Quo Vadis, Colón?

Mi anterior artículo, “El Calvario del Colón”, hacía una síntesis de situación abarcando los anuncios de la conferencia de prensa de Febrero de Mauricio Macri y Horacio Sanguinetti. El que ustedes leen ahora se denomina “Quo vadis Colón?” porque ése es el meollo del asunto: hacia dónde va el Colón. Y hay peligros muy grandes en la actual situación. Escribo esto el 28 de abril, fecha de cierre de Cantabile; para cuando usted la reciba ya pueden haber cambiado las cosas. Los dos temas esenciales son el estado edilicio del Teatro y la propuesta de autarquía. En Abril ocurrieron dos reuniones públicas que analizaron estos temas; una tuvo lugar en el Hotel Bauen y fue coordinada por el Comité de Defensa del Colón, cuyo portavoz es Oscar Castro; la otra se desarrolló en la Ciudad Cultural Konex y fue organizada por el Foro de Internet de Armando Ayache: una mesa redonda moderada por Fabián Persic. Hubo también buena cantidad de notas en los diarios, varias de ellas fuertemente críticas. Y reuniones en la Legislatura muy cuestionadoras. EL MASTER PLAN. Recordarán ustedes que Macri en Febrero había confirmado a Sonia Terreno y además había casi descartado cualquier investigación con respecto a errores o irregularidades. Poco después el Jefe de Gobierno decide cambiar la jurisdicción del Master Plan, que del Ministerio de Cultura pasa a depender del de Desarrollo Urbano, lo cual implica semanas de adecuación burocrática. Y tiempo más tarde se da de baja al Master Plan ante su paralización efectiva y continuada desfinanciación. Será reemplazado a partir de un anuncio de licitación publicado recientemente en los diarios: “Concurso Plan de Obras: presentación de antecedentes para la selección de la consultora que tendrá a su cargo el gerenciamiento de las obras incluidas en el Plan de Obras del Teatro Colón. Presentación de las ofertas: hasta las 16 hs. del 26 de Mayo en el Ministerio de Desarrollo Urbano”. Se le asigna un presupuesto de $ 6.201.836. Obviamente las nuevas obras tardarán unos meses en arrancar; se necesita además conocer la reformulación de las tareas y de la financiación. El Arquitecto Daniel Chaín, Ministro de Desarrollo Urbano, dijo en la Legislatura: “el 25 de mayo de 2010 es el absoluto máximo permitido, aunque proyectamos que todo esté concluido el 31 de diciembre de 2009”. Y agregó: “actuamos como mandantes, nosotros sólo aportamos la parte técnica para lograr la mejor obra, el resto depende de la Dirección General del Teatro Colón”. Por otra parte, un aspecto positivo: la Legislatura está escuchando a los técnicos del Colón, quienes aportan críticas para reencauzar los trabajos de manera positiva. Lo más importante será conjurar los peores problemas provocados por la anterior conducción: las partes inundadas, los boquetes, las acumulaciones de tierra. Y en lo ideológico, desistir del gigantesco montacargas que se pretende construir y que está ligado directamente a la idea de permitir el ingreso de contenedores importando producciones y por ende a la eliminación de los talleres del Colón. Si bien esto no ha sido explicitado taxativamente por el Gobierno, tampoco ha sido negado , son muchos los indicios que apuntan a ello y los técnicos del Colón lo han denunciado con frecuencia. Ni Macri ni Sanguinetti han confirmado que los talleres seguirán como en el pasado, y quien escribe pudo comprobar que el Director Ejecutivo Martín Boschet muestra los talleres de escenografía a artistas visitantes como futuras salas de ensayo. Otro asunto esencial será corregir la miopía del Master Plan, que no consideraba (pese a su teórico carácter integral) mejorar las salas de ensayo y las comodidades sanitarias para el personal artístico. LA AUTARQUÍA. No se aclaró quién ( o quiénes) es/son el/los autor/es del proyecto denominado “Ente Teatro Colón” y que fue enviado a la Legislatura, aunque tal como está escrito ha sido avalado explícitamente por Sanguinetti. Pero el texto fue objetado desde varias fuentes. Leandro Iglesias, el anterior Director General del Colón, envió a la Legislatura una versión modificada. Él y otros cuestionan la carencia de controles, la potestad excesiva asignada al Director General, que sólo puede ser modificada por el Jefe de Gobierno. También es poco satisfactorio que en cuanto a la financiación sólo se garantice el pago de sueldos, dejando librada la gestión a la suerte de la taquilla, los eventos y los mecenazgos. Y resulta preocupante que se pretenda desligar al Colón del cumplimiento de ciertas normas generales municipales, como la ley de compras y contrataciones o las leyes de empleo y de administración financiera. Los empleados protestaron la falta de garantías de los derechos laborales. Ciertos legisladores del PRO han admitido que el proyecto debe ser consensuado y es mejorable. La Presidente de la Comisión de Cultura de la Legislatura, Inés Urdapilleta (Frente para la Victoria), dijo: “lo prioritario hoy en el Colón no es la creación de un Ente autárquico, sino definir cómo se continuará con las obras”. El 8 de mayo se tratará el proyecto. Hasta aquí una extrema síntesis de los dos temas fundamentales, pero creo útil para el lector citar aspectos de los debates del Bauen y del Foro Ayache. Bauen sobre Master Plan, según un mail enviado por Castro al Foro de Ayache: a) “Las licitaciones no fueron correctamente formuladas ni aportaron los datos necesarios para las empresas postulantes. Los pliegos dejaban librado al criterio de los ganadores cuestiones fundamentales”. b) “Algunas de las obras iniciadas ponen en peligro la acústica del Colón y su estabilidad estructural”. c) “La responsabilidad de estos errores también compete a los organismos del Estado que aceptaron los proyectos sin realizar los análisis y los estudios adecuados”. d) “La guarda del patrimonio no ofrece las garantías necesarias”. e) ”Se ocultaron informes y se silenciaron e ignoraron las voces de los trabajadores del Colón cuando advertían sobre los errores”. f) “El mal manejo del presupuesto, la improvisación en los proyectos y el despilfarro de los fondos son las causas fundamentales de la desfinanciación. Sus responsables deben ser investigados”. Agrego que fue Telerman quien no envió los fondos en tiempo y forma durante 2006, y no descarto que Macri haya tenido responsabilidad a partir de la reunión con su rival después de la victoria en la que le pidió reducir el déficit de la ciudad. En cuanto a la Ley de Autarquía, entresaco algunos comentarios del debate del Bauen: a) “No especifica cuáles son o serán sus cuerpos artísticos estables ni sus talleres de producción”. b) “No existe división ni control de poderes en los niveles de máxima conducción”. c) “Nada dice sobre los concursos artísticos”. d) “Sus cuerpos artísticos y talleres de producción deben ser integralmente preservados y activados de inmediato”. Es interesante que los miembros de la Comisión de Defensa fueron recibidos con cordialidad por Sanguinetti, a quien le entregaron estas conclusiones: se verá si realmente el Director del Colón las tendrá en cuenta. En cuanto a la mesa redonda del Foro Ayache, Susana De Simone me envió un resumen en el que baso los siguientes párrafos. Diego Fischerman dijo que no se están especificando los objetivos del Colón, y que el Teatro no debería estar fuera de la esfera del Ministerio de Cultura. Además debería haber un organismo de control. También consideró que si el Colón se sujetara a las leyes del mercado no podría subsistir. Gustavo Otero envió por escrito sus objeciones: “el período del director general no debe coincidir con el del Jefe de Gobierno. La facultad de remoción (con causa) debería estar en manos de la Legislatura, no del Ejecutivo”. En estos días Sanguinetti está realizando un viaje a Europa y Estados Unidos con el objeto de establecer contactos con directores y agentes de teatros líricos. Más allá de las legítimas críticas que se pueden hacer a sus anunciados planes para 2009, 2010 y 2011, creo positivo que el Director del General haga contactos específicamente líricos. Ello ahuyenta el fantasma de un teatro alejado de su vocación y dedicado a negocios espurios, manejado con un criterio mercantil en vez del único aceptable en una entidad estatal, el de la inversión en cultura . Pero Sanguinetti le debe a la sociedad clarificaciones de fondo. Dio en su momento como motivo para no hacer temporada este año dos razones: que no le gusta el Coliseo y que debido a las intimaciones de jubilación realizadas por Telerman a personal que cumplió los 65 los cuerpos estables estaban incompletos. La primera argumentación es irresponsable porque el Coliseo es el único teatro con amplio foso orquestal y ese hecho lo convierte en opción obligada. La segunda es todavía peor; Macri pretendió en la conferencia de prensa de Febrero que no se admitirían más contratos , lo cual me pareció una instancia clara de incomprensión por parte del Jefe de Gobierno, pero la realidad pronto apareció: en un reciente concierto de la Orquesta Estable dirigida por Carlos Vieu aparece un listado de 19 contratados para integrar ese organismo. Como es mero sentido común, si una orquesta puede hacer un concierto con contratados, también puede hacer ópera; y así se derrumba la segunda “razón” dada por Sanguinetti. O sea que la temporada podía hacerse, y el motivo parece ser el que no se dice: gastar menos en un anio en donde habrá que reforzar el presupuesto para seguir con los trabajos en el edificio del Colón. Mal criterio de Macri, por cierto. Y aquí no termina el asunto: Sanguinetti anuncia una temporada para 2009 con títulos grandes. Habla vagamente de “escenarios alternativos”, ya que sigue rechazando la idea del Coliseo. Y llegan datos inverosímiles: la Rural? El Centro Municipal de Exposiciones? Hasta el Luna Park parece mejor... Como se ve, hay mucha incertidumbre en el horizonte. Entretanto, la débil programación (no merece llamarse temporada) de 2008 prosigue según plan. Quo Vadis, Colón?

