We left at the interval...

Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, Wednesday March 15 2023 Conductor: François-Xavier Roth. Production: Olivier Py. Sets and Costumes: Pierre-André Weitz. Lighting: Bertrand Killy. Le Rossignol Le Rossignol: Sabine Devieilhe. Le Pêcheur / 1er émissaire japonais: Cyrille Dubois. La cuisinière: Chantal Santon Jeffery. Le chambellan: Laurent Naouri. Le bonze: Victor Sicard. 3e émissaire japonais: Rodolphe Briand. 2e émissaire japonais: Francesco Salvadori. Empereur de Chine: Jean-Sébastien Bou. La mort: Lucile Richardot. Les Mamelles de Tirésias Thérèse-Tirésias / La Cartomancienne: Sabine Devieilhe. Le Directeur de théâtre: Laurent Naouri. Le mari: Jean-Sébastien Bou. Le gendarme: Victor Sicard. Le Journaliste parisien / Monsieur Lacouf: Cyrille Dubois. Le Fils / Une grosse dame: Rodolphe Briand. Une dame élégante: Chantal Santon Jeffery. La Marchande de journaux: Lucile Richardot. Monsieur Presto: Francesco Salvadori. Les Siècles, Ensemble Aedes. Photo: Vincent Pontet, TCE ' Perfo...

Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, Friday February 9 2018 Conductor: Jérémie Rhorer. Production: Olivier Py. Sets and costumes: Pierre-André Weitz. Lighting: Bertrand Killy. Blanche de la Force: Patricia Petibon. Mère Marie de l’Incarnation: Sophie Koch. Madame Lidoine: Véronique Gens. Sœur Constance de Saint Denis: Sabine Devieilhe. Madame de Croissy: Anne Sofie von Otter.Le Chevalier de la Force: Stanislas de Barbeyrac. Le Marquis de la Force: Nicolas Cavallier. Mère Jeanne de l’Enfant Jésus: Sarah Jouffroy. Sœur Mathilde: Lucie Roche. Le Père confesseur du couvent: François Piolino. Le premier commissaire: Enguerrand de Hys. Le second commissaire, un officier: Arnaud Richard. Thierry, le médecin, le geôlier: Matthieu Lécroart. Orchestre National de France. Chœur du Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. Ensemble Aedes. Olivier Py’s staging of Dialogues des Carmélites has been seen in Paris before and played at La Monnaie in December, but this was my first chance to see it. It is ver...

ONP Garnier, Thursday December 10 2015 Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen. Production: Krzysztof Warlikowski. Sets and Costumes: Malgorzata Szczesniak. Lighting: Felice Ross. Video: Denis Guéguin. Duke Bluebeard: John Relyea. Judith: Ekaterina Gubanova. Elle: Barbara Hannigan. Lui: Claude Bardouil. Paris Opera Orchestra. Two preliminary thoughts: In the 80s, every opera house needed a flimsy silk curtain that could be whisked away in a flash as the music struck up, sometimes getting caught in the scenery and pulling it down. Later, they all had to stock a bombed-out concrete bunker, plenty of combat gear and a dozen black leather greatcoats. Last week (I've been away on business, which is why I'm writing this so late) it occurred to me that they can now probably chuck out their silk curtains and bunkers to make room for a set of large glass cases on wheels: every self-respecting new production uses some. There has been a great deal of heated hoo-ha over the past few weeks abo...

La Monnaie - Salle Malibran, Brussels, Sunday January 19 2014 Conductor: Roger Vignoles. Production: Ted Huffman. Sets and costumes: Samal Blak. Lighting: Marcus Doshi. Thérèse: Aoife Miskelly. Le mari: Timothy McDevitt. La marchande de journaux: Sarah Laulan. La grosse dame: Marie Cubaynes. Lacouf: Romain Pascal. Presto: Ronan Debois. La dame élégante: Julie Mossay. Le gendarme: Guillaume Paire. Le fils: Benjamin Alunni. Le journaliste: Samy Camps. Soprano du choeur: Caroline Jestaedt. Le directeur du théâtre: Mathieu Gardon. Piano: Roger Vignoles, Philippe Riga.  The tickets issued by La Monnaie were for January 18, not January 19 as stated, for "Matinee 2" subscriptions in the subscriptions brochure and, even today, on the website. I had duly bought train tickets for January 19, so I missed Les Mamelles and went to the Magritte Museum instead. That was a revelation. He's even worse than I thought, which is saying something.

