You can take the boy out of the opera chorus, but you cannot take opera
out of the man.  A very young Kent George Nagano once sang in the SF Opera
Chorus, and now, at 47, all he talks about is opera.

Back home, he is preparing for tomorrow's American premiere of the Philippe
Manoury opera, "60th Parallel," with the Berkeley Symphony he has been
leading for 21 years.

Even though he is leaving Manchester's Halle Orchestra after nine
years, on his way to replace Vladimir Ashkenazy at Berlin's Deutsches
Symphonie-Orchester, his answer to the question `What's new?' is opera:

   "I always felt that eventually I'd like to return to Paris, where I
   made my European debut," Nagano says.  "When Jean-Pierre Brossmann
   and I stepped down from the Opera de Lyon (after 11 years), he went
   to the Theatre du Chatelet [reopening in October after a year-long
   renovation], and we took virtually all of our projects and transferred
   them to the Chatelet.

   "So most of my operatic work now will be based in Paris, at the
   Chatelet, in partnership with Jean-Pierre Brossmann."

What are those projects?

Busoni's "Doktor Faustus" will be redone, followed by a "Busoni cycle"
of "Turandot" and "Arlecchino," then Oetvos' "Three Sisters" in 2001.
This year, Nagano is going back to Salzburg as well, also with "Doktor
Faustus," then starts working with La Scala next year or the year after.

"For 11 years, I worked pretty much with regional houses, and I feel it's
time (for Paris, Milano, etc.), and also in Berlin." There, he will record
"Turangalila" with the Berlin Philharmonic, and "asked to be involved with
the Deutsche Oper," as Udo Zimmermann is taking over kthe directorship.

"Involved" in what way? "We're still discussing it," and there is a
similar reply about Nagano's possible work with Daniel Barenboim's
Staatsoper.  "It's more prudent to go slowly," he says.  This is slow?

[log in to unmask] (text only)
[log in to unmask]