Para Cantabile, Abril 08

The Colón's brilliant trajectory and harsh present

Readers of the HERALD were informed of the Colón's current situation in three articles I wrote: "The Colón in deep trouble"(Dec. 2, 2007), "The Colón's sad situation" (Feb.21, 2008) and "The Colón through 2011: a fragile planning" (March 4, 2008). Now the "season" is under way, if you can call it thus considering there's no big-scale opera : concerts by the Colón Orchestra and the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, routine ballet performances, chamber opera (Haydn's "Il Mondo della Luna"). Coming up, a series of multitudinous concerts of opera fragments celebrating the Colón's centenary. It's better than nothing, of course, but the closed Colón and the lack of an alternate opera season at the Coliseo are two wounds that don't heal.

But of course current miseries don't erase the immense history of Latin America's most important lyric theatre, and the purpose of these lines is to give an inkling of what it has meant to many generations of music lovers. On May 25, 1908, it was inaugurated with Verdi's "Aida" after a long 20-year period of construction. Three successive European architects had a decisive hand in the wonderful building. Francesco Tamburini was the creator of the original plans based on the best Italian tradition (we also owe him the admirable Rivera Indarte Theatre at Córdoba City, now renamed Libertador, and the amplification of the "Casa Rosada"). After his early death in 1892, his project was taken over by his collaborator Vittorio Meano (who planned our National Congress) with great technical and aesthetic capacity. Unfortunately, he was murdered in 1904, so the final stages were taken over by the Belgian architect Jules Dormal, who added Gallic touches to the ornamentation , with "Belle Epoque" influences. The result was an extraordinary theatre where its sheer beauty was complemented with admirable acoustics and vast capacity: really one of the numerous great buildings of those times that believed in a world-class Argentina.

