Beethoven’s only opera — Fidelio — is returning to the Walt Disney Concert Hall before going to Barcelona, Paris, and London. Leading the performances is Gustavo Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's longtime music and artistic director. The clock is ticking on Dudamel’s tenure. He leaves to conduct the New York Philharmonic in 2026.
Fidelio is a collaboration between LA Phil and Deaf West Theatre, and features both hearing and deaf performers to honor Beethoven, who spent a decade agonizing over the opera as he grappled with his own hearing loss.
Dudamel sees the opera as Beethoven’s complex masterwork and it embodies the connection between communities: “The opera is about freedom. It's about love. It's about justice. The values of his music represent the values of humanity.”
He says the show’s actors have brought a new dimension to Beethoven’s music, lauding their ability to transform the original sound. “Inspiring each other through the discovery of a language in an expression is, I think, one of the most valuable things of Fidelio. I have changed completely. I have conducted a lot of Beethoven’s music, the symphonies, the concerti. But Fidelio - and the Ninth Symphony - I think [it is] the most beautiful representation of human values through music, and it’s a life-changing experience.”
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Those values are reminiscent in other parts of Dudamel’s work, including the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA). The local group is based on Venezuela’s El Sistema, the country’s National System of Youth Orchestras and Choirs that provides free musical access. Dudamel posits that making music is about what people can learn and experience, including empathy and teamwork.
“It’s about that wonderful space of inspiration that you can give to the young generation, especially to children in poverty or in difficult situations. I think we don't listen. We scream a lot, but we don't sing. We don't create harmony. It’s a cacophony. And when you give the space to these young people to have that beauty — of course, they have to work hard, they need to have discipline — but at the end, is the joy of making beauty together.”
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Dudamel’s next chapter
Dudamel officially joined the LA Philharmonic in 2009 as its musical director. Now he sees this next chapter in New York as an evolution for himself and the Southern California institution.
He says this is a great time for new inspiration to elevate the orchestra: “There is time that you have to open the door for new ideas. … In this case, I'm going to New York because it's a new challenge. It’s a new chapter in my life, but of course, you never close your chapter with what is your family.”
Dudamel emphasizes that he sees Los Angeles as home. “I think I will be always present. It is my orchestra. And it will be my orchestra even if there’s another conductor taking over in the next years. It will be always a family. And I think you never leave home. … Maybe physically, you are not as present, but home is home. And I think Los Angeles, for me, is home.”
Recalling his first day in Downtown LA and at Walt Disney Music Hall, he says he didn’t understand the city. “Downtown was not the same downtown that is now. I remember coming here and having an orchestra with such a spirit. And I say, ‘Wow, is this a city here? Because I have passed three cities coming from the hotel to the hall.’ And I was like what is this? Then I came the second time, and I was learning more and connecting more with the community.”
He continues, “Then I came again for a longer time until I became music director. And when I came here, it was this beautiful, ‘Welcome Gustavo. Bienvenido Gustavo.’ That beautiful concert at the Hollywood Bowl. My God. I'm blessed. I feel so grateful to life, to God, of giving me the possibility to be part of this dream.”
As for picking his successor, that decision lies with the LA Philharmonic. However, Dudamel says the organization is inviting many candidates to the position, including those who haven't conducted the orchestra.
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