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.
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INDIA SQUADS
India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar
India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
THREE
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Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
'Operation Mincemeat'
Director: John Madden
Cast: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, Kelly Macdonald and Penelope Wilton
Rating: 4/5
Results:
6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) | US$175,000 2,410m | Winner: Bin Battuta, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer)
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Al Hayette, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m | Winner: Faatinah, Jim Crowley, David Hayes
8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m | Winner: Raven’s Corner, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m | Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Another Batt, Connor Beasley, George Scott
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
