An intimate interview with Opera Tampa artistic director and conductor Daniel Lipton
We are hot and heavy in the thick of opera season at The Straz, with Romeo & Juliet and Cinderella (La Cenerentola) behind us and the grand dame Tosca in rehearsals for April performances. We are fortunate to be able to boast that one of the most respected men in the opera world serves as artistic director and conductor for Opera Tampa, our resident opera company. A true man of the world, Maestro Daniel Lipton shuttles around the globe wherever great opera can be found: Paris, Sydney, Milan, London . . . and, of course, Tampa. He has worked with such opera companies as the Zürich Opera, Deutsche Oper, Opera Ontario, Orquesta Sinfonica de Colombia, and received the international accolade of Conductor of the Year in Europe for two consecutive years.
Caught in the Act caught up with Maestro Lipton to talk about this season with Opera Tampa and what excites him about the form and the future for opera in the Tampa Bay region.
CITA: Will you give us some insight into opera from your point of view?
DL: My intention is to always present the highest quality possible, and with the success of last season, we knew we had an opportunity to keep growing. This year we are doing more with trying to bring the greatness of opera to everybody, from aficionados to newcomers. With everything going on in the world, everybody needs something positive in their lives. The magic and music of opera leads people to incredible emotions for the time they are with the performance. That magic operates on everyone—some people may negatively approach opera because they have never been to a live performance. On TV, it’s not the same. Opera is emotion. It’s never about something commonplace, not a “pass me the salt” art form. It reaches people deeply, and as someone becomes more familiar with an opera, it reaches deeper.
CITA: You’ve been around the world and seen so much opera—what’s off the charts and different out there and are you bringing that to Tampa?
DL: Every time I see something of a high level that’s not been produced in Tampa, I think ‘we should bring this to Tampa.’ It would be nice to organize something special with some of the soloists I’ve seen, bringing them to Tampa. Also, all over the world new composers are making new work, bringing new music to opera audiences. There’s contemporary music by some wonderful young composers, and that’s the future—new Americans and other composers doing new things in the opera field. It’s very exciting. Tampa is on the map. Our auditions this year—we had exceptional singers. We’re establishing a reputation, and famous people are asking to come and sing in Tampa. That’s also very good for us.
CITA: What are you most excited about with the season we’re in right now with Opera Tampa?
DL: Here I have such an opportunity to work with a great team, and we have everything going in such a positive direction with Opera Tampa. We are all on the same wavelength and have the same kind of passion. The team here is just terrific. You don’t find that in other opera houses. There is a certain openness, so each person feels important and each talent is appreciated on its own. That’s a tremendous gift—to work in the kind of atmosphere we have here. So, I’m always the most excited about getting to work together for these operas. To work with such positive people is wonderful, and, in our case, our orchestra loves opera and playing opera—they are marvelous players.