Q & A: Artistic Director Arvo Volmer on His Role at The Estonian National Opera

By Alan Neilson
(Photo: Rasmus Jurkatam)

From the beginning, Arvo Volmer’s career has been closely tied with the Estonian National Opera, where he was appointed to his first professional post as its assistant conductor in 1985 and where he conducted his first opera, Händel’s “Alcina.” Since then, he has gone on to establish a successful international career, with a string of appointments, including the music directorships of The Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trentino and of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and has established a well-regarded reputation for his interpretation of music by German, Nordic and Russian composers. Yet, he has always maintained a close working relationship with his native country; from 1993 to 2001, he was the chief conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and is currently the artistic director of the Estonian National Opera.

On a recent trip to Tallinn to review the Estonian National Opera’s production of “Carmen,” OperaWire had the opportunity to interview Volmer, who also happened to be conducting the performance.

A quietly spoken and thoughtful individual, his responses to the questions often took unexpected and insightful turns that proved to be far more layered and interesting than one normally receives, and in doing so revealed a man of strong opinions immersed in his music.

OperaWire: How long have you been the artistic director at the Estonian National Opera?

Arvo Volmer: Since 2019. However, this is my second spell. I was also the artistic director from 2004 to 2012 as well. Over the years, I have obviously seen many changes to the organization and in its personnel, and I can honestly say that standards have improved, especially those of the musicians and singers, as they have done worldwide. Having said that, I would say there now is a lack of genuinely outstanding soloists. There are so many good, technically strong singers, but not necessarily with voices people would rush to see. It is a consequence of the pressures of the environment in which singers now operate, in which less time is spent on classical music education. Across the world, more conservatories are teaching jazz or pop singing, which is a response to the public’s demand for lighter musical genres from theatres, and less time is spent on classical education. Ironically, this has meant that the level of skills has become higher, but it has not given rise to outstanding talents that everyone is desperate to hear. Everybody is listening to everybody else, instead of reading the books about technique. It means they are very good up to a certain level.

Today, singers are very polished; they are secure and precise and don’t make many mistakes. This is what companies want, but at the same time, where do you find the outstanding singer? The problem is that they are not discovering things for themselves. You don’t get the likes of a Charlie Parker just through teaching; these guys emerge by figuring out things for themselves, such as how to use their instruments and develop their own individual technique. It is no different with classical musicians and singers. So, I have seen the overall standard improving, but at the same time it has not led to outstanding examples. It comes down to a balance between subjective and objective interpretation, and this balance is a continual state of movement; at the moment it has gone too far in one direction.

OW: What are you trying to achieve at the Estonian National Opera?

AV: I want the audience to take something from the opera, to take away a state of mind from each performance, and to connect with something emotionally important. We can explain many things verbally, but the most important qualities in music are very difficult to articulate. If we try, we risk it becoming a huge simplification. We have to transmit the meaning through the performance. It is something fundamental to the role of the performers and the creative process itself.

OW: How do you decide on the program for a season?

AV: There is a certain pattern that we have to follow, which, at least in part, has been set out by the state. We are a national opera, and our main task is to provide a diverse array of theatre, which, of course, means opera and ballet, but also lighter repertoire such as musicals, which do not really suit us as it demands different qualities from the performers. We also produce classical operettas, which are becoming increasingly irrelevant to audiences; it is not possible to do much with the libretti. We also like to produce works aimed at children. So, we do an opera followed by a ballet followed by another opera followed by a children’s piece, and so on. Maybe the following year it will be slightly different, but the general pattern will be the same. It is a restrictive format, but we are required to reach a wide audience. It is also how we generate money, which is fundamental to our existence. If we simply dropped lighter music, then we would have to expect lower ticket sales. If we took another, less balanced pathway, then the board may well ask us to look again at the schedule.

Each season we give around 55 performances of about 12 to 15 operas, of which four or five are new productions. If we include a co-production with another company, maybe we can do a sixth. From time to time, we bring in companies from outside to present a production, but this is not a regular occurrence; it is quite difficult to organize. Next year, we will be doing an exchange with the Lithuanian Opera.

Generally, the house has a tradition of being fairly conservative, putting on operas by the likes of Verdi. In fact, during the Soviet era, when artists were attached to a specific house, we built up a reputation for doing early Verdi operas. Now, I am happy to say we don’t do as many pieces by Verdi. This season we are doing his “Giovanna D’Arco,” which is notable for its bold harmonic writing and its melodic writing that is characteristic of the composer’s later works, although it is a mixed bag; the fioritura is in the style of Donizetti, and the choruses are very poor, possibly because they are for soldiers and Verdi wanted to provide them with a primitive quality.

OW: How far into the past do you go? Would you consider presenting a work by Monteverdi, for example?

AV: Actually, I have been playing with the idea of a Monteverdi opera, although, of course, I wouldn’t be conducting it myself. Early baroque, in particular, requires specialist musicians; the orchestra can play the work, but the continuo would need to be brought in. It is probably a project for another day, but it is something I am interested in doing. We do perform some operas by Händel, but basically our repertoire is post-baroque.

OW: Why are you keen on doing specific pieces for children?