Those were the times of the boat. There were no European Summer festivals, and Buenos Aires was the logical place for an important season during our winter. A whole company, including the orchestra, studied with their maestro during the more than two weeks of travel the operas included in the year's programme, and they were offered in close succession during about four months, great singers taking on a profusion of roles. By the time they finished their season here, they could go back to Italy , where operatic activity was starting after the summer recess.

During those early years, although the theatre belonged to the City, it was given in concession to an impresario, who ran the everyday activities and had to make ends meet. There were other opera theatres at the time, such as the Politeama, the Opera and the Coliseo, so there was a great opera tradition built over many decades of intense activity (including the old Teatro Colón, discontinued in 1888 and torn down ; the Banco Nación was built in the same place). Our city was no stranger to the great names of those times and it had welcomed in the last decades of the nineteenth century such artists as Enrico Tamberlick or Adelina Patti. During the first decade of the twentieth Arturo Toscanini led several seasons (1901, 1903, 1904, 1906) with such singers as Enrico Caruso, Giuseppe De Luca, Rosina Storchio, and premieres such as "Madama Butterfly", "The Damnation of Faust" (Berlioz) or Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur". At the Colón in 1912 he conducted 15 operas of the 17 of the season . Caruso, after visiting the city in 1899,1900 and 1901, would sing at the Colón in 1915 and 1917. Other great artists of that first decade: Giuseppe Borgatti, María Barrientos, Hariclée Darclée, Giuseppe Anselmi, Titta Ruffo; many would sing at the Colón. We also had such distinguished visitors as the composers Giacomo Puccini (1905) and Camille Saint-Saëns (1904).

In the first decade of the Colón, 1908-17, there were also symphonic concerts, the visit of the Compañía de Opera Espanola in 1910, strong rivalry with the Coliseo (that theatre pemiered Strauss' "Salome" and Wagner's "Parsifal") and the Opera (premiere of Wagner's "The Twilight of the Gods"), chamber music, such soloists as pianist Ignaz Paderewski, the debuts of great singers such as Lucrezia Bori, Nazareno De Angelis, Tito Schipa, Riccardo Stracciari, Rosa Raisa, Amelita Galli-Curci, Carlo Galeffi, Ninon Vallin, Marcel Journet, Giovanni Martinelli and Felia Litvinne, the enormous success of Serge Diaghilev's Ballet Company in 1913 (with Nijinsky and Karsavina), operatic conductors of the quality of Tullio Serafin (in the first of his nine seasons at the Colón) or Gino Marinuzzi, the premiere of Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier"(although in Italian) in 1915.

1918-27: The Sociedad Italiana de Conciertos under Ferruccio Cattelani presented many important premieres, such as Debussy's "La Mer". There were also premieres of operas by Argentine composers (Arturo Beruti, Constantino Gaito). Such players as pianists Artur Rubinstein, Wilhelm Backhaus and Edouard Risler. Singers of the prestige of Claudia Muzio (11 Colón seasons ) , Beniamino Gigli (8 seasons ), Miguel Fleta, Ezio Pinza, Alexander Kipnis, Friedrich Schorr, Ebe Stignani and Giacomo Lauri-Volpi. In 1920, the exceptional presentation of Richard Strauss conducting 16 concerts and premiering five of his tone poems, and Felix Weingartner presenting Beethoven's Choral Symphony. They would be back with no less than the Vienna Philharmonic in 1922 (Weingartner) and 1923 (Strauss), with the premiere of "Elektra". Weingartner also presented the first integral Wagner "Ring". A very great conductor, Arthur Nikisch, offered 15 concerts with the recently founded Asociación del Profesorado Orquestal (premieres of such fundamental scores as Brahms' First Symphony and Tchaikovsky's Sixth); Ernest Ansermet did valuable cycles premiering great modern works. In 1924 there was a season of Russian opera in that language, for the first time here. The great conductor Erich Kleiber started his long liaison with our city (13 seasons) and another prestigious maestro, Fritz Reiner, conducted five operas in his lone season here. An important premiere in 1926: Puccini's "Turandot". Institutionally, something very important happened: the creation of the Colón's Orchestra, Choir and Ballet, and the corps of technicians, represented the transition to a fully municipal theatre, although the concession to an impresario persisted until 1931. And something else: the foundation in 1925 of Radio Municipal , installed at the Colón with the specific purpose of broadcasting the theatre's productions.

