Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
Richard Buckley, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
Renowned American conductor Richard Buckley has been heralded by critics across the world for his dynamic contributions and passionate conducting style in both the orchestral and operatic genres. His extraordinary career includes performing with: Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Washington Opera, New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Baltimore Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Canadian Opera Company and L’Opéra de Montréal. He has enjoyed return engagements at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, L’Opéra National de Paris, Hamburg Statsoper, National Theatre of Mannheim, Teatro Colon, Royal Danish Opera, Royal Swedish Opera, Göteborg Opera, Norwegian National Opera, De Nederlandse Opera and Teatro San Carlo Lisbon, among many others. Mo. Buckley’s engaging interpretations have been heard with some of the world’s finest orchestras including: the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Chicago, St. Louis, Houston, Toronto, Utah and Seattle.
Maestro Buckley has toured with London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; conducted a gala with the Berlin Radio Symphony which was televised nationally and recorded for Koch-Schwann; and appeared with the BBC Philharmonic in the “Great Composers” series for BBC Television. He has also had guest appearances with the Prague Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Hallé Orchestra, L’Orchestre National de Lyon, Ulster Orchestra, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary Philharmonic. In addition to his many impressive guest conducting engagements, Mo. Buckley has served as the Principal Guest Conductor of the Seattle Symphony, Music Director of the Oakland Symphony, and Principal Conductor of Opera Cleveland.
Mo. Buckley was Artistic Director of Austin Lyric Opera from September 2003 until July 2007. He brought National attention to this company by spearheading a city wide Shostakovich Festival in 2006, bringing new works into the repertoire including Elektra and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and producing the American premiere of Glass’ Waiting for the Barbarians. He continues his work in Austin as Principal Conductor. Upcoming productions include Magic Flute, Lucia di Lammermoor, andTurandot with Austin Lyric Opera, Il Trittico with the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Gianni Schichi and Pagliacci with Cincinnati Opera, Fidelio with Utah Symphony and Opera, and Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci with Opera Ottawa.
Known for taking opera to a new level emotionally, Buckley continues to be a strong supporter of new works. He premiered Bright Sheng’s The Song of Manjun, Stephen Paulus’ The Woodlanders and The Woman at Otowi Crossing, and led the United States premiere of Aulis Sallinen’s The King Goes Forth to France. He conducted newly revised versions of Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra and Martin Levy’s Mourning Becomes Elektra as well as Ricky Ian Gordon’s Grapes of Wrath.
The Marriage of Figaro Program Note
Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro was not received well by the aristocracy when it was first performed in 1786. It is based on Beaumarchais’ play La folle journée, ou le mariage de Figaro, which was first performed in Paris in 1784. Making fun of a Count; having a servant outwit him; openly taking a stand against the class system in society; all played into the turmoil that eventually boiled up with the French Revolution. Viennese nobility, where Figaro premiered, did not like to see their positions made fun of and did not embrace the concept of equality among men or the classes. These ideas were considered personal threats.
Joseph II (Holy Roman Emperor) commissioned the work and knew that its message resonated with his own ideals regarding the modernization of society. Taking full power after the death of Maria Theresa in 1780, he secularized many things. He abolished serfdom, truly believed in the emancipation of all, increased education and pushed for German to be used in more official and religious circumstances. He was a prime force behind The Age of Enlightenment. Mozart’s musical language required the audience to listen intently. It seems strange today, but his music was thought to be controversial, and pushed the limits of their taste. Their resistance can be compared to similar discussions regarding the sound and style of “Contemporary Music” today.
This opera is the first of the three Mozart/Da Ponte libretto collaborations. Figaro was followed by Don Giovanni and then Così fan tutte. Mozart’s musical powers were at their height. But Da Ponte’s libretto combined with Mozart’s genius is what makes this piece “click”. The poetry and the flow of drama with the words make it one of the most important contributions to the repertoire. Mozart’s native tongue was German, so the fact that DaPonte wrote this in Italian makes it that much more astonishing because of the music’s natural linguistic flow.
Mozart wrote with a musical voice that celebrated life, love, one’s spirit, but often allowed him to laugh at what we do and who we are. Add to this musical essence the mastery of Beaumarchais, Da Ponte’s brilliance of language, and the result is a work that is charming, multi-dimensional, and timeless.
