A medley of skills
How a soap opera director amped up BSO’s streaming concerts
Habib Azar dreamed of a career composing and directing operas. But before Azar could get to work on “La bohème” or “Treemonisha,” he received a strange phone call.
“I’m 22 years old and I get this call from someone saying, ‘Hi, I’m the executive producer of “As the World Turns,” would you like to come and direct for us?’” Azar said with a laugh.
The young director had never seen the show. He grew up in a house without cable, didn’t own a TV and spent more time on Verdi than on soaps. But sometimes a great job offer is a great job offer.
Azar has spent the past two decades succeeding in two worlds. He has directed hundreds of hours of television helming “As the World Turns,” “The Young and the Restless” and “One Life to Live,” winning two Daytime Emmy Awards. He has also won four New York Emmys as a video producer and director for televised concerts of the All-Star Orchestra.
So when the pandemic brought concert seasons to a close and orchestras looked to go online, Azar had a unique skill set to offer — the Boston Symphony Orchestra plucked him up for its great BSO NOW virtual performances.
“People who put classical music on TV have never worked so much in their lives,” he said. “I usually direct between 10 and 20 (televised concerts) a year and I’ve got 10 between now and May 1. I have four days in a row where I am filming three different orchestras.”
Azar says a challenge has been producing great art on tiny budgets. Arts organizations are strapped for cash, but he says they need to commit to putting out a product that looks and sounds great. Thankfully, he only gushes when it comes to what the BSO team has put into its online offerings.
“It’s very rare to go into an orchestra setting where it feels like everyone is happy to be there and joyfully making music with each other,” he said.
“It’s low budget, but they have given me a lot of trust and flexibility. When we got to do Beethoven with Andris Nelsons, it was a lot of fun to dive deep into the conductor’s interpretation of it.”
The freedom Azar has been given allows him to bring more electricity to his BSO NOW work. He wants to tell stories and engage audiences in new ways during these virtual performances (he cites Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy performance from 2018 as an influence).
“A lot of people who come from a classical music-only background are a little slow and reverent and may miss the point of the spectacle,” he said. “One of the great things I’ve learned coming from a more commercial industry is the sense of event, this understanding that the story happening in Beethoven’s 7th or any piece of music is important.”
Azar knows the industry will shift again once the pandemic is over. But he hopes to continue to work with the BSO as the organization looks to make streaming a permanent part of its mission.
“There won’t be a weekly stream but it would be cool if Boston did a couple shows a year and I got to come and do them,” he said.