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This year we celebrate the 240th Anniversary of J.C. Bach (1782-2022). In 2011/2012 you produced certainly one of the most beautiful and charming operas by J.C. Bach: Zanaida (1763). Can you tell our readers about the amazing story, in details, of this production from the origin of the score to the actual musical performance by you with your Opera Fuoco and then your CD Album? You have explored J.C. Bach's music also with your other CD Album Berenice, che fai!, featuring a World Premiere from Catone in Utica. What attracted you the most about J.C. Bach and his music? What do you think about J.C. Bach's music relation to that by Mozart? | |
In 2009/2010, I was shown a manuscript of Johann Christian Bach's Zanaida that was
in the possession of a major collector in the US (Elias Nicholas Kulukundis, New York, who had purchased it in 1986: see also Warburton 2001).
 I was thrilled to be given the chance to be part of the rebirth and the new edition of this wonderful score by the composer known as the London Bach, whose significance to the development of opera in the classical era cannot be ignored. While his musical education was dominated by his father and his brother CPE (whose own style reflects Telemann), JC's move to Italy in 1754 led to his championing the Italian galant style... ... While we always talk about his influence on Mozart's writing, we must also acknowledge how JC brought to northern Europe bel canto vocal writing mixed with a classical orchestral color that marked the future of opera in the later part of the 18th century... ... His technique is more succinct than baroque composers, with shorter arias that avoid the tradition of da capo form, and a dramatic energy that pulls the listener into the narrative from the beginning of the story. Although we don't know the provenance of the manuscript, the score was definitely in JC's hand and not that of a copyist. While there were a number of note errors in the score, the most notable issue was the absence of Roselane's first aria: the implication was that in the original version there was a substitution aria, which today is unknown, so we inserted a number from La Clemenza di Scipione, in order to preserve the balance of arias that JC had intended... ... The orchestration is very particular: it contains tailles, which are tenor oboes. The clarinets in B flat mark the first time these instruments are used in London in the opera pit (J.C. Bach with his 1763 operas Orione, 19 February, and Zanaida, 7 May, introduced the use of clarinets in opera in England; see infra the famous account by Burney, in General History of Music, 1789), and in one aria of Zanaida's, these baroque clarinets soar over the dark color of the oboes to give a particular sound that I had never heard before... ... The particular nature of these clarinets led us to choose to perform the work at a pitch of 415, and not 430. Then I asked Sigrid T'Hooft, an expert in period choreography, to do the staging because I felt it necessary to reveal the score in its original context after so many years of neglect. We premiered the production in Bad Lauchstädt, a jewel of a theater built by Goethe, which only enhanced the ambiance of the opera's setting... ... The young singers of the Opera Fuoco Young Artists Program could concentrate on resonating and communicating, rather than forcing their voices in a large hall...  ... The orchestra was positioned in the old style, on benches facing each other... ... We really felt as if not that much had changed since 1763! _______________________________________________________________ DAVID STERN'S ZANAIDA ON SOUNDCLOUD _______________________________________________________________  A. Zanaida (1763) on SoundCloud J.C. Bach, Zanaida:Ouverture zanaida-ouverture B. Zanaida (1763) on SoundCloud J.C. Bach, Zanaida:Aria Ogni ragion jc-bach-la-zanaida-ogni C. Zanaida (1763) on SoundCloud J.C. Bach, Zanaida:Acte I Almen la parca irata zanaida-mustafa-acte-i-13 D. Zanaida (1763) on SoundCloud J.C. Bach, Zanaida:Acte I Tortorella che abbandonata zanaida-zanaida-acte-i-15-v2 _______________________________________________________________ The Original 1763 Libretto, in Italian with English Translation: Bach, Zanaida, the Libretto, London 1763 P. Corneilson's Essay: Johann Christian Bach's Zanaida _______________________________________________________________ J.C. Bach, Zanaida, Act II, Scene 8: Aria: Parto, addio. Io vado a morte. (Zanaida) This number from Zanaida was one of the most famous and celebrated one in 1763 with Mentre volgo intorno il piede palpitar mi sento il cuor. From YouTube David Stern - Topic with auto commercial system.  