Gerard Mortier

Humanitas Visiting Professorship in Opera Studies (2012-2013)

The Humanitas Visiting Professorship in Opera Studies showcases the multi-faceted art of opera. Bringing in opera singers, directors, and conductors, the initiative explores the place of opera in today’s art and society.

The Visiting Professorship in Opera Studies is made possible by the generous support of Clore Duffield Foundation and is hosted by New College, Oxford.

Gerard Mortier was General Director of the Teatro Real de Madrid.

Mortier’s series throws light on the music festival as a reactor against social and political crises and a vehicle for cultural reconsideration of the arts. He speaks on how, in the decline of the Hapsburg Empire, the Salzburg festival emerged as a medium through which to explore existential truths as opposed to mere entertainment.

Mortier showed that the music festival is essentially a responsive domain. For, as society has entered into periods of flux throughout the centuries, likewise the music festival has sought to re-evaluate society’s relationship with the arts. This is reflected in festival programming, staging and location.

Bringing the historical journey right up to the present day, Mortier challenged the audience to consider what role the arts should play in this time of global economic crisis.