Candide camera: what the audience saw

Candide camera: what the audience saw

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norman lebrecht

February 17, 2012

So many readers have been asking about Joseph R. Olefirowicz’s scintillating performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide that we thought you’d like to see both sides of the coin. This, as shown yesterday, is what the musicians saw.

And here’s how it came about. It started, I’m told, as a joke by the stage manager using the call cam, an innocent little infrared unit nestled between violas and a row of woodwinds, for lighting call cues and two conductor monitors for the soloists.

The conductor, knowing this was the only number in 2.5 hours in one meter, and one tempo, let the orchestra off the leash as a mark of mutual trust. Every single cue of his related to specific comments within rehearsals.

Now, having watched the internal frolics, here’s what the public saw.

Terrific cast, lovely performance. What’s not to like

Comments

  • The opera world needs more conductors like him.

  • Like you say Norman, this is a mark of trust! I often do similar things with choirs, albeit, since they are amateur, never on this level!
    I have only admiration for his musicality!

  • To clarify my above comment: I meant I never use minimal conducting on this level; I certainly did NOT mean my choirs never sing at this level 😉

  • Tamara Meinecke says:

    Terrific! No question that he is leading the orchestra; no question (from seeing the video from the orchestra’s point of view) that he’s got a good orchestra and he knows it.

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