1928-37: Two essential premieres in 1928: Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro"and Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring". 1929: first presentation of the most famous Argentine opera, Boero's "El Matrero". And Colón debut of our greatest conductor, Juan José Castro. The Russian company Opéra Privé , from Paris, offered five Russian operas, three of them premieres. Ottorino Respighi premiered his opera "La Campana Sommersa". Five years later he gave us "La Fiamma". 1930: Arthur Honegger conducted many of his scores. 1931: Ildebrando Pizzetti conducted his symphonic scores and was present at the premiere of his opera "Fra Gherardo", one of seven that have been staged at the Colón. Our city witnessed the operatic debut of the great conductor Otto Klemperer. Great singers came for the first time: Georges Thill, Lauritz Melchior, Lily Pons, Frida Leider. Michel Fokin presented his ballets. 1933: Another admirable German conductor, Fritz Busch, began his association with the Colón , prolonged in another eight seasons. He premiered Bach's St Matthew Passion and Strauss' "Arabella". Other important operas were offered for the first time here: Mozart's "Cosí fan tutte", Gluck's "Alceste". There were big zarzuela seasons under Moreno Torroba both in 1934 and 1935. The great violinist Fritz Kreisler gave his only concerts in Buenos Aires (1934). 1936: a fundamental visit: Igor Stravinsky conducted and played his works. Alexander Brailowsky gave a cycle of the complete Chopin piano music. He would visit us in many other seasons. Two brilliant players made their debut: Joseph Szigeti (violin) and Emanuel Feuermann (cello). And the great violinist Nathan Milstein came back in 1937. More talented singers: Tiana Lemnitz, Marjorie Lawrence. 1936: a new Russian season (conductor, Emil Cooper). A famous chamber group, the Kolisch Quartet, offered six recitals. Two important institutional news: the creation of all the necessary workshops for the production of opera and ballet made the Colón totally self-sufficient, and the School of Opera and Ballet was inaugurated (it will become eventually the High Institute of Art).

1938-47: Kleiber premiered Mozart's "The Abduction from the Seraglio" in 1938, with artists such as Koloman Von Pataky and Emanuel List. In other operas great singers made their local debuts: Elisabeth Rethberg, Rise Stevens and Herbert Janssen. A distinguished French conductor, Albert Wolff, started his long association with the Colón. And Serafin gave Buenos Aires its first taste of Monteverdi's "L'incoronazione di Poppea". Manuel de Falla came to live in Argentina and received the homage of a series of concerts in which he conducted some Spanish scores. 1939: seven recitals by violinist Mischa Elman. 1940: Toscanini made his comeback after several decades in memorable concerts (eight) with the NBC Orchestra. The marvelous violinist Jascha Heifetz gave eight recitals. And Villa-Lobos conducted many of his scores. 1941 and 1943: recitals by the famed violinist Yehudi Menuhin. 1941: Kleiber premieres Mozart's "The Magic Flute". Important new singers in those years: Zinka Milanov, Leonard Warren, Rose Bampton, Helen Traubel, Ferruccio Tagliavini, Set Svanholm, Astrid Varnay, Fedora Barbieri 1941 was also the year in which Balanchine presented some of his ballets. Other valuable players, Ginette Neveu and Henryk Szeryng (violin), William Kapell and Rudolf Firkusny (piano), were heard in our city for the first time in that period. The war naturally restricted some visits but didn't have as much effect as had been feared. Some Argentine singers started their notable careers: Angel Mattiello, Delia Rigal, Renato Cesari.

The end of the war meant reconstruction and gradual prosperity, and for Argentina, the era of the jet allowed artists to come here in less than a day, changing utterly the contractual conditions. In Europe before the war Summer festivals were few (Salzburg, Bayreuth, Verona) but they flourished as the years went by; Argentina was no longer necessary to keep artists occupied, but the country's richness and the well-acquired prestige of the Colón kept the flow of first-rate visitors alive. The Colón , now fully municipal, presented high-quality opera, ballet and concerts year after year.

1948-57: Up to 1953 the seasons were very good; the decline of the economy in 1954-55 took its toll. 1948 was a great year: Kirsten Flagstad sang Isolde and Brunnhild (in "The Twilight of the Gods"), Kleiber premiered Strauss' "Daphne", and the season had singers such as Hans Hotter, Anton Dermota, Ludwig Weber, Bampton, Svanholm. Apart from the comeback of Kleiber and Clemens Krauss, our city came to know great conductors : Wilhelm Furtwaengler and Victor De Sabata. Admirable pianists made their debuts here: Walter Gieseking (he would be back in 1949, 1950 and 1952), Nikita Magaloff, Ernst Von Dohnányi. 1949: eight concerts conducted by Herbert Von Karajan (his only visit) with the Colón Orchestra. Admirable debuts of pianists Arturo Benedetti-Michelangeli and Friedrich Gulda and violinist Isaac Stern. Premieres of important operas: Strauss' "Die Frau ohne Schatten", Gluck's "Iphigenia in Aulis", Roussel's "Padmavati". Debuts of great singers: Maria Callas (her only season here), Hilde Konetzni, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Hélene Bouvier, Mario Del Monaco. Karl Boehm took over the German season in 1950 and was at the helm also in the three following years. This was a great time for our theatre. We owe him fundamental premieres: Janácek's "Jenufa", Berg's "Wozzeck", Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle", Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde", Strauss' "Four Last Songs". Three other important condu ctors were known in 1950: Artur Rodzinski, Ferenc Fricsay (premiere of Orff's "Carmina Burana") and Malcolm Sargent (premiere of Vaughan Williams' Sixth Symphony). Carlos Chávez conducted several of his works. The Ballet of the Paris Opera, led by Serge Lifar, offered 15 performances, including "Phaedra" with Tamara Toumanova. Both in 1950 and 195l Tatiana Gsovsky presented with the Colón Ballet her choreographies of "Don Juan of Zarissa" (Egk), "Abraxas" (Egk), "Hamlet" (Blacher). In those years we heard such singers as Victoria de los Angeles, Renata Tebaldi, Carlo Bergonzi, Giuseppe Taddei, Maria Reining, Jerome Hines, Margarete Klose, Kurt Boehme, Christel Goltz, along with comebacks from Lemnitz and Dermota. . Martha Argerich played in 1951 Schumann's Concerto (she was eleven). Violinist Ruggiero Ricci (1951) and cellist Antonio Janigro (1953) were heard at the Colón. Two very different great dancers performed: Alicia Markova and Dore Hoyer (classic and modern). The admirable Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under Karl Muenchinger made its Colón debut in 1953. That same year the theatre premiered Menotti's "The Consul". In 1954 and 1955 our city heard two great violinists: David Oistrakh and Christian Ferras. But the most important thing in 1954 was the presence of Paul Hindemith conducting his scores with the Colón Orchestra. Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" was also offered for the first time here. Those were seasons where vast amounts of symphonic music were premiered. A teenager Bruno Gelber showed in 1955 and 1956 a precocious pianistic talent. 1955 brought us for the first time the enormous talent of soprano Birgit Nilsson (as Isolde); she would be back in another six seasons. Guenther Ramin with his Thomanerchor offered a transcendent account of Bach's St John Passion. 1956 : debut of the Budapest Quartet, probably the best of those years (in 1962 they offered the integral Beethoven quartets). Pianist Alfred Brendel was heard in 1956 and 1963, violinist Leonid Kogan in 1956 and 1979. Our great pianist Manuel Rego played in 1956 for the first time at the Colón. Prestigious voices were heard that year: Antonietta Stella, George London, Léopold Simoneau, Lisa Della Casa, Boris Christoff. Ferdinand Leitner was the conductor of the German season; he would be back in eight other seasons. Paul Klecki led several concerts with the National Symphony in the first of his six Buenos Aires visits. The city had that year the unusual experience of the Peking Opera; they would pay a return visit in 1980 with their utterly different brand of musical theatre. 1957: two world-class conductors performed at the Colón: Antal Dorati and Willem Van Otterloo. Other high points: guitarist Narciso Yepes, the Paganini Quartet, the Quintetto Chigiano, the Zimbler Sinfonietta, Aram Khachaturian conducting his works. But the dominant news of that year was bad: a conflict with the Colón Orchestra determined the cancellation of the opera season, for the first time in the history of our great theatre. However, it was partly compensated by the visit of the Milan Chamber Opera, offering no less than three premieres. From 1955 to 1960, unforgettable concerts of twentieth-century music by Juan José Castro and the National Symphony.

