They say that Paris is well worth a mass. But nothing beats family. This has been the reason that has led Gustavo Dudamel to present his resignation from the musical direction of the Paris Opera, one of the most important cultural references in the world. The famous Venezuelan director signed six seasons with the French institution in 2021, but his departure for personal reasons will be at the end of the current 2022-2023 season. He will now focus on the remainder of his contract in Los Angeles and then make his big leap to the New York Philharmonic, another of the great international orchestras.
Last February it was revealed that in 2025 he will leave Los Angeles to assume the musical and artistic direction of the New York Philharmonic, the oldest orchestra in the United States. He will be a new step in a meteoric trajectory, since he will then become the first Latin American to take charge of the same cultural treasure that Leonard Bernstein, Gustav Mahler and Arturo Toscanini had in their hands.
The director has lived with a busy international schedule since he took office in August 2021. Now he reflects on the lessons that the world has taught him after the break caused by the pandemic. “We are living through a moment that I believe has changed our lives in unique and complex ways. Definitely, I have a greater respect for life and how art and music enrich my existence every day and those around us ”, he has declared.
“I have no other plan at this time other than to be with my loved ones, whom I am deeply grateful for helping me every day in my determination to grow personally and artistically,” said Dudamel, who turned 42 last January. . The Venezuelan signed for the Paris Opera with the idea of combining the position with his life in America, where he has led the Los Angeles Philharmonic with great success since 2009. Alexander Neef, the director of the French house, has not yet appointed a successor and has asked for time to find someone to take over.
The arrival in Paris to a position on which the musical programming of the Palais Garnier and the Bastille opera depend was the product of a process that originated in 2017. The Venezuelan was then invited to direct la boheme. After the staging, the German Neef called him to invite him. Dudamel gave an almost immediate yes.
Always careful with details, Dudamel meditated well on the work that would serve as a letter of introduction to the French public. His opening concert was a classic. Carmen, by Georges Bizet, which he performed in October 2021 with the orchestra of the National Theater. The commitment to the tragic romantic story of a soldier and a gypsy was a nod to the historical past to which he now took the reins. The final, and best known, work by the French composer made its debut at that same institution in March 1875.
“It has been a privilege to share so many wonderful moments with the orchestra, choir and artistic team of the Paris Opera these past two seasons,” says Dudamel. His resignation cuts a planned six-year stay. In his first year he was in charge of Turandot, by Giacomo Puccini, and The Marriage of Figaro, by Mozart. In 2022-2023 he returned to Puccini with rough and directed Tristan and Isoldeby Richard Wagner.
He didn’t just follow the canon in his two years. Dudamel landed in Paris with the promise of injecting some of the vitality that characterizes a century-old institution. For this reason, he wanted to alternate his taste for the classical with modernity and curiosity for new sounds, which has been the key to his success in the United States. For this reason he prepared the assembly of nixons in chinaa groundbreaking work by the American maestro John Adams with a libretto by Alice Goodman and a staging by Valentina Carrasco that featured star soprano Renée Fleming as Pat Nixon and tenor John Matthew Myers as the Chinese statesman.
The opera is based on the visit that the US president made to Mao in 1972 against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. It premiered in March and was a milestone, as it was the first time that Adams’ music was played inside the Paris Opera. The work was well valued by the Parisian public for its validity. Tensions between Washington and Beijing were reignited during the play’s debut with the drama of spy balloons floating over US soil. With his goodbye, Dudamel underlines the brief transformative role that he tried to capture.
“Nixon’s recent success in China clearly illustrates why Gustavo Dudamel is an immense musician,” considered Alexander Neef, who respects his decision and has appreciated the period that the Venezuelan was with him. “His passion for him and his immense talent have left us a lot in our house repertoire. He was able to establish a special relationship with the musicians in the orchestra, the choir artists, the singers and artistic teams, relationships marked by mutual respect and the desire to create the most beautiful performances together”, added Neef. The Paris Opera will soon announce what will happen to Dudamel’s projects that had been announced for 2023-2024.
The celebrated star from Barquisimeto has been married for six years to the Spanish actress María Valverde. Both met in 2016 in Los Angeles, the city where they currently reside. Dudamel has a son, Martín, the product of his previous marriage to Eloísa Maturén, a classical ballet dancer and journalist from Caracas. The minor shares the time between his parents’ houses and has an excellent relationship with Valverde, who also often visits her parents in the Madrid district of Carabanchel.
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