¨Only the man who says half of what he intends allows me to graft my vision on to his: the man who invents characters whose story and origins come from no particular time, no particular palce: the man who does not depotically impose upon me a ¨scene which must be drawn¨, but allows me to be free from time to time to have more art than he and who allows me to complete his work. But let him not fear! I shall not puruse the falsehoods of lyric theatre, where the music insolently predominates, where poetry is relegated to the background, suffocated by a musical clothing which is too heavy...Each part must be painted in cameo, one must be content with grisaille...I long for poems which do not condemn me to perpetrate acts which are long and heavy. I need poems which give me mobile scenes, varied in both site and characterñ where the characters do not discuss but rather are compelled to undergo life and destiny¨.
This articulates, and imagine my joy at happening upon it, my thoughts on what I require from the operas I direct. As the day of the director lengthens this statement of artistic longing comes full circle. What I want are works of music and text that are similarly elastic to the poems Debussy desired. And, like his promise to the poet, I shall not puruse the falsehoods of lyric theatre. Truth to oneself is finally the only artistic truth, enigmatic and unmeasurable. The art, the music, the work is served by only Truth. It the Work (capitalization intentional) is honest the work is served.
Incidentally, you might be wondering why I don´t write more about Spain and Barcelona since I have just moved here. In all honesty it is as simple as this...I have yet to find affordable batteries for my camera and so much of this magical place can only be shared with images.
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