How Covent Garden checked in a new music director
NewsAfter months of speculation and repeated delays, the Royal Opera House today named Jakub Hrusa as its next music director. He will succeed Antonio Pappano in 2025.
Hrusa, 41, conducted Glyndebourne on Tour from 2010 to 2015. The following year he became music director at Bamberg in Bavaria; he is contracted there until 2026. Recently, Hrusa also succeeded Pappano at the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome, and he cherishes the position as principal guest conductor of his national orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic.
A protege of Jiri Belohlavek, Hrusa has long been regarded as a quietly effective performer of major operas, a collegial presence rather than a commanding leader. This approach may suit Covent Garden better than its iniital shortlist, which consisted of two youngish Italians of high voltage.
We are also hearing that the musicians are overwhelmingly in favour of his appointment, which was not the case with the two Italians.
Nowadays, you can talk yourself into anything. The fact is that he simply doesn’t have that much experience in conducting operas.
5 years at Glyndebourne? Haitink had no huge opera experience when he came to the ROH either, had he?
Which also does not speak for him. He was one of the most atrocious opera conductors of all time. The total opposite, of course, in the symphonic field.
Eastern german bull,as usual from this source.Played the Ring under Haitink,he was miraculous.saw his Tristan,Don Carlo,etc.
His Ring with the BRSO is probably the most dull recording ever made.
Nonsense.That honor goes to the Janowski recording.The worst Ring for me is Furtwängler with an italian fire department band which obviously didn´t even bother to tune before the performance.Haitink´s is wonderfully transparent,mellow,radiant and with an uncanny sense of the musical architecture.And marvellously played(not because i played as a sub in those sessions).Prefer it vastly over the aggressive ,hectoring choppy Solti.
Just btw,the worst,boring,jaw droppingly dull opera conductor i ever played under wa Otmar Suitner
I absolutely agree.
Dear mr Mentzel,
Your flattering description of the maestro apart, Haitink had over 10 years of opera experience at Glyndebourne alone, when he started at ROH.
Good to hear though that he was, in your words, the ‘total opposite (…) in the symphonic field’. What would that be? One of the least atricious of all time?
In any case, he clearly really got your emotions going to extremes in every genre he tackled.
It will be good to have fewer Italian operas as staples and perhaps a wider range from the Czech repertoire.
A wider range from the Czech repertoire? I would say the ROH has done pretty well on that front. In the last few years we’ve had Jenůfa, Kát’a Kabanová, From the House of the Dead. This season we’re getting Rusalka.
British would’ve been much more acceptable, but at least it’s not another flakey Italian !
Many things can be said about “call me Tony” Pappano, but he is not a flakey person for sure. The test for Hrusa is how he will grow with the role, hold a dissolute management together, handle funding issues and inevitable squabbles over who got what, can he attract / nurture young artists and provide leadership for a diverse repertoire. That’s enough to be going on with. No wonder they went for a young man in his early 40s – might need to ditch one of his other posts if he intends to do the job half decently.
Good choice, he knows how to achieve beautiful sound from the orchestras and specially good news is that is not a mediocre Italian “Muti wannabe” that were in the shortlist
Another candidate to cross off the search list of the Chicago Symphony.
Hey, but the CSO gets to keep renewing Muti on an annual basis until they find someone left who’s still available, right?
When New York announces, there’ll be yet another candidate to cross off the CSO list.
You snooze, you lose.
50% (3 out of 6) of the music directors of the Royal Opera were also music directors or a principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony (Kubelik, Solti, Haitink).
Hrusa may well be the second Czech both of the Royal Opera and of the CSO (when he’ll be in his early 50s).
I have heard in the same season Mahler 3 with Boston/Nelsons and Bamberg/Hrusa. The latter were the better ones.
Hrusa’s Mahler 3 with the Philharmonia in London was so much better than the much-touted (and streamed) version with Salonen. Where Salonen was hard-edged and episodic, Hrusa was warm-hearted (reflected in the playing) and entirely organic.
Unless I missed something Hrůša is only principal guest conductor with Santa Cecilia.
I’m surprised Hrusa went there. It’s difficult to imagine someone as low key as Hrusa doing much Verdi and Puccini. It’s difficult to escape the thought that this is Colin Davis redux – a great musician completely unsuited to opera houses following a once-in-a-generation opera conductor who shouldn’t be leaving. I’m sure Hrusa would be an honored guest at whatever house he guests at, but why doesn’t he just pick the repertoire he wants and leave jobs like this to pit naturals.
Honestly, the guy who should be there is Nelsons, who grew up in opera houses and now seems much better at opera than concert rep.
Davis was completely unsuited to opera houses? I’m not sure how long it will take for me to pick my jaw up off the floor.
As an honored guest, of course, he was magnificent. Let him do all the Mozart and Berlioz he wants whenever he wants. But did anybody really want to go out of their way to hear what Colin Davis would do with Trovatore and Turandot?
With Mackerras, you knew he knew how to do the entire standard rep without any hitches. With Davis, from what I understand at least and from many broadcast recordings, it was a bit of a gamble because he did a lot of rep he was clearly not very passionate about.
Davis was the only conductor who made me bear Puccini(can´t stand most of his music).
No. Nelsons has become a boring conductor. He didn’t used to be. But he is now. Hrusa is terrific. I was at his Salzburg Katya K and I’ve heard him a few times with the NYPO. He is excellent. And the NYPO like him. And they don’t like any conductors……
He’s a good one.
The Covent Garden leadership got distracted for a second or two when doing the short list; then they took a look at this picture (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-royal-operas-daniele-rustioni-is-a-talent-to-reckon-with-smzz9qljn) and remembered that they were in the market for a music director, not a clown.
Because god knows your making classical music – nothing to smile or laugh about!
Played under Mr.Rustioni…..No further comment…..
Most likely it’s the candidate that crossed off the CSO
I believe that Hrusa is principal GUEST conductor of Santa Cecilia, NOT Pappano’s successor as music director.
In which function has Jakub Hrůša recently succeeded Antonio Pappano at Santa Cecilia? Their website currently lists Pappano as Music Director and Hrůša as Principal Guest Conductor. Do you mean he will take over as Music Director when Pappano steps down in 2023?
Not bad – only 5 posts in before we got a Muti reference!
A good conductor, but this is surely a lightweight appointment?
As long as he stays on in Bamberg.
>>We are also hearing that the musicians are overwhelmingly in favour of his appointment
So, not for the first time in Floral Street, the Lodge has spoken.
Can we have some of the inside story of this, Norman? What happened to Rustioni, whom you were touting? The abortive attempt to secure Yannick a few years ago etc?