You can’t fault Teodor Currentzis for his ambition. In an interview seven years ago, the 42-year-old Greek conductor stated his intentions as plainly as can be. “I am going to save classical music,” he claimed. “Give me five or 10 years.”
Now the artistic director and conductor at the Perm Opera House and Ballet Theatre in Perm, Russia, Currentzis hasn’t quite lived up to that grandiose billing in his career since, but the man is still definitely one to watch. Physically resembling a survivor from a 1990s indie rock band, Currentzis has an energetic, almost punkish attitude to classical music that makes his recordings crackle with energy.
His new album of Mozart’s opera Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), for example, is one of the freshest recordings of recent years. Full of musical invention, the piece can be an over-familiar, almost decorous affair in the wrong hands, but Currentzis really shakes it to life, and sets out performance rules that make Figaro sound more like an exquisite chamber piece than a full-blooded opera.
Could he really be the man who can live up to his own vow to make younger people interested in music they more likely associate with their grandparents? If he gets the chance – and he’s making his own chances pretty well so far – then the answer might be yes.
Currentzis isn’t the most obvious candidate to be the great future hope for classical music, at least not internationally. Born in Athens, his career as a conductor has taken place mostly in Russia, where he has developed a reputation for bad-mouthing contemporaries and quarrelling with the power broker of Russian classical music, the Mariinsky Theatre’s Valery Gergiev. After a spell at the opera house of the Siberian city of Novosibirsk – one of the world’s largest, despite its remote location – Currentzis has subsequently arrived in Perm, a persistently obscure city of about one million on the fringes of European Russia. Perm may have a very good reputation within Russia for music, but it’s still a rather far-flung location from which to launch a career. If the classical music world were like Game of Thrones, moving to Perm would be a bit like being sent to man The Wall.
Still, outsiders work best on the outside, and Currentzis seems to have brokered himself a pretty amazing deal in Perm that makes sense of his choice. He has handpicked his orchestra and shaped them, creating a devoted band who get so immersed in their work they not uncommonly sleep over at the theatre. He has also managed to secure a recording deal with Sony that allows him total creative control, as well as longer-than-usual rehearsal time – no mean feat in a period when recordings are sparse and reissues of classic recordings so cheap.
Currentzis’s recording of Le Nozze di Figaro is part of a deal with Sony to put out three Mozart operas. Sony’s enthusiasm may be because of the Perm Opera’s ability to keep costs low (this is speculation on my part) but there’s no doubt that, quality-wise, they’re getting a good bang for their buck. And despite the suggestions of an impossible character filtering through the press, Currentzis has been rewarded with real devotion from his collaborators, who return time and again.
This is all fine, but how does Currentzis’s approach translate into an actual sound? The conductor’s first major album release – a 2008 recording of Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas – proved something of a bombshell, a world away from the sometimes airless, historically informed perfectionism of some of his competitors. Some critics hated it, noting how rough and raw it sounded at the edges – there were even complaints that the instruments themselves sounded a little cheap. For others, however, this was part of Currentzis’s charm, of his tendency to favour energy and emotional intensity over glassy perfection. Personally, I absolutely loved the album, which was brisk, direct and freighted with an almost gothic intensity. If it were possible to have a dark alternative rock performance of a baroque opera – and let’s face it, it isn’t really – then Currentzis’s Dido and Aeneas would be it. It moved away from an obsession with authenticity towards a focus on bringing out the work’s dark passions.
Currentzis continues this emotionally direct, back-to-basics approach in his recording of Le Nozze di Figaro. Despite echoes of melancholy and violence rumbling through the libretto, the opera is a piece with exquisite, often rather sunny music. Currentzis strips away some of the gloss that this sweetness often encourages in conductors, creating something rhythmically urgent and punchy.
He has also chosen to return to instruments suitable to the time the opera was written. Granted, this approach has long been so common for baroque music that it’s now almost standard. For the classical period, however, the choice is far less automatic. Brilliant ensembles such as Britain’s authentic performance pioneers Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment have been changing this, encouraging others to cast off performance style derived from the later Romantic period. Currentzis’s choice of instruments still comes as a de-familiarising surprise. A lute and a hurdy-gurdy both turn up, while the string section sounds slightly thinner and more percussive, giving the piece a chamber-music feel that’s intimate and gutsy. More strikingly still, there is piano accompaniment throughout. For listeners used to a lusher sound, this might give the recording a whiff of the rehearsal room. For me, it makes the production sound more direct, less concerned with displaying virtuosity than keeping the action dynamic and alive.
Still, it’s obviously the singing that really matters in opera. Here the recording is as fresh as ever. Mozart has never suited the heavy dramatic voices you’d expect from, say, Wagner’s booming Rhine maidens, but the recording goes further than normal in encouraging its soloists – and female singers in particular – to really strip-away operatic vibrato to find something fleet and pure-sounding. The female singing, in particular, has a light, delicate feel to it, closer to the baroque chamber concert than the echoing spaces of the vast romantic opera house.
The German soprano Simone Kermes, playing the role of Rosina, is a particular revelation, definitely a name that will become better known. Even on her loudest, most protracted notes, Kermes allows herself just the lightest frill of vocal tremor. Her voice, nonetheless, has an emotional heft that pushes her singing beyond the merely pretty. In her key aria Dove Sono I Bei Momenti? (Where Are the Beautiful Moments?), she memorably dramatises her character’s regret – that of a woman whose once-adoring husband has abandoned her to shallow philandering – wondering exactly to where the magic of her earlier life has disappeared. It’s one of the opera’s ironies that this elegy to her life’s disappearing beauty is set to music that is itself of ravishing charm, as if the characters are unaware of their own voices. Kermes fills the aria with emotion without resorting to mannerism – even the song’s climax isn’t especially loud – an impressive task for someone whose voice is so pretty.
It’s too early to call the album a landmark recording – Currentzis isn’t the first conductor to order singers to trim off vibrato and put the wind up his string section. Still, there is definitely something exciting here. To make an analogy with film, it’s like a move away from lavishly produced costume drama – delightful, but distracted by its own decorative perfection – to an independent production: leaner, tougher and with a greater emotional punch. The conductor has already recorded his next instalment in his Mozart series – Così Fan Tutte – in January, and the drive on display here should do brilliantly to bring out the darker side of that musically charming, thematically embittered bauble of an opera. Currentzis may be out on the classical world’s fringes, but it seems to suit him very well.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
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Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
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