Opéra Comique, Paris, Tuesday March 26 2013 Conductor: Pascal Rophé. Production: Ludovic Lagarde. Sets: Antoine Vasseur. Video: Lidwine Prolonge. Costumes: Fanny Brouste. Lighting: Sébastien Michaud. Contessa Susanna; Elle: Anna Caterina Antonacci. Conte Gil: Vittorio Prato. Sante: Bruno Danjoux. Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg. The double bill of Il segreto di Susanna and La Voix Humaine is a good example of the Opéra Comique’s interesting programming, making up for less interesting schedules at the ONP in recent seasons and the near abandon of opera - temporarily, perhaps - at the Châtelet. Of course I’d never had a chance to see the former. Less obviously, in over 30 years of opera in Paris I’d never even seen the quintessentially Parisian Poulenc. Inevitably, this being so, I had Denise Duval in my mind and ears. Poulenc Fortunately, Anna-Caterina Antonacci was completely different in almost every way: different yet perfect, bringing a role fairly firmly anchor...

Opéra Comique, Paris, Wednesday January 12 2011 Conductor: Ludovic Morlot. Production, sets and costumes: Macha Makeïeff. Lighting: Pascal Mérat. Choreography: Thomas Stache. Thérèse/La Cartomancienne: Hélène Guilmette. Le Mari: Ivan Ludlow. Le Directeur de théâtre/Le Gendarme: Werner Van Mechelen. Presto: Christophe Gay. Lacouf: Loïc Felix. Le Journaliste parisien: Thomas Morris. Le Fils: Marc Molomot. La Marchande de journaux: Jeannette Fischer. Actor: Robert Horn. Orchestra and Chorus of the Lyon Opera. Les Mamelles de Tirésias was, thanks to friends, the first opera I ever knew by heart. It introduced me to Apollinaire and taught me how to say “combine harvester” (and much more) in French. I continue to find it a more interesting work – words and music – by far than Dialogues des Carmélites . And those who dismiss it as a “bit of fluff” (it has happened) might read what Poulenc had to say about it: “I do believe I prefer this work to everything else I wrote… If people want to ...

Châtelet, 18 February 2005 Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder . Strauss: eight Lieder . Poulenc: La fraîcheur et le feu . Rachmaninov: six songs. With Jan Philip Schulze, piano. The conventions of a recital are bizarre. Soprano and pianist, in full evening drag, strut haughtily onstage, maintaining a stony silence and pretending the audience aren’t there. The audience, in perfectly ordinary mufti, shift stiffly in their seats as they pretend to enjoy 90 minutes of art song, coughing apoplectically between songs and clapping politely after each set. Only at the end, when tummies are singing for their supper and the scheduled programme is over, does the fun actually begin: the soprano lets down her hair, smiles and chats with the audience; the pianist breaks into a cheesy grin; the audience sink comfortably and expectantly into their seats, and the encores are wildly applauded. They, it seems, are what we really came for. Violeta Urmana made two tactical errors at the Châtelet last night. The Wes...

Opéra National de Paris – Bastille, November 13, 2004 Conductor: Kent Nagano. Production: Francesca Zambello. Le Marquis de la Force: Alain Vernhes. Blanche: Dawn Upshaw. Le Chevalier: Yann Beuron. L'Aumonier du Carmel: Michel Sénéchal. Madame de Croissy: Felicity Palmer. Madame Lidoine: Eva Maria Westbroek. Mère Marie: Anja Silja. Soeur Constance: Patricia Petibon. Orchestre and Chorus of the Opéra National de Paris. If this were Japan, the tenor Michel Sénéchal (Aumonier), now over 75, would long ago have been declared a living national treasure. It’s the custom, when he takes a bow, to give him an ovation for the mere fact that he’s still treading the boards and singing a few notes. So it’s a measure of the overall ill-humour of the Paris public at present (mentioned in my recent review of St François d’Assise ) that his showing in Poulenc’s Dialogues has been severely criticised and people have said it’s time for him to stop (I noted, yesterday evening, that he didn’t...