José Luis Turina: "El mundo sinfónico está catatónico" / José Luis Turina: "The symphonic world is catatonic"

By Xavier Cester

Interview published in the newspaper Avui (Barcelona, September 30, 2000)


Tonight, the Liceu, in an off-season performance, premieres the first opera of its recent history: D.Q., with a libretto by Justo Navarro, staging by La Fura dels Baus, and music by José Luis Turina. The Madrid-born composer shares his impressions about this work of multiple parentage.

- Are you very nervous before the first performance?
- This is the most important moment of my career. Besides the nerves, there is a great responsibility after four years of work and the vast scope of a project that involves making a mark in a field as insular as the operatic repertoire. Having gone through the rehearsal phase, and given that there will be many performances, I don't think I will experience a sense of emptiness like the fallas, where a year's work burns in a single night. I'll end up tired, but not dissatisfied.

- Does it make sense to write an opera in the year 2000?
- It makes more sense than writing a symphonic score. We are on the brink of a significant expansion of opera, while the symphonic world is catatonic, with the insular perpetuation of the repertoire and the social aspects surrounding it. The cases of the Liceu and the Real show that people are interested in opera, and since opportunities to create new works are rare, they usually have a very high level. It is inadmissible to continue with nineteenth-century concepts, and we must embrace new technologies, as La Fura does. The repertoire must be updated scenically to give it a current meaning, as the music and text cannot be changed.

- The origins of D.Q. are different from those of a conventional opera.
- It is probably the first time in history that the proposal did not come from the musician, but from those responsible for the staging. I had been tempted by the genre for many years, but after a chamber opera that premiered in 1982, I realized that I still didn't control all the elements. For a few years, I studied the relationship between music and words until in 1996 I premiered La raya en el agua, a scenic-musical show. By then, I felt mature enough for the genre, and by a fortunate stroke of luck, a few weeks later, La Fura presented the project to me. They wanted to shift their aesthetic by entering the world of opera with a new work, not a repertoire piece, with the idea of offering a different reading of Don Quixote.

- How was the creative process?
- The librettist Justo Navarro was the last to join a well-coordinated team. Of course, there were creative tensions, but everyone knew that we should not interfere, but rather influence each other. The three-way meetings were very fruitful. Once the team was functioning well, we were lucky that the Liceu accepted the proposal.

- With the usual spectacular staging of La Fura dels Baus, aren't you afraid that the music might take a back seat?
- The staging and the text are dazzling, but I don't think my music will be overshadowed. I have made sure there is a lot of cohesion with the libretto, that it is understood at all times. I didn't want to create a scenic cantata or bel canto, but rather to adopt a contemporary sense of opera, where the theatrical aspect is also valid and the action is agile and comprehensible. Opera is an intersection of elements, all of which must be present. I can't conceive of a work where the music obliterates the text due to the composer's foolish egotism. If the text is magnificent, the listener must be able to enjoy it. The main creative challenge has been adapting to the pace of a team's creative work, but I have greatly enjoyed it.

- The perspective with which you approach the theme of Don Quixote is quite unique.
- We all agreed not to set well-known episodes to music, but rather to focus on how Cervantes narrated the story. Don Quixote is a parody, but also a psychological drama of a mediocre character who wants to become someone else, a mutant monster, according to Navarro, until the character ends up devouring him. Musically, the parody is reflected in many operatic quotations, from The Marriage of Figaro to Parsifal, due to its connection with the Liceu. As for the psychological aspect, the entire musical language is related to the degree of each scene’s connection with the concept of time: if time is significant, the language is tonal; if not, it is more contemporary. These two worlds are in conflict. Don Quixote is a being from another time, and the other characters hate him because they fear being infected by his temporality. Formally, the score alternates recitatives for the most agile action moments with more reflective arias and choral sections.

- Aren't you afraid of the audience's reaction, as they may not be very inclined towards contemporary music?
- As a spectacle, I'm sure it will reach everyone. As for the music, I think it might even appeal to the more reactionary sector of the audience.


PROFILE

Born in Madrid, José Luis Turina's musical education also took place in Barcelona. His teachers include notable names such as Antón García Abril, Rodolfo Halffter, Carmelo Bernaola, and the recently deceased Franco Donatoni, with whom he studied in Rome. His compositional career has been marked by several awards -including the National Music Prize from the Ministry for Education and Culture in 1996- and numerous official commissions and festivals worldwide. In parallel, his teaching career has taken him to conservatories in Cuenca and Madrid. Among his recent works is the Piano Concerto, premiered last January at the Canary Islands Festival.