Madrid opera house boss hopes to attract more fans

The future director of Madrid's Teatro Real said Thursday he would work to make it one of the world's great opera houses and win more people over to the art.

"I aim to fascinate the public," said Gerard Mortier, 65, in his first meeting with the media since being appointed last week as the Teatro Real's artistic director from January 2010.

"One of the first things I've noticed about Madrid is that the opera house faces the royal palace and has its back to the city," he added. "I hope to keep the theater facing the palace but for it also to embrace the city and bring in the people."

The signing of Mortier, who runs the Paris Opera, is seen as a major coup for the opera house that has struggled for years to match the level of its competitors in other major cities. But the Belgian musician denied the Madrid theater was second division.

"No, I don't think so. The Teatro Real has enormous potential," said Mortier. "I hope we can make three or four house productions each year that they can be exported," he said. "We have to define the specific character of this theater."

He said the Teatro Real needed time because it has only been in its current form since 1997, when it reopened after nearly a decade of refurbishment.

The theater itself says it has big hopes.

Gregorio Maranon, president of the Teatro Real's management board, said Mortier's signing "stems from our search for excellence and our aim to improve every day and to occupy a prominent position among the leading international opera institutions."

Mortier will replace both artistic director Antonio Moral and musical director Jesus Lopez Cobos, whose contracts expire in 2010.

Mortier said it was too early to give details of his first program, but insisted 35 percent of the operas would be from the 20th century, although he would not forget the classics.

"This may sound like a cold shower to some people but it shouldn't be. My experience is that the public reacts effusively to modern opera. Twentieth-century opera helps us understand classical opera as well as modern music," he said.

He said he also hoped to attract more younger people to the opera and to emulate what he called the Paris Opera's feat of bringing down the average age of opera-goers from 58 to 42.

One of the world's most renowned opera directors, Mortier had been due to take over as general manager and artistic director of the New York City Opera next season. But he pulled out recently for financial reasons.

"New York was a very tough challenge for me. I worked there for two years, but in the end they decided to cut the budget by 40 percent and I knew that was it," he said.

Mortier said he planned to continue with his policy of working with several musical directors and not just one.

"I like to work a lot with groups of musical directors. I was criticized a lot for this in Paris but in the end people saw I was right. A variety of musical directors brings out the strength of the choir and orchestra."

He said he could not give details of possible signings because negotiations were still going on.

Much emphasis, he said, would be placed on strengthening the Madrid theater's choir, adding that for him singing was one of the most important aspects of opera and life.

"I love singing. It is what guides me in opera," said Mortier. "I experienced it with Fidelio in Paris and the final choruses. I firmly believe that through singing and art, the world can be changed," he said.

Madrid's position as a link to Latin America is another area he hopes to exploit. Mortier said he looked forward to working with Buenos Aires' Colon Theater in Argentina and the Bellas Artes in Mexico.

Mortier said he planned to travel around Spain for four months when he finishes in Paris next July, in order to meet performers and singers and get a better feel for the country.