Why Ticciati will be great for Glyndebourne

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Robin the boy wonder, as he was somewhat patronisingly dubbed during his prodigious rise to conducting stardom, will make a bracing Batman for Glyndebourne Festival Opera when he takes over from current music director Vladimir Jurowski in January 2014.

There's no doubt, I think, in anyone's mind down there in Sussex or indeed in the music world at large that he's the right man for the job. He learnt his craft with Glyndebourne on Tour (GOT) starting as assistant conductor on Mozart's Die Zauberflöte in 2004 and going on to be its music director from 2007-9 - an era culminating in a revival of Janáček's Jenůfa that was perhaps the best thing that Glyndebourne season, festival included. He's currently chief conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, another canny appointment. In the main festival, his Hänsel und Gretel was much admired last season - I caught up with it at the Proms and thought it glowed - though Stephen Walsh had less to say about Ticciati's work with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in this year's revival of Don Giovanni.

Singers love Ticciati because the beat is clear for them as well as for the orchestra and he knows exactly how to support them, how much to drive them, and how to make musical sense of dramatic choices (the stretched silences in the Jenůfa were one of the most amazing phenomenons I've witnessed in Janáček performances).I watched him with admiration during a Jenůfa study day we shared prior to the tour performances, found him wonderfully collegial with his cast of covers engaged in excerpts from the opera and very easy, if almost overly modest and self-questioning, in conversation.

The hierarchy at Glyndebourne could hardly be more strong or healthy. Jurowski was always going to be a difficult choice to follow, a dedicated and always well-prepared master equally convincing in Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Peter Eötvös. Ticciati is already acquiring that kind of breadth; and current GOT music director Jakob Hrůša, whose Don Giovanni in last year's festival was electrifying - admittedly he'd only just taken over from what must have been, in essence, Jurowski's interpretation - is already almost as impressive a figure. Ticciati returns next season to conduct Michael Grandage's new production of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. Expect bold outlines and, hopefully, a few rather more interesting repertoire choices than of late in coming Glyndebourne seasons. The only big question-mark is where Jurowski goes next.

Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne until 15 July. Read Stephen Walsh's review
Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Glyndebourne on Tour details on the company's website

Comments

Sounds like positive news, David, and you are clearly very enthusiastic about Ticciati. Let's hope it works out. I'm looking forward to seeing him under the microscope of a Strauss/Mahler/Brahms programme with the LSO in March 2012. I happen to think that Jurowski is one of the outstanding conducting talents in the 30-50 age group, and his concerts with the LPO are consistently excellent. So my real point of curiosity is the same as yours. 'The only big question-mark is where Jurowski goes next.' Would you care to attempt a little bit of speculation for us here?

Sorry, Hedgehog, I don't have reliable intelligence there. Of course the obvious step would be the Royal Opera after Pappano - hard to think of anyone else who could keep the morale there as high as great Tony seems to be doing at the moment. I can't see somewhere as problematic as the Met being VJ territory - he needs to have total trust in what he does from a not too big admin.

Many thanks for that, David. I must say that the ROH was also my first thought, given the imminence of Pappano's departure in 2013. Jurowski's Glyndebourne resignation now makes him 'officially available'. Also of significance is Jurowski's stated dislike of commuting between continents, especially as he still has a young family. Hence, I suppose, his reluctance to pick up the hotly-speculated (but dubious) Philadelphia dollar, leaving that to Nezet-Seguin, a move the latter might just come to regret, fine conductor though he is. I agree that Jurowski would be crazy to take on the Met. I am full of admiration for the way in which Jurowski is working so assiduously and intelligently on his career, in both concert and operatic repertoire, and especially in Europe and Russia. Let us also not forget that his real home is Berlin. I had read some speculation somewhere about the Staatsoper, but I can't see that happening any time soon, given Barenboim's grip on the capital. I'd also love to hear Jurowski with the Staatskapelle, in my opinion by far the best orchestra in Berlin.