Patrick Summers
Slow-motion Earthquake
The purpose of this project is to provide a collection of transcriptions from the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. This project seeks to give a platform to all parts of the vocal performing arts to better understand the lived experiences and mentality of those professionals. In collecting stories from the COVID-19 pandemic Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director of Houston Grand Opera, discussed the activities that led to the closure of the arts world.
Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director of Houston Grand Opera
Interviewed July 14, 2020
TB: I like to start on a positive note, so what is the best thing that has happened to you in the last week?
PS: I came to visit my family in Indiana for almost two months. I haven't had this much time with my family since I was a teenager. That has been the one positive thing.
TB: Obviously, you have had a pretty long and prolific career as a conductor and an arts administrator. But what would you say is one of the proudest moments in your career so far?
PS: That is a tricky question. There is something quite halcyon about the opening night of Dead Man Walking in 2000. Jake [Heggie] and I were still so young, and someone gave us a huge chance. That night there was just something that came together that was bigger than the performance itself. That night stands out.
My proudest moments as a conductor have almost all involved Handel operas in various places. I didn't even really specialize in Handel because they were always rarities for me. But I have been very fortunate to have a lot of proud moments.
TB: Since you brought up Dead Man Walking, I have to say how sorry I am for the loss of Terrence McNally due to COVID-19. I am sure that you and he had been close from that show. Turning to the pandemic, could you describe where you were and how you first realized that you were going to be affected by the pandemic?
PS: We performed Aida and La Favorite in our winter season, which is from mid-January to mid-February. These vague reports of the virus were starting to emerge at that point, but they didn't seem quite real. So, the winter season closed, and I went to Los Angeles to see Roberto Devereux. While I was in Los Angeles, the news became progressively darker.
By late February, [the Houston Grand Opera] was making contingency plans to do concert performances of our spring repertoire—which now seems ridiculous—so that we could have one concert performance of The Magic Flute and Salome. We thought we would do those performances with a smaller audience, instead of the total productions of everything. March 9 was D-Day for us, the travel ban came, and artists couldn't fly, and that was the week that the spring season fell.
Following that, we—like all of our colleagues—had every expectation that the summer performances would go forward. At the time of the initial cancellation, no one thought of anything regarding the summer and especially 2021. It was a slow-motion earthquake. I can't tell you how many contingency plans I made for Houston Grand Opera. Every time I would make a plan and talk about it with my colleagues, the news got worse and worse. Finally, performers could not gather safely.
Now plans are obsolete within a day, and the whole industry continues to experience this. The news, as it has progressed, has never progressed positively. There has been a collective trauma because we are all raised in a "the show must go on" atmosphere. The arts exist to bring people together. So, when the only thing you can do for the well-being of people is to stay a part—that is devastating for everybody—but especially for artists. In fact, the financial devastation for freelance artists is incalculable. The pandemic is so much worse than anything I can think of that has happened to classical music. Besides wars, but even then, the devastation of war didn't stop art.
TB: The financial effect isn't limited to independent contractors, though they are bearing a burden. From the Houston Grand Opera website, it is no secret that this has had a financial impact and an impact on the 2021 season.
PS: Right, and it became clear that we could not safely bring artists together to rehearse, much less even thinking about the audience in the hall. We have, and continue to consult with, a COVID-19 Task Force panel of doctors that advise HGO on what activity we can do safely and how we do so. With their advice, we have put together a set of smaller alternative projects for 2021, but if the virus doesn't calm down in Houston, those plans may become obsolete. Because there is no national or state response—in the case of Texas—we are very dependent on the advice of our medical team and follow their advice vigorously.
TB: To clarify, yesterday, [July 13, 2020] there were over 9,000 new cases in Texas alone.
PS: Yes, it is horrifying.
TB: In your role as the artistic director—which you've talked about previously—you plan eight years in advance. The next four years are set and prepared; then, there are two years in the planning stages, followed by two years of hypothetical planning. Could you talk about how the pandemic has affected your planning situation?
PS: In terms of our mainstage, we currently have six cancelled productions. Of course, we have a great deal of operatic activity that is not mainstage opera. However, we will attempt to replace those cancelled productions in the repertoire of the next five seasons as quickly as we can if there are further cancellations though those plans will continue to be altered. There is only so much repertoire real estate that is available. The hope is that we will find creative ways to replace those shows we have been forced to cancel.
TB: So talk about your other work aside from HGO; how has the pandemic affected that?
PS: This weekend, I would have been finishing a run of Carmen at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and flying to Aspen, where Renée Fleming and I were to do our first season as co-directors of the Aspen Opera Theatre. Obviously, all of those activities were cancelled.
I am far less affected than a primary independent contractor. An enormous percentage of my income has disappeared, but not all of my income disappeared, unlike many independent contractors. I am not complaining about it, though. I feel quite fortunate.
TB: Aside from financially, how has the pandemic affected your creative side?
PS: I'm a writer, so I pour a lot of creative energy into writing. And when you suddenly have time at your disposal (which is the one thing that a writer never has), you produce a lot of writings, and I have used this time for a lot of creative writing. Some are opera, some are fiction, and some have been regular essays for our donors or board. But I use that time.
As a musician, I felt creatively shut down for a long time at the start of this. I did not feel like a musician anymore because I was used to making music with people but was suddenly alone. I found it very challenging to go to the piano and feel that it was worthwhile. But that has dissipated over time, and I plan on going over to the piano when I finish this conversation.
