In an old media memory, Iván Fischer tells Miklós Vámos how he worked with Lyubimov in 1982 on what should happen on stage and in the orchestra pit at a performance of Don Giovanni. Almost as good as stand-up comedy.
Yuri Lyubimov directed a performance of Don Giovanni in 1982 at the Erkel Theater, with Iván Fischer being asked to lead the orchestra.
A decade and a half later, in 1997, on Miklós Vámos’s show “Lehetetlen” (Impossible), Iván Fischer told the story of how they would coordinate over the telephone with the director, speaking through an interpreter. At stake was an artistic vision that required a little bit of space in the orchestra pit for something dramatic to happen. There was some tiptoeing about, there were some misunderstandings, and ultimately there was, of course, a memorable performance.
Those who are familiar with Iván Fischer’s oeuvre as opera director may have picked up on just how much he enjoys thinking of ways to create new linkages between the orchestra and events on the stage. This holds true including for the BFO’s most recent opera production, Pelléas and Mélisande, where the orchestra was seated in a magical forest – on stage.
Click here for a four-minute excerpt from the show Lehetetlen (in Hungarian).
