Stavanger Aftenblad features Christian Reif and Julia Bullock as they prepare for performance with Stavanger Symphony Orchestra
Christian Reif and Julia Bullock quarantine in Bjergsted prior to their performance with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra (Photo credit: Jon Ingemundsen)
Christian Reif will lead the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Barber, and Shostakovich
By Kine Hult
Stavanger Aftenbald
November 18, 2020
For ten days, singer Julia Bullock and conductor Christian Reif have been in quarantine in the small, white wooden house right by the playground in Bjergsted. It was necessary to be allowed to perform with SSO this week.
“We had packed to be away from home for ten days, but then it was a month”, says Julia Bullock and laughs out loud.
After a concert in London, the American soprano had actually planned to go home to Munich, where she lives with the conductor Christian Reif. But with an ever-changing infection picture and different restrictions in different countries, the two had to go straight to Stavanger for a ten-day quarantine before the concerts with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra on Thursday and Friday. It was spent in the small house from the 19th century that the orchestra rents in Bjergsted. There they have often experienced that children stand and kick on the windows when they get up in the morning, but it has been cozy.
“Fortunately, it is not as strict in Norway as in many other countries, so we have been allowed to go for a walk while we have been in quarantine. And when the quarantine was over, we went straight to shopping. I was with Julia to London, and had not brought my performance suit, since I thought we were going home before we went here,” says Reif.
In recent days, they have been allowed to meet other people, and have rehearsed with the orchestra. In their spare time, they have been thrilled by Old Stavanger and Fargegata. Even the corona test they had to take was a pleasure, because the clinician who tested them was so nice. Now both are looking forward to the concerts, which will be among Reif's first appearances since the corona eruption shut down cultural life in large parts of the world in March. The orchestra receives the label "wonderful" from both.
“The musicians are so warm and listening. They are very flexible and receptive to suggestions I make,” says Reif.
The program for the concerts is entitled "Young Power", and what will be performed are Tchaikovsky's "Romeo & Juliet - Ouverture Fantasy", Samuel Barber's "Knoxville Summer of 1915" and Shostakovich's "Symphony No. 1."
“The pieces are different, but the common denominator is a kind of youthfulness. Shostakovich was 21 years old when he wrote this symphony. One hears especially in the first two movements that it is filled with youthful energy. He played piano for silent films as a young man, and it is heard that he has taken inspiration from there. Barber's play is retrospective, looking back to when he was a child, while Romeo and Juliet is about a young couple and their tragedy,” says Reif.
“Barber's play has text by James Agee, in the summer before his father died. He expressed a great awareness that life is short, and that message I spend a lot of time communicating. It is especially relevant in the time we are in now. I think many people feel the isolation this situation has brought with them, and thought a little more about that we should prioritize the time we have on Earth with those we love,” Bullock says with a smile for her husband.
Reif agrees with this. The two look almost newly in love, even though they have been together for seven years. After meeting several times, in several different countries, Reif finally invited Bullock for a coffee in New York. It did not suit the busy singer, who had to rehearse. As a plaster on the wound, she invited him to the concert in Carnegie Hall, and in the evening they went out and danced. Reif ventured out with a kiss on the cheek before they each went their separate ways at night. His current wife laughs out loud today, that he did not even dare to kiss her properly.
Wanted to perform with two busy careers, they have not been as much together as other couples. Not until the corona came. Now they have not been apart for seven months, including the ten days they have lived in the small house in Bjergsted. Fortunately, it has gone well. But they have also felt the need to work with other musicians in the same room.
“Even though you can do a lot digitally, it is not the same. It has been a steep learning curve. I have done a number of concerts for empty halls, and it is a challenge when you do not get the energy from the audience. I am so grateful that we get to perform for people who are physically present again,” says Bullock.
Reif nods.
“Another challenge for us who have this as a job, is that an expectation arose early on that artists should deliver free content digitally when society closed. I have used the time to learn new things and to teach, but what I am really passionate about is conducting, “ says Reif.
Marketing manager Kristine Grude Nesvik in the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra says that they have had a significant drop-out of regular concertgoers this year, as a consequence of government restrictions and audience reluctance. Nesvik sees that skepticism among the public has increased from this spring to this autumn and that ticket sales are somewhat slower now than in August. She therefore believes that many follow the Prime Minister's advice and choose to stay at home.
After the restrictions were eased in June, there has been just under 80 percent occupancy at the concerts. Some concerts have been sold out, but mostly there has been spare capacity.
“We went from having 1200 in the hall to 0 in March, so when we were allowed to have 200, it was a real gift. From the summer onwards, we have experienced that the audience has been very faithful. Those who have a subscription, but who cannot come to the concert, can stream the concerts if they wish. We have about 150 who watch online every week,“ says Nesvik.
For the full article, click here.