Word: strehler
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...Strehler's directorial premise is so old-fashioned that it seems new. The most important thing he does for singers is to make sure they are placed where they can sing best. If the dramatic situation demands it, he will not flinch from asking Macbeth to sing lying down or Lady Macbeth to sleepwalk across a ledge. But he is never gratuitous about imposing feats of physical endurance. Says Francesco Sicilian!, La Scala's artistic consultant: "He never betrays his material in order to make an audience burst into applause at his daring." Strehler would go along with...
...course, not talking about bringing back the good old days when a Caruso would stride forward, plant his feet squarely behind the prompter's box and, as it were, deliver his aria in person. When Strehler puts a soprano at her ease, or when he positions a chorus so that it does not have to shuffle around the stage while performing, he does it with logic and a convincing illusion of action. At his best, he preserves and freshens the essence of an older work. Says he: "That point of contact between past and present is fleeting. Often...
...Strehler, 55, is one of Europe's best-known stage directors, a co-founder with Paolo Grassi of Milan's prestigious Piccolo Teatro. But, unlike his countrymen Franco Zeffirelli and the late Luchino Visconti, he has not yet worked in movies, and so is almost unknown in the U.S. A native of Trieste, he comes from a musical family; his mother played violin in a professional string quartet. "I grew up reading music," says Strehler. Since then he has hankered to be a conductor. "It's a pity that I'm not qualified to conduct...
...settled in Milan and, at 26, was invited by La Scala to stage La Traviata. Since then he has directed several operas there. Collaborating with Conductor Claudio Abbado has been satisfying, in part because both men thrive on lengthy discussion and painstaking rehearsal. Speaking of their Boccanegra production, Strehler comments: "Directing the opera is like writing an essay on it -an effort to unlock the essence...
...most of Strehler's career has been spent in the theater. When he was rehearsing Bertolt Brecht's The Three penny Opera at the Piccolo Teatro in 1955, the playwright showed up, hung around after opening night and finally handed Strehler a message typed on an envelope. It asked Strehler to be the artistic custodian of Brecht's works, not just in Italy but in all of Europe. Brecht died the next year, and Strehler has carried on. His timeless, yet utterly contemporary staging of The Life of Galileo is considered a classic, used as guidance even...