Front of House Young Artist of the Month

ADAM HICKOX Conductor

Congratulations on your Opera North debut! How does it feel conducting a professional company at such a young age? Thank you! I was so grateful to Opera North for the opportunity and it was the biggest privilege. Conducting Tosca, in particular, means that you are sustaining the highest possible pitch of intensity for over two and a half hours. To conduct something like that on minimal rehearsal is exhilarating and, to a certain extent, surreal. The first show in Leeds had a particular frisson which I will never forget.

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What is the greatest challenge you face when conducting opera, as opposed to orchestral works? Any conductor will tell you that opera is more difficult. There are many more elements to deal with, and you are engaging in a constant dance of leading and following. You need to have an intimate knowledge of the text and be comfortable with the language. You also need to be constantly aware of the needs of the singers and the necessities of the vocal line. Every musical decision you make will ideally have a dramatic impact on stage.

Who would you consider to be your biggest musical inspiration/influence? I’ve been lucky enough to assist a lot of great conductors – but I am particularly inspired by Martyn Brabbins who has been a mentor to me. I have a profound respect for him and what he has done for music in the UK as a whole. His performances at the St Endellion Festival have remained etched in my mind.

In terms of inspirations, I always return to Martha Argerich and Carlos Kleiber (even though I hate it when conductors try to imitate him!). Both make music with a combination of daring, fire and total freedom.

Is there a particular opera you dream of conducting? There are too many to name. If you ask me today, I’ll say Tristan und Isolde, Wozzeck and Salome. These are endlessly deep masterpieces which all deal with tonality in revolutionary ways. ON

NEW ALBUM!

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Musical Exploration of Dynamic, In-Between Identities Broken Branches

Th arti in-b his ist bet We

W Br the spli ro e g in

This musical exploration ties in with the artists’ personal experience of a dynamic, in-between identity, as they grew up in the

West having ethnic roots in the East. Broken Branches explores the wood of the guitar and its relatives, as well as the splintering of history known as diaspora.

Discover here: lnk.to/BrokenBranches

6 May 2023 OperaNow www.pentatonemusic.com

Distributed in the UK byy www.operanow.co.uk