We left at the interval...

Théâtre de l’Athénée-Louis Jouvet, Paris, Wednesday December 17, 2025 Conductor: Sammy El Ghadab. Production: Sol Espeche. Sets: Oria Puppo. Costumes: Sabine Schlemmer. Choreography: Aurélie Mouilhade, Karine Girard. Lighting: Simon Demeslay. Faust: Charles Mesrine. Marguerite: Anaïs Merlin. Méphisto: Mathilde Ortscheidt. Valentin: Philippe Brocard. Patrick Lepion: Maxime Le Gall. With: Céleste Lejeune, Camille Brault, Louise Pingeot, Lucile Komitès, Guillaume Beaudoin, Mathieu Septier, Max Latarjet, Célian d'Auvigny, Charles Fraisse. Orchestra: Les Frivolités Parisiennes. Photos (with slightly different cast): Marie Pétry Fewer than eighteen months separate Hervé’s Le petit Faust (1869) from Offenbach’s Robinson Crusoé (1867), which I saw and wrote about just two weeks ago . There are some parallels, in the gestation, between them. Both composers were out to impress: Offenbach needed a success at the Opéra Comique after the flop there, in 1860, of Barkouf ; Hervé sought to impre...

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Wednesday June 23 2021 Conductor: Christophe Grapperon. Production, sets, costumes: Pierre-André Weitz. Lighting: Bertrand Killy. Choreography: Ivanka Moizan. Dindonette: Laura Neumann. Fleur-de-Noblesse: Ingrid Perruche. La Marquise: Olivier Py. Éclosine: Sandrine Slutter. Mariette: Clémentine Bourgoin. Françoise: Sophie Calmel-Elcourt. La Sentinelle: Alma Villard. Alexandrivore: Damien Bigourdan. Géromé: Pierre Lebon. Le Bailli: Jean-Damien Barbin. Le Marquis: Flannan Obé. Ernest: David Ghilardi. Chavassus: Antoni Sykopoulos. Roussin: Sévag Tachdjian. Le Duc d’en Face: Pierre-André Weitz. Dancer: Julien Mercier. Châtelet Chorus. Orchestre Pasdeloup.  Of all the Palazzetto Bru Zane's 'restoration' projects, the one that's brought me the most pleasure has been their revival of Opéra Bouffe , especially the madcap works of the extraordinary Hervé. As Covid restrictions are lifted, Paris theatres are opening again, albeit not to full capac...

Théâtre Marigny, Paris, Wednesday June 12 2019 Conductor: Christophe Grapperon. Production, sets, costumes: Pierre-André Weitz. Denise de Flavigny, Mam’zelle Nitouche: Lara Neumann. Célestin, Floridor: Damien Bigourdan. La Supérieure, Corinne: Miss Knife. Le Vicomte Fernand de Champlâtreux: Samy Camps. Le Major, comte de Château-Gibus: Eddie Chignara. Loriot: Olivier Py. La Tourière, Sylvia: Sandrine Sutter. Le Directeur de théâtre: Antoine Philippot. Lydie: Clémentine Bourgoin. Gimblette: Ivanka Moizan. Gustave, officier: Pierre Lebon. Robert, officier: David Ghilardi. Les Frivolités Parisiennes. The vocation of the Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de Musique Romantique Française is the rediscovery and international promotion of the French musical heritage of the long nineteenth century (1780-1920). Its interests range from chamber music to the orchestral, sacred and operatic repertories, not forgetting the lighter genres characteristic of the ‘esprit français’ of the nineteenth cent...

Studio Marigny, Paris, Sunday January 20 2019 Production, sets, costumes: Lola Kirchner. Lighting: Cyril Monteil. Giraffier, Séraphin: Flannan Obé. Patachon, Fignolet: Raphaël Brémard. Piano: Christophe Manien. In case anyone doesn’t already know: The vocation of the Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de Musique Romantique Française is the rediscovery and international promotion of the French musical heritage of the long nineteenth century (1780-1920). Its interests range from chamber music to the orchestral, sacred and operatic repertories, not forgetting the lighter genres characteristic of the ‘esprit français’ of the nineteenth century (chanson, opéra-comique, operetta). The Centre was inaugurated in 2009 and has its headquarters in a Venetian palazzo dating from 1695 which was specially restored for this purpose. [From the Bru-Zane website] Over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed rediscovering some rare French operas through Bru Zane’s recordings, so I was glad to see they wer...