Walter Attanasi has been receiving invitations by the most famous and prestigious theatres, opera houses or festivals to conduct symphonic and opera performances. He has collaborated with renowned institutions such as the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, the Opera in Rome, the Arena di Verona, the Teatro Comunale in Florence and many other world orchestras. In an interview for LP-Life, he shared with us how he prepares for a musical performance and which performance he remembers as the most difficult one.
You cooperate with opera houses all over Europe - Naples, Rome, Amsterdam. And the list continues... Is there a place that has grown close to your heart? Which do you like best?
It’s true that you need to be in shape for that. I swam a lot during the pandemic, I even had a brown belt in karate. So yes, we were doing something and it helped a lot. It may sound ridiculous, but working with your arms and breath is very beneficial.
I'm often more nervous about parking before the performance than from the performance itself. Of course, it is also thanks to my experience, one gets much calmer and enjoys every second.
Every city is completely different. I work with people, every culture is different. When I work here, the big advantage is that the music is at a really high niveau here.
I remember one, it was in Brazil. It was a huge opera with ballet, the whole package. I’ve been working almost two whole days nonstop, I even lost a lot of weight. But in the end, it was a success.
It must have been in Italy. I played for the Italian president, where there were ten thousand people and ten million were watching it on TV screens.
Experiences. Everyone knows the theory, but in practice, it's not quite the same. But the same could be said about any job...
We have yet to see if it’s the usual mode. Now I have another concert in Prague and then in Germany, so it's getting there.
How have you been coping with the pandemic? It's been a long time when you haven't been able to practise. Have you adapted to the online environment?