Jonathan Brandani / Reviews

It is under the very enlightened and enlightening direction of Jonathan Brandani, and in an "updated" and often stimulating staging by Francesco Micheli that this work is presented, which deserves to be rehabilitated. […] The exceptional musical direction of the young Tuscan conductor Jonathan Brandani underlines and makes clear how Mayr’s music is an exciting universe, much more refined and cultured than is generally believed [...]  Starting from the ouverture we immediately notice a rendering of great clarity, a limpidity of the sound and an enhancement of the singular instruments (especially woodwinds) which shows all the refinements of a score so rich that one wonders why it fell into oblivion. There is also a permanent concern to maintain a dramatic tension and to support the singers, without ever covering them, especially in a rather small space where it would be easy for the orchestra to show its strength: we can recognize the opera conductor of course, but also the symphonic conductor, concerned with colors, nuances and the theatrical rendering of the interpretation. Jonathan Brandani has chosen to start his career outside Europe and outside his country; he is at ease in an already wide repertoire without running the risk of being restrained in habits and routine [...]. But one can already feel a real energy and a very intellectually solid  interpretative maturity. It is really encouraging to hear once again the vitality of the Italian School of Conducting, a vitality currently unique in Western Europe, as the landscape for young talented conductors is poor, both in Germany and in France for example. With so many average conductors roaming the theaters, hearing such a quality in a young conductor is singularly heartening. So, remember this name, and rush to see him if an artistic director in France had the idea to invite him…

Jonathan Brandani’s conducting was the revelation of the evening: at the head of the Donizetti Opera Orchestra, he knew how to emphasize all the particularities of the score with an exciting direction, underlining some instrumental refinements perfectly rendered by the Donizetti Opera Orchestra.