AV: We provide a variety of good-quality children’s productions, including new works especially commissioned for children. However, I do not believe that simply by encouraging children to come to the opera that they are going to stick with it; I don’t believe that there exists a linear progression. However, I do believe that it is an experience that may stay with them, and that later on in life, they will feel comfortable in returning to the opera house. They will not be intimidated, as it is something that they have already experienced.

OW: Apart from pieces for children, do you commission new works?

AV: Every two or three years we commission a new opera. Next spring we will premiere a new serious opera called “Charon the Boatman.” This year we also have commissioned two new Estonian ballets with original music and choreography.

OW: In your role as a conductor, do you consider yourself to have any areas of speciality?

AV: I am a symphony orchestra conductor and an opera conductor. I go through periods when I’m conducting a lot of operas, and I miss conducting a symphony orchestra and vice versa. I think that I am an all-round conductor; my dramaturgical understanding of opera helps me shape the work I do with the symphony orchestra, and my work as a symphonic conductor gives me the ability to pull the form together in operas, rather than just letting the music float as it wants, without a general aim.

OW: Are there any specific composers that you are attracted to?

AV: Within the opera repertoire, one cannot help but admire the Mozart-da Ponte operas. They tower above his other works, which takes us on to the interesting subject of the libretto and their ability to ignite specific qualities in a composer.

It is also impossible for me to overlook the operas of Puccini. He was extremely successful as a composer. One of the biggest differences between Puccini and his contemporaries is his level of craftsmanship, the elaboration of the sound he could elicit from an orchestra, his skill in writing a score, and his imagination in his use of instruments and how to bring all these elements together.

As a composer of opera, his greatest contribution was to master the time; he knew exactly the dramaturgical speeds that should be used to maximize the effect. His scores represent the rational side of Italian culture and should be seen as coming from the same mould as Galileo and Italian mathematicians. Putting him into the category of romantic thinkers and composers is probably not correct, although he himself said that he was a sentimental man. Whether he said this because he meant it or because he wanted to create a reaction, however, I don’t know.

From a modern point of view, one would probably prefer a more limited form of expression than we find in Puccini’s work, but in those days, composers didn’t have the luxury of governmental or institutional support, and they had to make a living; his works had to be popular to succeed. Today, you get the impression from some composers that they don’t really mind whether their work is popular or not, providing that they are popular within their community.

We must, of course, remember that Puccini was also heavily dependent on the libretto. When he did not have a good libretto, he was not necessarily successful. He was also a very sincere man; that he did not finish “Turandot,” for example, was not due to his death. He had a year between stopping work on the score and his passing. I believe it was the fact that the libretto did not offer a reasonable way for him to proceed. After the suicide of Liù, there is no way for him to continue in an honest fashion.

OW: Tonight, you will be conducting “Carmen.” Is it an opera you enjoy?

AV: Running an opera house is like walking a tightrope. You have to balance your artistic desires with the practicalities of providing repertoire for a broad spectrum of audiences. With operas such as “Carmen” and “La Traviata,” which at the moment are two of the most popular operas in the world, people expect us to provide them at least from time to time. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the quality of Bizet’s music. His inventiveness surpasses that of Gounod for sure. And yes, I do enjoy it, although I can’t say it feeds the curiosity of my artistic nature.

OW: Has the stage director, Pierre-Emmanuel Rousseau, opted for a traditional production?

AV: It is a standard production. Pierre Emmanuel Rousseau has a view about Carmen’s fate, which she is very aware of and which is the driver behind her behavior; otherwise, it is a traditional reading. Whether or not the audience will understand it, I don’t know, but it is not set on the moon or anything like that.

OW: Can you relax when attending a musical concert or an opera?

AV: As a professional, I am never free from work where music is involved. It is very difficult for me to sit back and simply enjoy an opera or a concert. For that to happen, it has to be a piece that is completely outside of what I do. Then I can accept it for what it is; it is only then I can listen to it in a different way; otherwise, I end up analyzing everything.

OW: Do you enjoy watching operas with a non-traditional setting or a bizarre reading?

AV: These days it is so common for directors to switch the setting or create a strange transformation, that when I go to see an opera, which is not that often nowadays, and the director has decided on such an approach, I think “Oh no! not again.” Presenting a drama in a different context doesn’t necessarily mean it will be any better. By resetting it in the present day does not make it reality, or by having the actors wear jeans does not make the audience think that they are one of us. It is never a good idea to underestimate the audience. We see evil people depicted as Hitler or Stalin, and it is just so unnecessary; it is primitive. Evil is evil and comes in many shapes. People understand this.

OW: How do you think the ease with which people are able to access recordings of almost any work affects how we respond to live performances?

AV: The fact that we all consume a lot of recorded music has meant that the way we listen to music in a concert hall has changed. In a recording, the mics are so close to the instruments that the sound we think we are listening to is very different from what we hear in a concert hall or opera house. This is why we have to amplify the sound a little bit in live performances. It is not because we want to make it louder, but we need to change the color of the sound to meet expectations. We must remember that amplified sound and natural sound are not the same.

Also, many people, when attending a concert, bring with them an idea of the ‘right’ interpretation of a piece of music, which they then use to judge the performance. It is completely understandable. I remember that as a child, my grandmother would play recordings of Chopin’s etudes, and even today I find it very difficult to accept any interpretation that is different from them.

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