“I had no choice but to leave the Paris Opera.”

On May 25, 2023, Gustavo Dudamel left his position as music director of the Paris Opera, just two years after beginning his term, which will last until 2027. It is a heavy blow to the Parisian opera establishment, whose world-famous conductor was a symbol of a cosmopolitan cultural policy.

Many questions remain in the face of the decision, which was surprising. That is why the 43-year-old Venezuelan maestro, who will be at the Paris Philharmonic on May 30 and 31, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, wanted to set the record straight by going back to the circumstances that led us to make this difficult decision.

Vague wording accompanied the press release announcing your resignation. “Personal reasons” were mentioned. What do you mean?

I got to a point where I didn’t have the financial time to process everything that was going on professionally and in my personal life. I was not happy, and deep down I believe that this is the main reason that explains the decision I made. The pandemic has changed things for me too, fueling a desire to do fewer things, but more intensely. At the end of endings, what are you left with? the family.

Why speak now?

I thought I was transparent in indicating that I wanted to be more present with my family. But my decision sparked a lot of speculation, with some pointing to mysterious and hidden reasons. Sometimes in life we ​​have to make decisions on our own that have repercussions for a large number of people. I understand that this is difficult to accept, but I don’t want anyone to think that it was just a whim and that I made this decision out of joy.

What role does the cancellation of the orchestra’s tour scheduled for the end of April 2023 – after a dispute between management and musicians over the issue of compensation for travel time – play in your decision?

If I told you it had no effect, I would be lying. Yes, this may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. I had great ambitions for the opera orchestra. My friends at the Barbican Centre, in London, or at Carnegie Hall, in New York, who were generous enough to give us a prestigious debut, were disappointed. We were also invited by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra for a ten-day residency to celebrate our relationship between the Olympic Cities.

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