1958-67: The conflict settled, 1958 was a great year indelibly marked by the presence of the fabled conductor Thomas Beecham in five operas, particularly a memorable "Otello" with Ramón Vinay, Stella and Taddei and a lovely "Magic Flute" with Dermota, Walter Berry and Rita Streich. Other singers made their debuts: Gré Brouwenstijn, Flaviano Labó, Fernando Corena, Inge Borkh, Blanche Thebom. This was a year for conductors: the octogenarian Pierre Monteux led the Colón Orchestra in such works as Ravel's "Daphnis and Chloe", Ansermet and Hermann Scherchen did memorable concerts with the National Symphony, Sargent was back. And we had the visit of the New York Philharmonic with Dimitri Mitropoulos and Leonard Bernstein. Juan José Castro premiered his opera "La zapatera prodigiosa". 1959: another American orchestra came: the National Symphony (Washington) under Howard Mitchell (it would be back in 1980 and 1984 with Mstislav Rostropovich). Other illustrious visitors: the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Roger Wagner Chorale. Interesting premieres: Stravinsky's "The Rake's Progress", Schoenberg's "Erwartung", Dallapiccola's "Volo di notte" and Prokofiev's "The love for three oranges". These were years before the country club craze provoked the exile of many music lovers for the week-end, so in Saturdays we had the famous sessions of Conciertos Daniel and Conciertos Iriberri, which brought us so many great artists, such as the baritone Gérard Souzay. 1960: an 18-year-old Daniel Barenboim plays Brahms and Beethoven. Great singers make their debuts and will become favorites: Cornell MacNeil, Richard Tucker, Grace Hoffman, Martha Moedl, Anna Moffo, Eberhard Waechter. Conductors: Fernando Previtali and Peter Maag had successful debuts and also came back frequently. There was the memorable visit of the London Festival Ballet. 1961: debut of cellist Rostropovich, who would be a much appreciated visitor in years to come both as cellist and conductor. 1961-2 and 1967: pianist Hans Richter-Haaser offered admirable Beethoven. A very different but just as admirable a pianist was Alicia de Larrocha, a frequent visitor since 1961 and the best interpreter of the Spanish repertoire. 1962: the first of many trips to Buenos Aires by violinist Salvatore Accardo. The Bamberg Symphony under Joseph Keilberth came for the first time; it would visit us again with Witold Rowicki (a notable conductor heard before at the Colón), Horst Stein and (this year) Jonathan Nott, although at the Coliseo. New singers: Luis Alva, Sesto Bruscantini, Amy Shuard, Marga Hoeffgen. Premieres of Fauré's "Pénélope" with Régine Crespin and Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". 1963: premieres of Manuel de Falla's "La Atlántida" completed by Ernesto Halffter and Mozart's "Idomeneo" conducted by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt. Debut of such singers as Jon Vickers, Elisabeth Gruemmer, Waldemar Kmentt, Geraint Evans, Raina Kabaivanska, Franz Crass, and of the conductor Bruno Bartoletti, who would give his art here during eight seasons. First visit of the Philharmonia Orchestra under John Barbirolli. It came back in 1965 as New Philharmonia. Great chamber music from the Trio di Trieste. Rousing success of the Ballet of the XXth Century led by Maurice Béjart. 1964: world premiere of Ginastera's "Don Rodrigo" with Carlos Cossutta. Premieres of Dallapiccola's "Job", Busoni's "Turandot". Great singers new to the Colón: Christa Ludwig, Renata Scotto. Admirable Bach Mass from the famous Robert Shaw Chorale. First visit of I Musici , brought by the Mozarteum Argentino, an institution of steady growth. Contemporary music from conductor Bruno Maderna, and premiere of Schoenberg's "Gurre Lieder" led by Horst Stein. 1965: a world of Medieval and Renaissance Music is revealed by Noah Greenberg and his New York Pro Musica. Wonderful return of the Vienna Philharmonic led by Karl Boehm. Premiere of the two-act version of Berg's "Lulu". Great singers came to us for the first time: Montserrat Caballé, Gabriel Bacquier, Evelyn Lear, Ingrid Bjoner. 1966: transcendent visit of the Philadelphia Orchestra led by Eugene Ormandy. Great new players: trumpet player Maurice André, pianist Ralph Votapek; singers : Teresa Stich-Randall, Elena Suliotis, Renzo Casellato, Heather Harper. Premieres: Britten's "War Requiem", Elgar's "Dream of Gerontius". Presentation of the famous Zagreb Soloists under Antonio Janigro. Amigos de la Música, a marvelous institution responsible for a deep renovation of repertoire, and creator of the Bach Festivals with Karl Richter, presented an International Festival of Chamber Music with pianist Hephzibah Menuhin, cellist Maurice Gendron, our violinist Alberto Lysy and violist Ernst Wallfisch. They also presented the recital of the year: Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten in scores by the latter. Premiere of Debussy's "Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien" with Ludmila Tcherina. 1967: Instrumentalists of the first rank came for the first time: the Quartets Juilliard and Endres, flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, cellist Christine Walevska. Premiere of Pizzetti's "Murder in the Cathedral" conducted by Oliviero De Fabrittis, produced by Margarita Wallmann. A great interpretation of Wagner's "Ring" with such artists as Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, David Ward, Erwin Wohlfahrt, conductor Leitner, producer Roberto Oswald. Splendid singers made their debut: Alfredo Kraus, Teresa Berganza, Fiorenza Cossotto, Gwyneth Jones, Graziella Sciutti. Big stars of the dance had an impressive success: Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.

