Grauniad interview with Pappano

[Neil McGowan]

The Grauniad has an interview with Tony Pappano:

"So there is plenty of Angela, Bryn and Jonas," Pappano explains. "And having those three together was quite something. They ensure the production is absolutely full of beans. But there does seem a need for a front man for opera and classical music at the moment, so I present the programme and do most of the yapping. To have the chance to get people excited about something you are excited about is a huge opportunity. We keep talking about opera as if everybody knows all about it. But not everybody does, so I think it is part of my job to tell them. Tosca might be a highly compelling story that almost anyone will instantly enjoy, but if you have just a little more historical background, a little more knowledge of what Puccini was trying to achieve, then you really do get so much more out of it."
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[t-p]

Thanks Neil. It is very interesting article!!!!
Here we have an example of someone who didn't go to music school!!!

Despite his obvious facility, Pappano did not attend music school. "My father and I were very locked into this family teaching business. So whether it was guilt, or whether it was fear, leaving home wasn't right for me at that time." But he did take private lessons and studied composition. He acquired a taste for the theatre when an opera company was formed in Connecticut and he started to work for them as a rehearsal pianist and then choral master. And it was as a rehearsal pianist that he developed his professional career, first at the New York City Opera and then working at the Liceu in Barcelona, in Frankfurt and with the Chicago Lyric Opera. Then, after an audition with Daniel Barenboim, at age 26 Pappano moved to Bayreuth.

[Neil McGowan]

He is an extraordinarily gifted pianist, easily capable of making a solo career.  He's given a lot of song and Lieder recitals too.

Singers who have worked with him are passionately inspired by his ability to make music out of dots :)