J.C. Bach, Zanaida, Act II, Scene 4: Aria: Se spiegò le prime vele. (Tamasse) This number from Zanaida was another famous one in 1763 and was at the very centre of the well known anecdote between J.C. Bach and Mozart child-prodigy in London, who, at 8yo, immediately detected an erroneous note in the score (see supra). From YouTube David Stern - Topic with auto commercial system. _______________________________________________________________ DAVID STERN DISCOGRAPHY & PRODUCTIONS _______________________________________________________________ Biography DISCOGRAPHY • J.S. Mayr L'Amor Conjugale • F. Gassmann Ah, Ingrato Amor • Haydn, Mozart, J.C. Bach, Martines, Mazzoni, Hasse Berenice, Che Fai?  • Cherubini, Catel, Hérold, Boisselot French Romantic Cantatas • J.C. Bach Zanaida • J. S. Mayr Medea in Corinto  • G.F. Handel Jephtha • G.F. Handel Semele • J. Field Field: Piano Concertos Nos 2 & 3  • Clementi, Field, Mozart, Salieri, Steffan Concertos & Solo Works for Fortepiano • O. Nicolai Orchestral Works Vol. 1 • O. Nicolai Orchestral Works Vol. 2  MUSIC PRODUCTIONS Among the many music productions by David Stern, we remember: MOZART Airs d'opéras et de concerts, La Finta Giardiniera, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Der Schauspieldirektor, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così Fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte GLUCK Orfeo ed Euridice, Iphigénie en Aulide TELEMANN Der Tag des Gerichts, Ino, Damon, Orpheus HANDEL Hercules, Semele, Jephtha, Giulio Cesare J.S. BACH Mass in B minor J.C. BACH Zanaida CHERUBINI Médée MAYR Medea in Corinto, L'Amor Conjugale DONIZETTI Don Pasquale, Rita, L'Elisir d'Amore Many other music productions well reaching the composers of the 19th- and 20th-century, from Verdi to Bizet, Gershwin, Cole Porter, Mascagni, Leoncavallo to contemporary music productions. |
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David Stern & Opera Fuoco present: J.C. Bach, Zanaida (1763) |
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(a) This year we celebrate also
another important Anniversary: the 250th Anniversary
of the 1772 premiere of Gassmann's Oratorio La Betulia Liberata, inaugural performance
for the 1771 founded Vienna Tonkünstlersozietät, founded on the initiative of F.L.
Gassmann himself. You have produced a marvellous CD Album
entirely dedicated to Gassmann's Opera music (Ah, ingrato amor!) with really some remarkable pieces.
What's your opinion on Gassmann's music within his own time and how have you selected
the Opera Arias to be
presented in your Album? (b) Another fundamental musical work of re-discovery by you is, without doubt, Giovanni Simone Mayr, that Carpani (the biographer of Haydn), already in 1812!, considered an important pivotal composer in the history of Opera! Both your productions and CD Albums were received with international acclaim and awards (BBC Radio 3, Gramophone): Medea in Corinto (2010) and L'Amor Conjugale (2021). When did you decide to work on Mayr's Operas and why? How have you rediscovered and studied his scores, after so long time of silence? |
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While I have been a long-time fan of Gassmann (1729-1774), particularly due to his Opera Seria,
I did not choose the repertoire for the CD I made. I have been working for a number of years with the NDR orchestra in Hannover, concentrating in baroque and classical repertoire. They had asked me to make the recording with the wonderful Ania Vegry, who had chosen arias that suited her voice. The contrasts and changes between comic and serious styles in this music are clear and very well constructed. There are definitely Gassmann operas that are on my wish list, including Achille in Sciro.  ________  I have been fascinated by Simone Mayr's music ever since I recorded his Medea in Corinto while I was music director in St. Gallen. First of all the idea that a composer coming from Ingolstadt in Bavaria would become known as the father of Bel Canto, just because he was Donizetti's teacher, is enough to pique interest in Mayr. I was lucky to have as an Intendant in St. Gallen, Peter Heilker, who, like me, enjoyed finding works that had long been ignored. We threw ourselves into a new production of Medea, which was staged brilliantly by David Alden. Actually, I find the music more compelling than Cherubini's version. The orchestral writing is rich and multi-layered, while the bel canto vocal style is beautiful without being exaggerated... ... Having a young Lawrence Brownlee sing the role of Egeo was a very special experience. Because of the Medea recording, I was approached a few years ago by the Beethoven Festival in Bonn to perform L'amor conjugale... ... This one-act work was one of four versions of the same story, of which the most known was of course Beethoven's Fidelio. Mayr's interpretation is less political than Beethoven's, but it holds its own as a first rate piece. The mixture of the buffo and the serio, the wonderful ensemble writing