We left at the interval...

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Tuesday May 27 2025 Conductor: Sora Elisabeth Lee. Production, sets and costumes: Pierre Lebon. Lighting: Bertrand Killy. Orchestre de Chambre de Paris. L’Arlésienne Balthazar: Eddie Chignara. L’Innocent: Pierre Lebon. Mitifio/Frédéri (dancer): Aurélien Bednarek. Rose/Vivette (dancer): Iris Florentiny. Soprano: Dima Bawab. Mezzo-soprano: Héloïse Mas. Tenor: Marc Mauillon. Baritone: Thomas Dolié. Le Docteur Miracle Laurette: Dima Bawab. Véronique: Héloïse Mas. Silvio: Marc Mauillon. Le podestat de Padoue: Thomas Dolié. L’assistant du Docteur Miracle (spoken role): Pierre Lebon. Photos: © Thomas Amouroux This production was scheduled as part of the ‘Festival Palazzetto Bru Zane Paris’, to mark the 150th anniversary of Bizet’s death. It brings together one late and one early work: the complete incidental music to Alphonse Daudet’s play L'Arlésienne (1872), and Le Docteur Miracle , an opéra bouffe composed for Offenbach’s Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens (185...

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...

Opéra Comique at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Thursday February 16 2017 Conductor: Laurent Campellone. Production: Thomas Jolly. Sets: Thibaut Fack. Costumes: Sylvette Dequest. Lighting: Antoine Travert, Philipe Berthomé. Fantasio: Marianne Crebassa. Le roi de Bavière: Franck Leguérinel. La princesse Elsbeth: Marie-Eve Munger. Le prince de Mantoue: Jean-Sébastien Bou. Marinoni: Loïc Félix. Flamel: Alix Le Saux. Spark: Philippe Estèphe. Facio: Enguerrand de Hys. Max: Kevin Amiel. Hartmann: Flannan Obé. Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Chœur Aedes. Offenbach Director Thomas Jolly is currently the French critics' coqueluche and can do no wrong. (If you look coqueluche up you'll find it means whooping-cough, but also, more or less, heath-throb, pin-up or idol.) His first opera was Eliogabalo at Garnier last September. I found myself in a small minority of curmudgeonly, Statler-and-Waldorf dissenters on that one. Fantasio is an improvement, but I still don...

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Saturday November 26 2016 Conductor: Gareth Valentine. Production and choreography: Stephen Mear. Sets and costumes: Peter McKintosh. Lighting: Chris Davey. Julian Marsh: Alexander Hanson. Dorothy Brock: Ria Jones. Peggy Sawyer: Monique Young. Billy Lawlor: Dan Burton. Maggie Jones: Jennie Dale. Bert Barry: Carl Sanderson. Ann Reilly: Emma Kate Nelson. Andy Lee: Stephane Anelli. Pat Denning: Matthew McKenna. Abner Dillon: Teddy Kempner. Phyllis Dale: Chantel Bellew. Lorraine Flemming: Charlie Allen. Diane Lorimer: Emily Goodenough. Ethel: Jessica Keable. Oscar: Barnaby Thompson. Mac, Doctor, Thug 1: Scott Emerson. Châtelet Orchestra. Ruby Keeler in 1933 The Châtelet’s “Christmas” show and director Jean-Luc Choplin’s parting shot before he quits the job and the house shuts for renovation, is 42nd Street . For those who don’t know it, 42nd Street is an unashamedly escapist patchwork of numbers from various depression-era film musicals involving chore...

