I'm Yves Abel, Principal Conductor of the San Diego Opera. I’ve conducted all over the globe, and even got to work with the great Leonard Bernstein while in training. AMA!

What are your favourite operas by living composers?

I love some of the premieres I’ve seen at the Metropolitan. Operas by Corigliano, Glass, Dun, Picker, Puts.

Where should I start if I want to get into classical music / operas?

How can one tell a good conducter from a bad?

I would check out the universal favorites. The pieces that make the list of most beloved works by the great composers. In opera, Puccini’s operas, Bizet’s Carmen, Mozart operas, Wagner, and Verdi are the big names.

For classical works, listen to Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, then to Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and lots of Baroque Music favorites like the Pachelbel Canon, Albinoni Adagio. Many pieces have been turned into rock versions, or used in the movies.

You're principal. How many other conductors do orchestras typically employ? And how much rehearsal time goes into a big production like this?

There’s only one Principal Conductor at the Opera in San Diego and at other organizations, though they go by different names- Chief Conductor, Music Director, etc.

We do have a Resident Conductor in San Diego. I’m in San Diego once or twice a year for an opera, and the Resident conductor usually does one opera. We also have guest conductors come.

Rehearsing opera takes time. Usually anywhere between 2-4 weeks before you start performing. In the German/Austrian system which is called a repertory system, meaning a different opera every night, they can have as little as 4 days to rehearse. But that makes for rocky performances sometimes!

What is the most difficult piece to conduct? And do you have any funny stories to share while you were conducting?

every piece is difficult to conduct. In their own way, they all have their difficulties. Our Gianna Schicchi is a really tricky ensemble opera that needs to fit in with the orchestra like a fast moving puzzle. But Suor Angelica has its own tricky bits, with the flexibility required to paint the character‘s emotions.

funny stories? Here’s one! I was just starting the overture to Gounod’s Faust at the Paris Opera when the lights totally went out in the pit. Much to my amazement, the orchestra just kept playing the 3" overture until they got to the end without seeing their music. It was astonishing (and scary). Turns out the electricians were going on strike (during the performance!)

Hello. Have you seen the movie Tár? The Cate Blanchett character claims to be a protege of Bernstein, to the point of referring to him as "Lenny" throughout. Assuming her character and actual age are the same, she would've been 21 when Bernstein died. At that elite level, does that seem plausible to have been his protege at that age?

It could be. Some people mature early. But the road is long in conducting. The skills needed are many and are a life’s process. Marin Alsop is largely believed to be the person behind Tar. She was a student with me at Tanglewood with Bernstein. But I believe she was 30 when she first met Lenny.

I really love to sing, but now that I'm in my middle age, I don't feel like there's a lot of great opportunities to sing in choirs etc with a super busy schedule. Any recommendations for keeping this part of my life alive and kicking? Maybe even online resources. Hoping to get my kids out to see an opera sometime in the next year with you guys!

Singing in a choir is one of the best gifts you can give your kids and yourself. Not only is the music enriching, but there’s a social aspect as well, like a team sport. I would recommend a voice teacher once a week If you are pressed for time.

Definitely bring your kids to the opera. I do with mine as young as 6. They won’t understand everything, but they’ll love the battle scenes! And the spectacle!

What do you think of conductors who go “scoreless”? I am biased by Birgit Nilsson’s opinions in her memoir that conductors who do this are showing off for no reason but vanity, but curious if there might be other reasons conductors do this

You are right that many (especially younger conductors) tend to conduct scoreless for reasons that are not entirely authentic. But there are others who literally have a photographic memory and it helps them to be even more immersed in the music. I personally only conduct from memory when I can live up to my own standards and be prepared to write out the pie e by hand knowing what everyone plays. In opera, it’s not recommended as anything can go wrong on stage and throw everything off!

What's your go-to soup recipe?

Minestrone!

Favorite modern day song?

I confess I don’t listen to much modern day songs. Learning an opera takes months and symphonies about the same, and they are endlessly more fascinating to me. Doesn’t mean there isn’t good pop music being written.

