The first time I heard Richard Farnes, some years ago at the Perth Festival, I thought him potentially the best opera conductor in Britain.
He was, at the time, in charge of that plucky little company, English Touring Opera, and the way he handled its artful production of Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos at the Perth Theatre riveted my attention.
Since then he has become music director of Opera North in Leeds and, with a Ring cycle and a much-praised Peter Grimes under his belt, has proved that my thoughts about him were no idle prediction.
There was a point, after he conducted the premiere of David Horne’s challenging Friend of the People, a complex modern opera if ever there was one, in Glasgow in 1999, when Scottish Opera could have grabbed him. It never happened, though he was to make sensational appearances around that time with Glyndebourne and English National Opera.
Now, a few nights ago, he made a guest appearance conducting a concert by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Glasgow City Hall. The programme included Delius’s Walk to the Paradise Garden and Walton’s film score for Henry V, among other things. Though I was unable to attend the event myself, I noticed that my colleague Michael Tumelty gave him a five-star review in The Herald, adding that he would have awarded six, if he had been allowed to do so. Will Scottish Opera offer him a production next season? Let us wait and see.
24 January 2015
Slightly off on a tangent, I believe Scottish Opera still has no Music Director. It must be nearly two years since Francesco Corti departed and 18 months since his replacement Emmanuel Joel-Hornak simply walked out without once having given a downbeat. I have read no background of what must clearly have been a major issue of principle, but I recall the General Director being quoted in various media outlets stating that it would take about a year to find a new MD, adding he had been "blessed" with more than 90 conductors having expressed interest. One release talked about "people who have put their names into the hat or names that we have put into the hat."
ReplyDeleteAlthough the 12-month period is now up, it is perfectly understandable that more time may be required. On the other hand, it really rather beggars belief that any professional company would virtually open a book for applications for such a key senior post or that there would actually be anywhere near 90 serious candidates for the job. Selecting a Music Director is certainly a complex task for which conducting skills and operatic experience are but two of a whole host of requirements. This is even more true when it is the Executive Director who has, as seems to be the case at Scottish Opera of late, performed much of the work normally undertaken by an MD. Giving up such artistic decision-making on a full-time basis and returning more to the specific responsibilities of a CEO can be extremely difficult. It also underlines why personalities play such an important role in key appointments. The MD and the CEO really have to get on well together with a shared vision for the Company. If not, then the Board has to step in.
The position of Chairman in a major arts organisation can not be overestimated. It is the Board's role to appoint its two senior executives, the Artistic Director and the CEO, and then to oversee their activities. But it is a sad fact that the Boards of many arts organisations around the world lack the detailed knowledge, expertise - and, very often, the wisdom - necessary to make such major appointments, despite excellent individual leadership skills in their own chosen professions. Thus they become over-dependent on their own appointed personnel to do their work for them. That can - and does in many cases - become a vicious circle.
It is to be hoped that the Board of Scottish Opera is taking advice from many quarters and not merely in-house. Richard Farnes may be out of the equation at this time. But the Board surely realises it is time for a bold, imaginative appointment so that the artistic future of the Company is in secure hands. It can ill-afford another Joel-Hornak disaster.