Word: gelmetti
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Despite being on a diet, the maestro is running late from lunch. Yesterday it was Lucio's fine dining in Paddington ("wonderful"); today something "very light. I am trying to lose weight," says Gianluigi Gelmetti, the reigning musical head of the Rome Opera and new chief conductor and artistic director of the Sydney Symphony. Finally he arrives at the Sydney Opera House in true Italian style, accompanied by a translator and publicist, among others. After a few minutes of tentative English, he warms up to his subject. "I think it's a very important moment," he says of the coming...
That was November, and three months later Gelmetti has arrived back in Sydney in high style. His diet, for one thing, seems to be working. Dressed in a priest-collared frock coat, he's looking trimmer - "piu magro," as he puts it. And his marketing department has been working overtime. Lining the streets of the CBD, in time for this week's Requiem at the Opera House, are banners welcoming Gelmetti to the city, with a portrait of the maestro looking as grave and august as a Roman emperor: All hail Gianluigi! When he first saw the street signs...
...conductor at the podium, Gelmetti, 58, is a master at eliciting strong emotions - from his musicians, who he'll admonish to play al dente when he wants short, crisp notes. And from his fans, who adore this mini-Pavarotti with an almost pantomime performance style. "Some people think that he milks it a bit, but he's got this great warmth as soon as he steps on stage," says former SSO artistic administrator Tim Calnin, who helped bring Gelmetti to Australia for the first time in 1993. "He waves and smiles at the audience like he's greeting friends...