Conductor Robert Spano: Wagnerian challenge "a thrilling experience"

Opera always poses unique challenges for conductors, but Wagner's "Ring" presents the greatest test of all to anyone who would be the Ringmaster. The sheer size, scope and musical complexity of these four vast operas demands the ultimate in concentration, imagination and sheer stamina.

That's why conductor Robert Spano wasn't initially sure "The Ring" was for him. Spano is better known for his adventurous programming, his world premieres and his association with contemporary composers (such as Osvaldo Golijov). When Seattle Opera general director Speight Jenkins came to Spano four years ago with the invitation to conduct the 2005 "Ring," it was "a complete shock."

Spano, who had just made his Seattle Opera debut conducting "Billy Budd," says he was baffled that Jenkins had chosen him.

"It was a long time before I was able to answer," Spano remembers.

"I knew total immersion in the score would be necessary, and I had many other commitments. But after a few months of thinking, I decided I absolutely had to do it."

A no-nonsense American guy with the focus of an industrial laser, Spano wears casual T-shirts and sandals to rehearsals, and totes his "Ring" scores around in a wheeled carry-on bag. In an interview, he gives questions such total attention that you feel those eyes piercing straight into the brain of the questioner.

Is he happy he took on the Wagnerian challenge?

"This is a thrilling experience that is more than worth the investment in time and energy," says Spano, who cites working with "great singers" and director Stephen Wadsworth ("he's beyond genius") as the high points.

Formerly the music director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Spano now leads the Atlanta Symphony, where he's very happy with both the orchestra and the community. Typically modest, he says Atlanta was "the orchestra I wanted, and I was sure I wouldn't get it," after his experiences guest-conducting there. He cites the "amazing chorus" (a legacy of one of his predecessors, the great Robert Shaw) and the "wonderful people in the orchestra and also among my administrative colleagues" for the reason he's happily ensconced in that community.

Trained as a pianist, he also composes, and last year he performed his latest piano piece at Tanglewood. This milestone was particularly important to Spano: "It was a great feeling. I had ended a 10-year cycle of not writing, and I was very happy with the piece, which was a homage to Debussy and Ravel."

What's next for Spano?

"I like that I don't know what's next," he says.

Of course, in one sense he knows exactly what's next, with a big calendar full of important upcoming dates. Among those are trips to New York next February and March with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, appearing at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall within a three-week period. They will appear on Lincoln Center's Great Performers series with "The Passion of Osvaldo Golijov," a project showcasing the music of this young composer (including a performance of his "La Pasión Según Sa Marcos").

The following week, Spano returns to conduct the New York Philharmonic in a program that includes the world premiere of John Harbison's "Milosz Songs for Soprano and Orchestra" with soprano Dawn Upshaw. Less than two weeks later, on March 11, Spano takes the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus to Carnegie Hall, its second appearance there in two years, for a performance of the Verdi Requiem.

The Atlanta Symphony and Spano also will be in residence next year at California's Ojai Festival.

But in the meantime, Spano is happy to immerse himself in Wagner.

"I love the way he micromanages everything in his scores, because we have so much information about what he was thinking. Wagner was a rotten person, no question about it. But I'm not so sure we'd all enjoy having lunch with Beethoven, either!"

Melinda Bargreen: mbargreen@seattletimes.com