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Thursday February 4 2016 Conductor: David Charles Abell. Production: Lee Blakeley. Sets: Charles Edwards. Costumes: Brigitte Reiffenstuel. Choreography: Nick Winston. Lighting: Emma Chapman. Lilli Vanessi/Katharine: Christine Buffle. Fred Graham/Petruchio: David Pittsinger. Lois Lane/Bianca: Francesca Jackson. Bill Calhoun/Lucentio: Alan Burkitt. Hattie: Jasmine Roy. Paul: Fela Lufadeju. First Man (Gunman): Martyn Ellis. Second Man (Gunman): Daniel Robinson. Gremio: Jack Harrison-Cooper. Hortensio: Thierry Picaut. Harry Trevor/Baptista: Joe Sheridan. Ralph (Stage Manager)/Nathaniel: Damian Thantrey. Stage Doorman/Haberdasher: Franck Vincent. Cab driver: Thomas Boutilier. Gregory - Dance Captain: Ryan-Lee Seager. Philip: Sean Lopeman. Harrison Howell: John Paval. Orchestre de Chambre de Paris. Cole Porter I've said it before, e.g. when writing up Manon Lescaut in 2013: "If you leave at the interval, chances are someone will tell you it got ...

Glad to see this back on YT: Maestro Wenarto also sings " I am the wife of Mao Tse Tung ".

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Friday January 10 2014 Conductor: Michael Riesman. Production, set and lighting design: Robert Wilson. Costumes: Carlos Soto. Lighting: Urs Schönebaum. Sound: Kurt Munkasci. Choreography: Lucinda Childs. With: Helga Davis, Kate Moran, Antoine Silverman, The Lucinda Childs Dance Company, The Philip Glass Ensemble, Einstein on the Beach Chorus. "The amazing thing," said a friend as we left the Théâtre du Châtelet, "is that we've sat through this for four-and-a-half hours, without an interval..." - I wondered where he was heading - "and still weren't bored shitless* like at L'Amour de Loin . Yet that was much shorter". He was right. Einstein on the Beach is a long work and, as when you get to the end of A la recherche du temps perdu , you almost expect a reward: an "I finished Proust" or "I survived Einstein " tee-shirt. But you soon slip into the (very slow) rhythm of it, and the truth is tha...

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Monday April 16 2012 Conductor: Alexander Briger. Production and choreography: Chen Shi-Zheng. Sets: Shilpa Gupta. Costumes: Petra Reinhardt. Lighting: Alexander Koppelmann. Video: Olivier Roset. Richard Nixon: Franco Pomponi. Pat Nixon: June Anderson. Henry Kissinger: Peter Sidhom. Mao Zedong: Alfred Kim. Madame Mao (Jiang Qing): Sumi Jo. Chou En-Lai: Kyung Chun Kim. First secretary: Sophie Leleu. Second secretary: Alexandra Sherman. Third secretary: Rebecca de Pont Davies. Orchestre de Chambre de Paris. Chorus of the Châtelet. In the old days, when pubs were still pubs and not yet a cross between a steak house and a disco with only incidental beer, you’d often see a nicotine-stained sign over the counter or dangling from an optic saying “You don’t have to be mad to work here, but it helps”. Several times, recently, it has occurred to me that a similar message might be printed on the cover page of certain opera scores: “You don’t have to be mad to s...

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Monday October 18 2010 Conductor: Albert Horne. Production: Janice Honeyman. Sets: Johan Engels. Choreography: Timothy le Roux. Costumes: Birrie le Roux. Magnolia: Janelle Visagie. Ravenal: Blake Fischer. Captain Andy: Malcolm Terry. Parthy: Diane Wilson. Julie: Angela Kerrison. Joe: Otto Maidi. Queenie: Miranda Tini. Orchestre Pasdeloup. Production from Cape Town Opera. It was hard to tell whether this production of Showboat , from Cape Town, was deliberately, knowingly old-fashioned, au deuxième degré as the French say, or just plain outdated. The latter, I think, and the FT (unlike Le Monde and Le Figaro , whose critics have perhaps never been to Broadway: all the quotes in this report will be from the FT ) seems to agree: “[A] ringard (naff) offering that rolls out garish sets and costumes, relentless choreography even when none is required and ham acting that is uncomfortably close to the parodies of hand-on-heart gestures mocked in the Cotton Bloss...