If you could only hear one instrument for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A trained human voice. No greater instrument!

If you could make an opera from any modern film, what would you choose?

Hitchcock’s North by Northwest! Lots of action and moments for arias!

Conductors are on Reddit now too?? Where are we going to complain about The Establishment now 😁 Just kidding! How do you find the differences between European and American opera houses, and how do you think we could have more opera performances outside large opera houses?

Yup, we’re here too now!

European houses are generally funded by their governments, so there are many more performances, much more wide ranging repertoire being performed (as they don’t worry whether a title is popular or not and will sell tickets). In America, there are fewer companies and fewer performances because of cost. Private funding is limited. The trend in the last few decades has been to present opera in many different venues. Warehouses, parking lots, small black box theaters, etc. there’s no end to people’s creativity when they are bit by the opera bug!

When you started learning music, what instrument did you learn and do you feel when you conduct that you find yourself listening for that group of instruments more after training with it?

I started by singing in a choir, then piano, then some violin. In general, conductors are trained to listen to all instruments for blend, balance, quality of tone. One has to know what you want to hear and with experience you learn how to ask for what you are looking for.

Good morning, I have always wondered what conductors do if someone who is to perform a solo has a some sort of issue with their instrument before the solo. Is there a backup soloist or a signal for someone else to take over? Are there spare instruments in case something goes wrong with an instrument during a performance?

Good question. At the big opera houses, there are always "cover singers" who are ready to take over if someone feels ill. It’s happened to me that we have had to fly someone in who knows the opera role, but not the staging. So you sometimes have the situation in which the singer is singing from the side of the stage and someone in the production acts the part on stage.

in symphony concerts, if a violin soloist breaks a string, it’s common for the concertmaster to hand over his violin to the performer.

Do you have any stories of something that went “wrong” on stage or in the pit that the audience didn’t even notice? Or any funny stories of mishaps in performances?

There have been instances of performers falling into the orchestra pit. It can be very dangerous to the musicians…

Sometimes, singers get off or skip a bar. What ensues is kind of cacophonous and pretty scary if you’re the conductor. Many people will notice though it usually doesn’t last long! I already told my story at the Paris opera of the electricians going on strike in the big ending of my overture to Faust. In the darkness, the orchestra just played on by memory. It was quite amazing!

Who are contemporary colleagues that inspire you? Who are some of your inspirations from the past?

I’m a big fan of Carlos Kleiber. Great conductors are many, Karajan, Toscanini, Bernstein, etc. still alive today are Mehta, Ozawa, Muti, Barenboim, but they are all in their 80’s now…

Do conductors play instruments in their spare time? If yes, what instruments do you play?

I always wanted to sing, but then after my voice changed, it was not to be. Either you have it or you don’t…so I shifted to piano. I love playing the piano. During Covid when we were completely unemployed, I drowned my sorrows into beautiful music by Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Chopin.

Are some instruments more vital in general to use when conducting music? Is there some kind of ranking of which ones are given the most attention or are they all rather considered equal?

The most important instruments in an orchestra are the stringed instruments. Violins, cellos, etc. They usually get the most to do and the nicest lines of music. But every instrument is important to the mix of colors and sounds

What changes in orchestras performance if they perform with or without conductor?

Even orchestras without conductor (like the Orpheus Orchestra in New York) have a leader who decides on tempo, phrasing, etc. the only difference being that the musicians have rehearsed and have to be hypersensitive to what is going on around them without a conductor. Not recommended for opera as a pit orchestra doesn’t hear as well being below the stage and then singers can be erratic at times, required a steady hand to pull it all back together!

What piece of media most accurately depicted the world of classical music? Is it really as bad as Tar made it out to be?

Classical music is no different than anything else in the world of humans. I haven’t seen the movie Tar, but I will as from what I understand it asks a lot of questions.

Movies tend to portray classical music in a way which is not very authentic, for commercial reasons. So I can’t really recommend any media as such. Best thing you can do is go to a live performance. Like our Puccini double bill here in San Diego!