and the classical orchestral sound accompanying exquisite vocal writing make this opera well worth the detour... ... While the performances in Bonn were canceled due to Covid-19, I decided to pursue the project by making a recording on Aparté featuring three different generations of singers from the Opera Fuoco Young Artists Program. We are looking forward to bringing the work to the Theater an der Wien in September of 2023, when we will be touring the work in other venues in Europe. We asked the editor Pasal Duc to prepare the material for us, and going through the various versions that were performed in the 19th century, we could see the care and thought that went in to the orchestral details. I do consider Mayr a significant crossroads composer, who gives us insight to how we can approach the development of opera style from the classic to the early romantic. As it states on his tomb in Bergamo, Mayr was a musician who had no rival! |
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Carpani in his 1812 Gallery of Composers (and Painters!) identifies the music style of Mayr with the painting style of Maratta... that's to say, a very successful artist in his art and works with a palette, that could oscillate from the most perfect Raphaellism to the most "photographically" realistic and dramatic Naturalism à la Caravaggio, with all the different tones inbetween... so Mayr, according to Carpani, is really "a significant crossroads composer, from the classic to the early romantic" (David Stern): MozartCircle presents Carpani's Grand Gallery of Composers 1812 |
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David Stern & Opera Fuoco present: J.S. Mayr, L'Amor Conjugale |
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David Stern & Opera Fuoco present: J.S. Mayr, L'Amor Conjugale (Teaser 2) |
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You have studied at Yale and the Juilliard School. When has your passion for the music of Mozart and of the 18th-century begun and when have you decided to dedicate a part of your wide international career to bringing long-neglected masterpieces of the 18th-century Opera back to the modern theatres? What your relationship with Mozart's music and his works? After many Mozartian productions and explorations (Mozart & Paisiello, Mozart & Haydn-Hasse-Martinez-JCBach, etc.), last year you have launched the brilliant Mozartian TV Project Figaro in the City, an Opera conceived as a television series! What led you to develop such project in such an unusual (for Opera) Format? How do you consider now this experience? Do you think that other Operas may be coming in the future in the same Format? | |
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My conducting studies at Yale and Juilliard focussed primarily on romantic symphonic
repertoire. My teacher, Otto Werner Mueller, had a very thorough methodology, but
he hardly devoted time on operatic works.
When I had a chance to come to Paris to be an assistant for John Eliot Gardiner for a production of the Damnation of Faust, I jumped at the opportunity. John Eliot subsequently re-hired me for his Mozart cycle at the Châtelet Theater and all of a sudden I was working with a period orchestra. From this time on, my understanding of Mozart's music developed a great deal...  ... First of all, I learned that almost all of his composition has its basis in operatic expression, whether it is a slow movement of any of his piano concerti, or his Mass in C. While of course I cherish every moment of the da Ponte triptych, I have had the opportunity to conduct Finta Giardinera, Schauspieldirektor, Idomeneo and Mitridate, among many others. These works paint the entire portait of Mozart, along with the composers just before and after, like Hasse, Berton, JC Bach, Gassmann, Mayr, Paisiello or Cimarosa. Mozart can exist in a vacuum, but he becomes all the more human when placed in his historic context. In early 2020 I had planned a performance of Figaro with the Opera Fuoco singers, and this production was supposed to be one of the highlights of their time with us. While the pandemic forced us to cancel almost all of our projects, I invented the idea of doing a version of Nozze suited to the situation:... ... we recorded the music with piano replacing the orchestra and a baroque guitar replacing the harpsichord, and then on playback we filmed the staging as if it was a television series. Of course, since this crazy project occurred between shutdowns, our resources were limited, but as far as I know, it marked the first time an opera was filmed as a mini-series! We edited the video in 2 seasons and 14 episodes and sold the project to MarqueeTV! ______________________________________________________________ David Stern & Opera Fuoco present: Figaro in the City the Series Here The 1st Episode free of Figaro in the City! 
