Audi 2008 Annual Report Download - page 55

51
Precision
to me means …
Frank Dreves,
Member of the
Board of Manage-
ment for Produc-
tion, AUDI AG
… more than just tight seams and small radii.
For me, it’s a motivating force that I passionately
promote and demand every day – from myself
and everyone else. It’s precision in large and
small objects alike. It’s the idea that every single
detail counts – always!
Precision is a fundamental value of the Audi
brand. It shapes the quality of our cars, their
precise handling and their inherent sportiness.
Precision is everything that customers experi-
ence with their senses; what they can see, hear,
feel and smell. By selecting premium materials
and working them to exact specifications, we
create that unique beauty that sets Audi apart.
Precision leaves no room for compromise. That’s
why we also pursue the same quality behind the
scenes – in our tool-making shop, in engine pro-
duction, body construction and in vehicle assem-
bly. Precision is an Audi principle that applies
from the very first design step all the way to the
final check of the finished vehicle. Production
at Audi actively contributes to precision in all
phases of product creation.
I’m never satisfied with past achievements. For
me, each individual production step and every
component on the car demands an even greater
level of precision. I never stop working on some-
thing until everything fits together precisely.
I see the same passion, the same sparkle in the
eyes of our employees. In line with our continu-
ous improvement process, they continue to ques-
tion the status quo in order to make things even
better. This is our very special strength – it’s
what Audi is all about.
cannot compete with Caruso’s enormous chest, which
Caruso could allegedly expand so that he was able to push
a grand piano several inches along the floor. He obviously
doesn’t resemble the stocky, bull-necked prototype tenor
of those days. This “tenore di grazia” with his elegant, flaw-
less voice seems predestined for the operas of Rossini and
Donizetti. He prefers to sing the roles in their original set-
tings; the smaller theaters for which operas were com-
posed. That’s where he believes his voice can be heard at
its best: “You can keep the voice very focused and don’t
have to push. But I also like singing regularly at the major
houses such as London’s Royal Opera or New York’s Metro-
politan Opera, which seats around 5,000 people.”
Basically, the preparation is all the same. “That’s also like
driving a car: You can drive the same car through a city, on
country roads and the highway or on a racetrack. It’s all
great.” He only uses a microphone for open-air concerts,
as do all singers.
Flórez’s breakthrough came in 1996 at the Rossini Festival
in Pesaro, Italy. The then 23-year-old had to fill in for a sick
colleague in “Matilde di Shabran.” With only a few days to
learn and rehearse the role, he was celebrated as a spec-
tacular new discovery. He’s had the audience captivated
and critics raving ever since. Though praised for his elegant
dramatics, his brilliant high notes and perfect phrasing,
people’s expectations are always growing. “I do feel the
pressure,” admits Flórez. “But it also forces me to be even
better. Each performance is like a test.”
Of course, he has to watch out for his health, but he isn’t
one of those singers who panic at the first sign of a draft.
Stages, however, are very dry and full of dust. Ever the con-
summate professional, during performance he drinks
“green tea, tea and more tea.” Regular vocal exercises, of-
ten without that difficult high C, keep his vocal apparatus
flexible and disciplined: “I still continue to record myself,
for study purposes,” says Flórez.
Even so, he sometimes feels like he is standing at the brink
of an abyss: “There are passages in “Matilde di Shabran”
that are rich in coloratura and very high notes. It’s like driv-
ing at 240 km/h. Everything must be very fast, very accu-
rate. You have to be 100 percent in the moment: You can’t
afford to be distracted for even one second.”
The opera journalist Teresa Pieschacón Raphael has been following
Flórez’s career ever since she first heard him sing live many years ago.
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Photos: Gideon Marshall, AUDI AG