eight international singers performing without masks, 70 choristers singing with masks, dozens of musicians (including horns and woodwinds who could not be masked) plus dozens of others working backstage. Dudamel conducted behind five plexiglass screens. Spain is an outlier here in Europe. Concert halls in Vienna are shuttered, as are theaters in London.”
Change font size
