Private music lessons: José van Dam; Singer & Teacher

This film speaks of a time when opera was looking for new foundations. Vilified as the embodiment of bourgeois art in the 1970s and 1980s, caught in a spiral of luxurious productions which neglected its theatrical dimension, the genre had need of powerful personalities in those years in order to negotiate a turning point in its history. Singers like José Van Dam and Ruggero Raimondi, directors like Patrice Chéreau, conductors like Giuseppe Sinopoli and Pierre Boulez were to give it the boost it needed. It also required a renewal of its repertoire, fertile projects like the Opéra Bastille, ambitious administrators like Gérard Mortier in Brussels, to set out to conquer new audiences. An undisputed star, anointed by Herbert von Karajan with whom he appeared in and recorded several now legendary productions (Mozart, Debussy, Verdi, among others), sought after by the most eminent conductors, such as Sir Georg Solti, and the most prestigious opera houses, José Van Dam was a key figure in this revival of the operatic art. His simple and direct personality, without any of the defects which turn even the finest artists into glamorous figureheads, his professionalism and his outstanding voice have made him a Belgian national treasure and earned him a place among the greatest baritones of the twentieth century.

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