1968-72: you may be surprised that this block stops in 1972. The reason is that at the end of that year an ominous thing occurred: the German season was abruptly interrupted and the Colón closed when Mayor Saturnino Montero Ruiz ordered the architectural group of Mario Roberto Alvarez to finish perentorily the construction of the amplification of the theatre started four years earlier, adding thousands of square meters to the Colón's area . Their work was and is controversial and the Government never gave it a final OK. But, as had happened during the early years of the 1960s, this period is remembered as a Golden Age of the Colón, under the successive directorships of Architect Juan Pedro Montero and of Enzo Valenti Ferro: there were exceptions, but by far the greatest part of those years was of very high quality in every sense, a true model of what the Colón should be. Adequate financing and the right artistic aims combined in often ideal ways. 1968: excellent presentations of the Hallé Orchestra under Barbirolli, the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Raymond Leppard and the Quartetto Italiano. Premieres conducted by Vaclav Smetácek: Shostakovich's "Caterina Ismailova" and Janácek's "Katya Kabanova". Finally a Handel opera at the Colón: "Giulio Cesare" with Beverly Sills, Norman Treigle, Peter Schreier, conductor Julius Rudel. Three magnificent recitals of soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf were presented by Amigos de la Música. Other debuts: Grace Bumbry, Martina Arroyo, Hermann Prey, Robert Merrill, Sandor Konya, conductors Georges Pretre and Francesco Molinari-Pradelli (who did a lovely Wolf-Ferrari opera, "I quatro rusteghi"). 1969: important premieres: Mozart's "La clemenza di Tito", Busoni's "Doktor Faust", Cherubini's "Medea". Illustrious new singers: Leontyne Price, Piero Cappuccilli (both with Bergonzi and Cossotto in a marvelous Verdi "Trovatore"), Joan Sutherland, and Sena Jurinac as one of the best "Rosenkavalier" Marschallins (with no less than Ludwig and Berry, and the magisterial conducting of Erich Leinsdorf). 1970: debut of the Moscow Philharmonic conducted by Kyril Kondrashin, the Amadeus Quartet, the starry Trio Istomin-Stern-Rose, pianist Gyorgy Cziffra, violinist Uto Ughi, the Deller Trio. Premieres: Schoenberg's "Moses and Aaron", Cavalli's "L'Ormindo". Many premieres of contemporary symphonic music. Valuable ballets by Georges Skibine. New singers: Nicolai Gedda, Sherrill Milnes, Jaime Aragall, Gundula Janowitz, Tom Krause, Reri Grist. 1971: Extraordinary level in the concerts of the Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Bernard Haitink. Premiere of Handel's "Serse". Two great singers were new: Nicolai Ghiaurov and James King; and a most valuable conductor: Gianandrea Gavazzeni. A brilliant "Nutcracker" with Nureyev. 1972: new orchestras here: the French Radio Television Orchestra under Martinon and Constant, the Israel Philharmonic led by Zubin Mehta (it would be a frequent visitor later on). Premiere of Ginastera's "Bomarzo" (it had been prohibited in 1967). A fundamental debut: that of Plácido Domingo.