______________________________________________________________ I remember it as some the moments during these past two years when we felt hopeful again. I am not sure how I feel about continuing the experiment. Now that live performance has returned I think it is important not to rely too much on the video format, but if one does use the internet for culture, it should be in a way that is dedicated to the media, and not simply a filmed concert... ... Music must remain live, but we need to reach out with every kind of media to bring opera to as wide a public as possible! I think to achieve this we must show as much flexibility as possible in order to adapt our art to modern technology: a Youtube museum display of classical music is not going to reach new audiences! |
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David Stern & Opera Fuoco present: The Making of The French Romantic Cantatas with Karine Deshayes |
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What the origin of your orchestra Opera Fuoco and what the story and the people behind it? What the origin and the meaning of the term Fuoco? Has it some intentional relation to the artistic world of the 18th-century? Your activity is not limited to the 18th-century music, but well reach the modern and the contemporary repertoire, especially with your work with Palm Beach Opera, this year celebrating its 60th Anniversary! How does your Young Artists Program work and what the main achievements you are particularly proud of? What your projects for the future? | |
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It was after a few years of working with John Eliot Gardiner that
he urged me to create my own ensemble. My wife, Katharina Wolff, who is the co-director and concertmaster of Opera Fuoco, was already working with Reinhard Goebel and Musica Antiqua Köln. Together we plunged into the early music world and we have not looked back since... ... When I created the ensemble, it was with the intention of doing primarily vocal music. I believe that the period instrument revolution brought about major changes in music making, especially in Europe. One of the most important developments has been the notion of rhetoric in instrumental playing. Baroque and classical bows and gut strings not only allow, rather they oblige musicians to take into account the affekt of the vocal line. The variety of bow strokes that period instrumentalists master offers a greater palette than what one hears from most modern players... ... The paring of an articulation of a violinist with a particular word or emotion expressed by a singer, for me, is the greatest advantage of working with such ensembles. ________ Our use of the word fuoco in our title comes from this attention to language. I found the name with my colleague Jay Bernfeld, who also helped me create the ensemble, and we were looking for the word that would represent the fire that we seek in operatic expression... ... I often ask the instrumentalists to play more buffo or serio rather than piano or forte!... ... The level of expression that these instruments display is always impressive! One of my first projects with Opera Fuoco was a tour of Mozart's La Finta Giardiniera and for the run I auditioned only young singers!...  ________ Having worked already extensively with young talent at the Festival in Aix-en-Provence, where I created the Académie Internationale d'Art Lyrique, I had developed an interest in helping young singers, and the Finta project convinced me to create a young artists program within Opera Fuoco! Since 2004, Opera Fuoco has been putting on productions in Europe and Asia, and today, the list of the most important singers coming out of France contains a number of our graduates: Clémentine Margaine, Vannina Santoni, Lea Desandre, Chantal Santon and Adèle Charvet are just a sample of the singers who appear regularly in opera houses throughout Europe. During their three years with the young artists program, they do operas, concerts and masterclasses in many different languages and styles, from Monteverdi to Cole Porter. The reality of the opera world today is that the singer needs as many tools as possible in order to shine... ... Relying on one particular repertoire for their careers is not the best idea and we give them experiences that they can use in their futures. While I enjoy working with my company in Palm Beach on Grand Opera repertoire (this year I've produced Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Palm Beach Opera), coming home to Fuoco is always a special moment for me. Our future projects include Boyce's Solomon, Handel's Hercules, Martin y Soler's L'Arbore de Diana and Marcello's Arianna. And Donizetti (1797-1848) was not only the pupil of J.S. Mayr, but Mayr himself, at some point, sent him to complete his studies in music composition at the most famous Bologna Padre Martini's school, then under the direction of Stanislao Mattei (pupil and successor of Martini): so this is the link of Donizetti (and Rossini!) to that world renowned composition school of Padre Martini (the teacher and father of all composers), that had among its pupils Mozart, J.C. Bach, Martines and many other great composers of that Era, such as Jommelli, Myslivecek, Sarti (teacher of Cherubini) and F. Gassmann. |
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Palm Beach Opera presents: Maestro David Stern on conducting a new opera |
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David Stern & Opera Fuoco present: Mozart, Don Giovanni, Finale Acte II with Atelier Lyrique d'Opera Fuoco Arte TV 2009 |
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David Stern & Opéra-Théâtre de l'Eurométropole de Metz present: Mozart, Idomeneo (1781) |
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Your favourite work by Mozart and your favourite work by J. Haydn. |
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There simply cannot be a favorite work of Mozart's because it would be disdainful
of every other work he composed!
Suffice to say that every time I conduct the coda to Nozze I feel like the countess' extraordinary forgiveness allows all of humanity to atone for one brief moment. I find that conducting Haydn is essential after having worked on Mozart. Where Mozart finds the perfect turn to a phrase, where he requires the interpreter to evoke the magic of the music without getting in the way, Haydn wants you to find your own voice in his music: it is music with infinite imagination and surprises! Again I would be hard pressed to find my favorite moment, but I would venture the slow movement of the C major violin concerto, which I grew up listening to my father play. |
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David Stern and France Musique present: the young singers Natalie Perez and Axelle Fanyo singing Mozart, Le Nozze di Figaro (1786) (extraits) at Le live de la matinale de France Musique |
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Isaac Stern plays: Haydn, Violin Concerto in C Major, Hob.VIIa:1: II. Adagio From YouTube Isaac Stern - Topic with auto commercial system. |
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Do you have in mind the name of some neglected composer of the 18th century you'd like to see re-evaluated? | |
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I must say that for me it remains Telemann (1681-1767)!
