Soddy's conducting was an event the likes of which have not been experienced at this house in recent decades. After only a few minutes of the performance, the Brit firmly held the reigns, and the State Opera Orchestra, willingly allowed itself to be led and molded into a collective being that transformed itself from a beast to a force of nature to a great seductress, all within minutes. To experience Soddy and the State Opera Orchestra was like watching Lewis Hamilton pull away in his Formula-1-car, while at once experiencing Gustav Klimt painting in fast motion. Frenzy and subtlety, opulence and delicately shaped colors alternated in breathtaking succession.
Soddy - this genius was chief conductor at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt five years ago! - did not conduct melodies, harmonic sequences or rhythms, rather he illustrated moods, and did so in such an exact, sensitive and natural way as no other. In addition to a sovereign overview of the works and an all-encompassing knowledge of details, there was an ideal balance of heart and mind, of desire and control.
