Lesson from the past from France's wonderful Video Archive Ina

YouTune is not the only place where it is possible to find some treasures from the past. I recommend French-speaking readers to go to the wonderful archive site of France's Insitut National de L'audiovisuel.

I will come back with more documents as I explore what they have but have already found an excerpt of the Cosi Fan Tutte done in 1983 with Daniel Barenboim conducting his Orchestre de Paris. Staging was done by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Cast included (by memory) Julia Varady, J Rodgers, D Rendall and the Don Alfonso of Carlos Feller was a mastery of casting.



This was for many and for me a revelatory performance at a time where the Opera de Paris was going from scandal to scandal. (Have a look at the paragraph "Les éphémères" in the Opera de Paris Wikipedia page). This performance reminded or taught many in France of what homogeneous Opera performance where all contribute and participate to a single unified concept can be. And it took the leadership of Hugues Gall who brought his professionalism from Geneva Grand Théatre to the "Grande Boutique".

There is another treasure which is an interview of Patrice Chéreau commenting on the sacking of Daniel Barenboim by Pierre Bergé.




I already spoke about this which was a shocking event when I was younger and lived in Paris in an earlier post called: La mémoire courte or Short memory. Chéreau has a great point which is to say that there should be no reason for every new incoming political group to systematically reverse every decision done by their predecessor. He then refers to the two ministers of culture of the time, François Léotard and Jack Lang. You cannot run either a country or a company an Opera House or ... if you switch courses systematically.

What Chéreau is saying echoes what my old country is going through right now with the upcoming presidential elections. The purpose of this blog is not to take a position the two candidates but to highlight that it is a political tradition to take the systematic counter position that the opposition is taking. May it be in economy or in arts, there is no need to describe the disastrous impact of such dogmatism. And do I need to add that I am sorry for my old country bad habits ...

La mémoire courte

After the UK, it is now the French music press which is raving on Barenboim's Beethoven - Schoenberg cycle. One of these is the French "Le Monde". Yet in January 1998, Barenboim should have been appointed the musical director of the Bastille Opera yet could not agree with the administrative director, Pierre Bergé. Barenboim asked for arbitration at the French authorities who, for reasons that have not been made really completely open gave reason to Bergé. (Bergé has been a loyal supporter and financial backer of former Président François Mitterand among others activities).

About the same time, French media which is rumored to take their cues from the French government, right or left, started a series of articles criticising the work that Barenboim had done as musical director of the Orchestre de Paris. The most aggressive one was Le Monde, which if I remember well, hinted at the conductor's lack of abilities to conduct Opéra as well as to hold an orchestra together. We all know what Barenboim has since accomplished in the pit in places like Berlin, Bayreuth, Milan, ... We also know of the artistic struggles the Bastille suffered right after ...

This being said, on the 14th of January, the evening Barenboim's sacking of Bastille was announced, he was conducting a concert performance of Act 2 of Tristan with Behrens, Lakes, Meier and Tomlinson. I was there and remember the performance which was stunning. The audience applauded the soloists as they arrived on stage but gave a special welcome to Barenboim. He clearly was not expecting this gesture and probably because of this and also because of the insight he has always displayed for this work, he gave a really special performance.

After all what happened, Barenboim could have had many reasons to severe all relations with France which he did not. He has not spoken about this topic but I am convinced that this January 14 performance influenced him.

When the Divan Orchestra played in Paris in 2006, Paris's intelligencia was everywhere to be seen all smiling and applaudng , including the flamboyant Culture Minister of the time of Barenboim's firing. Honestly, will they ever admit that they have probably sacked a great musician who may even one day receive the Peace Nobel Prize ?

(PS: while Barenboim was the musical director of the OP, he definitely improved the overall level, started the Chorus of the Orchestre de Paris and managed to go from the infamous Palais des Congres to the Salle Pleyel. He also convinced several artists to make of Paris a place where they would regularly perform, like Jean-Pierre Ponnelle whom with they performed Mozart Operas at the Théatre des Champs-Elysées. Another such artists was Arturo Benedetti-Michelangeli whom they performed Beethoven's third Piano Concerto and the following year, Schumann's Piano concerto. The latter was recorded but not approved by Michelangeli. It has been issued and, in spite of a few flaws is worth a hearing.)