While hardly neglected, he is dreadfully underrated, even, or especially in Germany, where is considered a Vielschreiber. The imagination and natural lyricism of his writing is always inspiring, and I consider his Ino, Tag des Gerichts and Damon to be first rate works! |
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David Stern & Opéra de Magdebourg present: G.P. Telemann, Damon, 2016 (extrait) |
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Name a neglected piece of music of the 18th century you'd like to see performed in concert with more frequency. | |
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Berton's Nouvelle Chaconne (1727-1780) from Le Feu (1762/1773/1777;
see
the score at BNF), Rebel's Les Elements (1666-1747) (both with music dedicated to Fuoco/Fire)
and Idomenée
by Campra (1660-1744; Maître de Musique de la Chapelle du
Roi), which was the original model to Abate Varesco to develop Mozart's Idomeneo, in part Dantesque, libretto
(1781)! Sorry, I see a French bias, but I am living in Paris! ... And also Marianna Martines's Berenice, che fai?, which is featured on my CD Album! |
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Rebel's Les Elements, with the most famous modernistic first number dedicated to Chaos and the elements (and fire!). |
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Have you read a particular book on Mozart Era you consider important for the comprehension of the music of this period? | |
| Hildesheimer's Mozart. I often pick it up again to get his refreshing opinion, even if I don't always agree. | ||
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Name a movie or a documentary that can improve the comprehension of the music of this period. | |
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Tout les Matins du Monde (I know, a bit too early, but it is still a wonderful music), dedicated to the viol player and composer
Marin Marais (1656-1728), with Jordi Savall performing the music of the film...
... As a moment of self serving advertisement, I would add the documentary on YouTube which I made about the B minor Mass. If only for Andreas Scholl's commentary and the music in the most authentic J.S. Bach's environment (St. Thomas Kirche, Leipzig), it is worth watching! [On June 23, 2019 the Opera Fuoco orchestra and soloists, the Tölzer boys choir and guest soloists Andreas Scholl and Laurent Naouri, performed Johann Sebastian Bach's B-minor Mass under the direction of David Stern in the St Thomas church in Leipzig. For this performance, the configuration of the chorus in front of the orchestra closely follows the placement Bach regularly used for choral works with instrumental accompaniment during his years as Thomas Cantor, despite some modifications made to the organ loft in the 19th century.] Aparté Music presents David Stern's Documentary: J.S. Bach, Mass in B minor BWV 232 D. Stern, Opera Fuoco, Tölzer Knabenchor, A. Scholl, L. Naouri St Thomas Church - Leipzig Webinar on J.S. Bach, Mass in B minor BWV 232 This webinar will present a live discussion about the documentary with some of the participants in the project. Clemens Haudum is the musical director of the Tölzer Knabenchor, the boys’ choir featured in the performance. Countertenor Andreas Scholl, one of the world’s most renowned specialists of Baroque music, was a soloist in the concert. Wide-ranging conductor David Stern is the founder and director of Opera Fuoco, the Paris-based international opera company and young artist program dedicated to lyric repertoire from the mid- 18th century to the present. Christoph Wolff, Professor Emeritus of Musicology at Harvard University, is the foremost authority on the life and music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and was the director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig from 2001-2014. The discussion will be moderated by Susan Boynton, Professor of Musicology at Columbia University. |
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Tout les Matins du Monde, official Trailer |
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Do you think there's a special place to be visited that proved crucial to the evolution
of the 18th century
music? |
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Versailles of course, but even more authentically, the theater at Drottningholm: • Opera Theatre • The Drottningholm Royal Palace. I have done two productions there, and they will remain with me for life! _______________________________________________________________ VISIT VERSAILLES _______________________________________________________________ Versailles HOME Versailles THE PALACE Versailles TWITTER Versailles THE OFFICIAL YOUTUBE VIDEOS Versailles THE OFFICIAL YOUTUBE VIDEOS PLAYLISTS With more than 100 videos to discover and explore Versailles on YouTube & more than 22,000 Artworks available online on the Official Site. | ||
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| Thank you very much for having taken the time to answer our questions! | ||
| Thank you! | ||
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Discover Versailles by night! with A night at the Palace of Versailles! |
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