I'm a professional orchestral musician, but I love conducting. I see stories of people just 'switching' because someone says to them they should try it. Do you think you could see anyone in your orchestra becoming a conductor just based on personality traits and musical talent? Or can you only become a conductor via a specialist training scheme/

Another question - I love playing Puccini, but the tempo changes seem ridiculous at times. How do you know when to rall and accel when it's not written in the score?

Anybody can become a conductor if they have had the discipline of playing an instrument and knowledge of styles and repertoire.
But then the physical aspect of how to sculpt music with your arms and hands is a gift not everyone can have, and then the mind, psychological/intrapersonal attributes, and frankly communication skills are not for everyone.

As for Puccini, I never think anything he ever wrote is not "organic". Knowledge of Italian and the voice is paramount as phrasing and rubato are all tied intimately to how one shapes the tempi, phrasing, rubato.

Do you shred it at karaoke? Have any favorite pop songs or artists? Any popular artists who you think would make great opera singers?

I love karaoke! My Japanese and Korean friends always take me to places for late night fun. We usually listen to the Beatles, or other "oldies" like that which I appreciate. They captured an era and you can really hear it in the music.

Will the mezzo doing Schicci be performing it "pants" (portraying a male character), or will the gender of the character be changed? Both seem like good and really cool choices to me!

Stephanie Blythe will perform it as a man. She has the low notes!

Why is your handwriting so pointy?

You mean my typing?

This is an odd request but I REALLY hope you can help...

I've been chasing a piece of music that I played in Junior High for years. I've posted it here, emailed it my local PBS station and ran it through online music identifiers with no luck.

This is me akwardly plunking out the intro... I'm not sure if it's in the right key but it's played by the violas and violins while the cellos and basses play an repeating one-note pulse.

Is there any chance at all that you know what piece of music this is?

Nope. Don’t know that piece…sorry…

Which pronunciation do you use for your first name, and do you say the S?

EE-V(s)

I-ve(s)

IY-V(s)

Like Adam and Eve. Yves is pronounced without an s at the end. Typical French to have silent letters at the end of words and names!

Have you seen Tár with Cate Blanchett? If so, how did it strike you?

I haven’t seen the movie yet. But I will.

Who is the most important person, who works with / for you? And why is their work important for what you do?

There are two music staff people most important in a production. Dialogue begins with the Resident Conductor months in advance to decide how many strings we’ll have in the pit, what backstage instruments are needed for effects, how many singers in the chorus. Once I arrive, the rehearsals are all done with a pianist who represents the orchestra. And once (after 2/3 weeks) the music and staging are synchronized, only then do we add the last piece, the orchestra.

Do you perform at Symphony Hall down town? Might be a dumb question but I live in Normal Heights, pass that building downtown all the time and wondered about the name.

We perform at the Civic Theatre!

Very cool! I know my girlfriend's been wanting to go. Where's the best place to get tickets?

Get your tickets at this link here: https://www.sdopera.org/shows/suor-schicchi-2022/ Have fun and hope to see you two at the show!

- SD Opera Staff

What do you think about emerging musical/medical instruments such as Gamma MOON: multisensory gamma stimulation through audio, visual, haptic and tactile feedback? Robots playing music?

Never heard of that…sorry…we use violins and oboes in our operas. But sounds amazing. Could that be the future? Thing is, classical music has survived for centuries. I don’t think it’s ready to be replaced by robots yet…

Have you visited Simon Rattle’s old haunt, Birmingham Symphony Hall? Fantastic acoustics.

That’s what I heard. I conducted that orchestra years ago in a recording with Susan Graham of French songs from the 20’s. That hall is wonderful. We should all be so lucky!

I enjoy music by later composers (Copeland, Holst, Grieg) more than by the traditional Beethoven, Mozart, etc... , but generally do not enjoy opera (sorry -- too much singing in foreign languages) Do you have any recommendations for other composers I should be listening to?

Try Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. The former’s symphony’s 5&6 are stunning. The latter’s piano concertos 2&3 are amazing. Then listen to Stravinsky Firebird, Debussy Prelude to an Afternoon of a Faun (a scandal in Paris when premiered).