TB: So, what is one of the things that you're most grateful for in this pandemic?
PS: I've never had this much time to be grateful for the opportunities that I had. Gratitude is essential. I think that the need for art in the world will be greater than it has ever been, and the need for art doesn't stop just because the world changes. I'm grateful for that revelation because it is easy for artists to think that they are not essential and that art is not essential. That is clearly not the reality. Art is vital to every artist, whether or not every artist is essential to the art.
TB: How do you think this pandemic going to change the musical landscape in the future?
PS: Without question, there will be an enormous impact. Because of the unique nature of the health crisis and singing, I think we will be among the last of the arts to return. Also, we can't predict that we're going to be able to return unscathed by this. Many artists will seek a different career. It may take audiences a long time to feel comfortable returning to a crowded auditorium.
Artistically, I think opera may have to return to its roots, meaning small works in small places. That is how opera began as a child of empire, and that is how opera may have to restart. I view it as being very much like it is the 1600s again, and we are starting a new art.
TB: Perhaps you will be able to conduct more Handel repertoire.
PS: Oh, I hope so. I also think that contemporary composers have embraced that idea of scale so wonderfully that I believe and hope that audiences will hear more of the 230-some operas written in the 21st century now. They are of a scale that is performable, and they are extraordinary works of our time. That is what I mean precisely by opera returning to its roots.
I hope that this period of change will make our repertoire more contemporary because that is one of the only ways to address large-scale cultural issues. Because many—though not all—of these older works are racially and culturally insensitive. But if more of the repertoire is newer, there are fewer of those issues.
TB: That is one of the highlights of Houston Grand Opera: I have heard you speak about that, although it is grand opera, there is an emphasis on telling the stories of the community.
PS: Yes, absolutely, and for many years [there has been]. Opera began by telling ideologically rich stories. And though the characters weren't contemporary, the stories were. As a Houston-based opera company, we've taken that as a community imperative to reflect our city and to sing it back to them. That is very, very important work for us. It is as important as performing Don Giovanni. We know, as a live performing arts company, we have to aspire to be the best reflection of its city that it can be.
TB: What would you say is the hardest lesson you've learned so far in this pandemic?
PS: The hard lesson here is that the government has to exist to govern public health and listen to experts in public health. There are straightforward ways for the leadership of the government to cope with a pandemic like this. But the lack of response in the United States is taking a horrendous toll on our beloved industry. It is really a catastrophic price, and it didn't have to unfold like this. But the cultural war of governance has cost far more than people imagine, and that is a very difficult lesson.
TB: That is a difficult lesson. Turning to something that is a passion of yours, what advice would you give to those coming out of degrees and heading into the young artist world?
PS: Your creativity, pliability, and nimbleness as an artist are going to be needed more than any previous generation has ever needed them. By pliability, I mean creative pliability because you will figure this part out for the future. When innovative ideas come to you, don't let people say, "That's not the way we've ever done it." It is the worst possible response to give to a young artist.
Let them dream, create on their own, and create their own. I would say to those young artists, "Hang in there. We don't know how the business is going to look. But we know that the need for art is greater than it was pre-pandemic. We need you."
TB: What would your advice be to the musical community as they are going through this?
PS: I never feel qualified to give advice. Everyone has to make decisions that are right for their health and safety for them and their families. And don't gamble with your health.
But really, know that your value as an artist is still present in the world. We have to believe that a significant portion of what we've lost will return, so find a way to be there when that happens. If that means being in a different profession for a while so you can come back, then do that. But never stop being an artist.
TB: That is a critical reminder. Lastly, what is your video-binge recommendation?
PS: Recently, I rewatched the PBS documentary on African American History in the United States. Dr. [Henry Louis] Gates was the host and writer, and it is an extraordinary thing for all Americans to watch. Otherwise, I am not a big TV watcher. So, I have made a list of movies that I never had time to see because, in our careers, we don't often have time for film or TV.
TB: Thank you so much for spending the time speaking with me today. It has been a pleasure.
About Patrick Summers
Patrick Summers is the Artistic & Music Director of the Houston Grand Opera. Last season, he led the company through a successful pivot to online opera production with the HGO Digital Series. He was recently appointed as co-artistic director of Aspen Music School’s redesigned opera program, Aspen Opera Theater and VocalArts, alongside Renee Fleming, after years of appearing in concert with the Aspen Festival Orchestra and Aspen Philharmonic. Highlights of his 2020-21 season include an in-person production of Pagliacci with Palm Beach Opera, and an engagement with the Fort Worth Symphony. As part of HGO's Digital Season, Maestro Summers conducted Hansel and Gretel and a concert featuring Jeanine De Bique, as well as producing Vinkensport, Marian's Song, and several other works in a digital format.
A leading proponent for contemporary American opera and music generally, Maestro Summers has fostered and given more than twenty world premieres, collaborating with many of today's most prominent and performed composers, among them Carlisle Floyd, Christopher Theofanidis, and Philip Glass. Summers conducts a wide range of repertoire from Baroque to bel canto to German Romantic, and he has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Rome Opera, Welsh National Opera, Norwegian Opera, the Bregenz Festival, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Opéra National de Bordeaux, Opéra national du Rhin, and Opera Australia. Patrick Summers served as Principal Guest Conductor of the San Francisco Opera from 2009-2016.