I stop here the detailed analysis of the Colón's seasons . In the remaining 35 years up to the present, there were two periods of considerable quality: a second directorship by Valenti Ferro, and Sergio Renán's first tenure, with great renovation of artists and productions and some memorable occasions. Otherwise, there were occasional felicities along with grave mistakes. The artistic aims went awry too many times. Some of them were disasters: the few months of xenophobia and anarchy in 1973-4 (director, Bruno Jacovella); the interruption of the season in 1987 (a few weeks after Pavarotti's debut in "La Boheme") with the ill-advised renovation of the stage (more than a year of closure) as pretext for the real reason, a deep state of unrest of the Colón's unions; and the strikes of three years ago that affected such important events as the Argerich Festival. And finally, of course, the sad conclusion of the Master Plan and the most acute crisis of the Colón's history: the one we are living through right now.

But there were some interesting premieres, and the seasons of great institutions like the Mozarteum, Harmonia, the Wagneriana and Festivales Musicales, bringing to us so many great artists, including a constant supply of valuable orchestras, certainly were memorable. Some will also recall with appreciation the renovation of repertoire (Senanes, Lombardero) or the good level of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic , especially in the years where Decker was an inspiring presence. We all have our favorite moments, and those readers that have had two or three decades of musical experience will have their own. Some will fondly remember orchestras such as the Cleveland or the Berlin Philharmonic, others will call forth some admirable recitals, still others will think of Van Dam as Simone Boccanegra, or the stimulus of getting to know Shostakovich's "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" conducted by Rostropovich. Yes, even with ups and downs, there were still many great Colón nights through the years.

Shall we have them again? There are two battles in the horizon: what will be the substitution of the Master Plan ? This depends on the outcome of a bid at the end of this month searching for a consulting outfit that will take over the management of what is now called a new "Works Plan". And what will be the outcome of the Autarchy Law sent to the Legislature? As it is formulated, it needs great changes to be acceptable. There will be a debate in June over its contents. Just a few final points to explain why I am worried, along with many other people. This project makes everything depend on a Director General with the sole control of the Government Chief; the fundamental department of purchases and supplies would remain outside the general city regulations; public financing would only cover salaries; the technicians' rights aren't assured; there will be ample opportunity for arbitrary behavior with no legislative intervention. There's a movement trying to stop this law and I hope it succeeds.

For Buenos Aires Herald

Italian opera dominates

Recent operatic activity has been strongly dominated by opera in Italian and composed by Italians. This is a Puccini year (150th anniversary of his birth), so it’s only natural that what is arguably his best work , “La Boheme”, should be staged. In fact the curious thing is the chosen venue: the Ciudad Cultural Konex, a converted factory. The small Teatro Roma (Avellaneda) billed its presentation of Bellini’s “Norma” as the “first complete performance of the original version”. And the Casa de la Opera, Adelaida Negri’s company, revived one of the less known Verdi operas, “I Masnadieri”, at the Avenida.
Horacio Pigozzi updated “La Boheme” and accepted the condition for his production: it uses the same scenery as the musical “Rent”, loosely based on it but with an AIDS-centered story. It worked in the first and fourth acts –the garret- but it was ludicrous in the second, the Café Momus, where the ambience was all wrong and there was no street, and in the third, where the illusion of a snowy morning outside a tavern wasn’t even suggested. And of course, if you take the libretto seriously –as I do- that third act happens at one of Paris’ barriers which existed in the 1840s between the city and the suburbs but were later eliminated: one good reason against updating, apart from historical references. I also disliked the Churba overalls that uniformly clad the crowd in the Momus scene, when thay are supposed to be citizens having fun in Christmas. (see picture)

Now to the good things. Pigozzi gave point and humor to the fooling around of the four Bohemians and the singers both sang and acted well. Tenor Carlos Duarte has a beautiful and powerful voice, although there were some fissures in the phrasing. Luis Gaeta was a perfect Marcello; my only cavil is that he looks too aged for the part, some makeup was in order. Both Walter Schwarz (Colline) and Fernando Grassi (Schaunard) were satisfactory, and Fernando’s father, Oscar Grassi, did the character parts of Benoit and Alcindoro with all the wisdom of long experience. Mariela Schemper was expressive as Mimí although she lacks some expansion in the high notes , and María Bugallo, a beautiful Musetta, was a touch too strident. Mario Perusso, an old hand at Puccini, was predictably good conducting a small (29 players) orchestra in the quite acceptable orchestral reduction of . The orchestra was located at extreme left on the stage, for there’s no pit. The choirs were correct enough. I was astonished at the acoustics of the venue, much better than I imagined.

“Norma” is indissolubly associated with the marvelous interpretation of Maria Callas, who gave us both superlative bel canto and enormous dramatic intensity. The Roma (Avellaneda) version tried for another approach, essentially lyrical, but I feel it goes against the grain of the piece. Anyway, this was only apparent in the title role, for Soledad de la Rosa sang very beautifully, with an immaculate register from top to bottom, but there was no inkling of drama in what she did, and for me there’s no Norma without powerful involvement. Juan Borja was precisely what the programme notes said he shouldn’t be as Pollione: a full voice of considerable volume and Verdian character; but he came to grief in the last scene, where his voice simply gave out. Cecilia Arola has a strange voice; she sounds like a rather harsh mezzosoprano but is capable of high soprano sounds and sings with true intonation, though she certainly isn’t the lyric soprano the programme claims Adalgisa should be. Marcos Nicastro was a capable and true Oroveso, Roxana Deviggiano a vibrato-ridden Clotilde and Gustavo Torella a good Flavio.
Sebatiano de Filippi is a well-oriented young conductor, with the right sense of phrasing, but the Orquesta Municipal de Avellaneda just won’t do; the intonation of the violins in particular is horrid most of the time. And the late arrival of a trumpet player forced the use of a deplorable organ in the First Part. The Choir was enthusiastic but faulty. The production by Alejandro Atías was terribly conventional and static.
“I Masnadieri” dates from 1847 , immediately after Verdi’a wonderful “Macbeth”. Based on Schiller’s “The Bandits” (“Die Rauber”) , Andrea Maffei produced a deplorable libretto full of absurdities, certainly far from the original. The composer isn’t always inspired, but there’s enough true Verdi to justify a revival every 30 years or so; and such was the case, for the opera, never seen at the Colón, was offered by the Argentino at the Coliseo in 1979 . The best thing in this revival was the very good work of the orchestra under Giorgio Paganini and the choir prepared by Ezequiel Fautario. The production by Eduardo Casullo was simple and direct, respecting the original ambience, and there were attractive costumes by Mariela Daga. The most interesting feature was the satellital images by Santiago Espeche, quite evocative.
Of the singers only Leopoldo López Linares as the baritone villain and Mario de Salvo as his imprisoned father were up to par. Adelaida Negri had as usual both a dramatic sense of phrasing and evident vocal limitations, and Eduardo Ayas has lost his timbre of yore; his singing now is effortful and arid. In the smaller parts Jorge Bellone (Rolla) was correct, Cristian de Marco dry as the pastor Moser and José Luis Galimidi rather poor as Arminio.

