Messages from Mo. Diego Matheuz (Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Principal Conductor) and David Kneuss (Stage Director)
A Message from Mo. Diego Matheuz
(Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Principal Conductor)
We will miss Seiji very much but he will always be present in us. One of the things he taught us was to always move forward and that is what we will do this time with much more responsibility. Seiji is watching us from above and guiding us. His spirit, his message, his way of being a musician and his love for art and young people will always be with us. That’s why this will be a special occasion for all of us and we will be infinitely happy to dedicate each of our performances to Seiji.
A Message from David Kneuss
(Stage Director)
Our production of COSI FAN TUTTE is dedicated to the memory and spirit of our great Maestro Seiji Ozawa. For all of us, as members of his Academy for more than 20 years, Seiji holds a very special place in our hearts. For me, especially, having begun my work with Seiji with the Boston Symphony in 1980, our collaboration has been a lifetime!
While we worked together for many years in Boston and at Tanglewood with the BSO, and in Japan, with the Hennessey Opera Series, our true collaboration began with the formation in 2000 of the Seiji Ozawa Ongaku Juku. Our purpose was to fulfill Seiji’s dream which was to create opera with young artists as performers, orchestra and chorus in an environment in which everyone could learn from and develop with each other.
In an environment where our focus was on the learning experience, we created at least 20 high quality productions. Seiji invited his trusted SKO members to participate as Sensei, to teach the student orchestra. We collected great opera artists, whose performances would teach by example, and professional experts in the opera world who would pass their knowledge to a new generation of talent.
As we approach the presentation of COSI, I am reminded of a fact from Seiji’s life: COSI was his first professional opera! Working in Salzburg as an assistant to the great Herbert von Karajan, Seiji was asked by Mo. Karajan to conduct the performances of COSI. The year was 1969 and when Seiji conducted those Salzburg performances, a new opera maestro was born, who was passionate and forever loyal to the world of opera and the place it deserved in our musical lives.