Para el Buenos Aires Herald

Our orchestras are playing well

Our compatriots have, along with a pessimistic strain, a particular resilience that allows them to fight adversity. Events in recent months and years have sorely tried our orchestras, but on the evidence of their current playing, they are reacting positively. I can't refer to the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, for due to a recent illness I haven't been able to attend their interesting cycle of three concerts conducted by young international talents, but last week I witnessed two valuable sessions: the National Symphony (Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional) offered the mighty Second Symphony ("Resurrection") by Mahler conducted by our true specialist, Pedro Calderón; and the Colón Orchestra (Orquesta Estable del Colón) gave a concert that featured Beethoven's Choral Fantasia with our great senior lady of the piano, Pía Sebastiani.

Calderón has long been a champion of Gustav Mahler and is certainly an admirable builder of sound. The conductor who tackles a symphony by this master needs two contradictory qualities: he must analyze painstakingly its complex structure and present it with clarity, but he also has to adapt to its enormous emotional contrasts and give us its everchanging moods, almost maniacally detailed in the score. In both counts Calderón is accomplished; now 75, he is in good physical shape and keeps tight control and concentration throughout. He knows the "Resurrection" inside out (I believe it's the third time he does it here) and is unerring in his choice of tempi. True, he has always played safe in the matter of pianissimi: he does them piano to prevent croaks from the winds, but on the other hand the sound comes out firm and satisfying, in always precise blocks. And the phrasing is expressive avoiding maudliness.

The Mahler Second has been a favorite of mine since I discovered it with the Vox Klemperer recording in 1951, and the years have only confirmed my love for it: as the composer wished, his symphony is a universe that goes from the initial funeral march to the glorious affirmation of resurrection of the last movement, with soprano, contralto and mixed choir.

The National Symphony has undergone a lot of frustration (and so has Calderón, its Principal Conductor) these last two years, as an obstinately unresponsive National Culture Secretariat led by José Nun has kept it paralyzed for months on end, but this year the clouds have lifted and it seems the organism will be able to carry out its artistic plans. Not all is well, of course: their venue this season will be the main hall of the UBA Law College (Facultad de Derecho), notoriously bad in its over-resonant acoustics (although even so I have fond memories of my teenager forays to the Radio Nacional Orchestra concerts of the fifties and sixties with eminent conductors). Concerts will be free because such is the age-old condition of that place, and not because of social reasons as we are told. The truth of the matter is that the house of the National Symphony for many years, the Auditorio de Belgrano, is off bounds because the Culture Secretariat either didn't pay its rental or cancelled the orchestra's concerts in recent years. And of course an orchestra that plays always for free is diminished in its projection. Add to it that there will be very few foreign guests , and not of the first rank, and also that programmes won't be as innovative as Calderón has accustomed us in other brilliant seasons, and you have what I hope is a transitional year to more important levels: better programming, a recuperated Auditorio and guest conductors and soloists according to the quality of our admirable National Symphony, so often mishandled by the Government.

Back to the "Resurrection". Apart from minimal fluffs, the orchestra played very well, with many excellent solos and great discipline. The Coro Polifónico Nacional under Roberto Luvini gave us fine singing, from pianissimo to fortissimo; there are many splendid voices . The weak point was Lucila Ramos Mané, the plummy contralto: her register sounded bruised and her histrionics didn't help in such an intimate song as "Urlicht". Cecilia Layseca's soprano isn't ideally creamy for her music, but she was expressive and accurate.

I recently wrote about a concert conducted by Carlos Vieu, the new Principal Conductor of the Colón Orchestra. Only last December the organism protested in the streets, led by their then conductor, Stefan Lano. Now they seem in good communication with Vieu, who is careful in spotlighting the soloists and the orchestral groups when the end-of-concert bows come. Vieu showed again that he is the best Argentine conductor of his generation with very well-considered readings of such standards as Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet" and Dvorák's "New World Symphony". He also gave fine support to Pía Sebastiani in Beethoven's Fantasy.

The lady is now 83, but this is only statistics: she doesn't show her age either in her radiant appearance or in her firm, orthodox playing. Minor blemishes counted for very little. In fact I got much pleasure from her traversal of this strange work that starts with a big piano introduction, follows with a theme with variations (the tune has a family resemblance with the famous one from the Finale of the Choral Symphony) and ends with five minutes of mixed choir with six vocal soloists. She gave the score solidity and substance . The Colón Choir (Salvatore Caputo) was good, the soloists less so.

For Buenos Aires Herald