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Tuesday April 6 2010. Conductor: Kazem Abdullah. Production & choreography: Blanca Li. Sets & costumes: Roland Roure. Lighting: Jacques Rouveyrollis. Treemonisha: Adina Aaron. Monisha: Grace Bumbry. Lucy: Janinah Burnett. Remus: Stanley Jackson. Andy: Mlamli Lalapantsi. Cephus: Loïc Felix. Zodzetrick: Stephen Salters. Ned: Willard White. Simon: Jacques-Greg Belobo. Parson Alltalk: Krister St. Hill. Luddud: Jean-Pierre Cadignan. A foreman: Joël Ocangha. Ensemble orchestral de Paris. I was as glad to see Treemonisha on the Châtelet’s schedule this year as I am to see Les Mamelles de Tirésias on the Opéra Comique’s for 2010-2011. Not that they have much in common, but they’re both rare treats. And I was glad to get the impression that, musically speaking, the show must have improved since the opening night, as what I heard wasn’t as weak as some of the professional reviews implied. In fact, the cast was strong throughout: Adina Aaron as Treemonisha di...

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Wednesday December 30 2009. Conductor: Kevin Farrell. Production: Emilio Sagi. Sets: Daniel Bianco. Choreography: Sarah Miles. Costumes: Jesús Ruiz. Lighting: Caetano Vilela. Maria Rainer: Sylvia Schwartz. Captain Georg von Trapp: Rod Gilfry. Mother Abbess: Kim Criswell. The Baroness Elsa Schraeder: Christine Arand. Max Detweiler: Laurent Alvaro. Rolf Gruber: James McOran-Campbell. Liesl Von Trapp: Carin Gilfry. Orchestre Pasdeloup. Châtelet Chorus. There isn't a strong tradition of musicals in Paris (apart from awful "Pop Idol" type ones) so this was the first stage production of The Sound of Music in France and possibly the best performance, here, of any musical I've seen. I was told, last night, that some American visitors have claimed it would have been ten times better on Broadway. Maybe they didn't get the best cast; and maybe it wouldn't have been ten times better (it couldn't be) but just ten times different: this...

Châtelet, Paris, Tuesday December 30 2008 Conductor: Samuel Jean. Production: Jude Kelly. Choreography: Stephen Mear. Sets & costumes: Robert Jones. Lighting: Mark Henderson. Ozzie: Tim Howar. Chip: Adam Garcia. Gabey: Joshua Dallas. Ivy Smith: Sarah Soetart. Hildy Esterhazy: Caroline O’Connor. Claire de Loone: Lucy Schaufer. Madame Maude P. Dilly: Sheila Reid. Juge Pitkin W. Bridgework: Jonathan Best. Diana Dream/Dolores Dolores: Alison Jiear. Chorus of the Châtelet. Orchestre Pasdeloup. Our last show of the 2007-2008 season was a musical: Bernstein's On The Town , in the English National Opera's Jude Kelly production. I hope I've got the cast and conductor right above, as bizarrely I couldn't find any information of the kind on the theatre's web site, nor could a friend with access to their press releases. As we've all agreed I'm not the best-placed person to write up musicals, I'll be brief. Stephen Mear's skeletal sets of rust-red struts and ...

Châtelet, Paris, Tuesday July 8 2008 Conductor: Placido Domingo. Production: David Cronenberg. Sets: Dante Ferretti. Costumes: Denise Cronenberg. Lighting: A.J. Weisbard. Seth Brundle: Daniel Okulitch. Veronica Qaife: Ruxandra Donose. Stahis Borans: David Curry. Femal Officer, Cheevers, Lab Doctor: Beth Clayton. Marky: Jay Hunter Morris. Tawny: Lina Tetruashvili. Make-up and special effects: Stephan L. Dupuis. Ochestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Châtelet chorus. Youth choir of the CRR of Aubervilliers-la-Courneuve. The critics may not have liked it much, but the public seemed to enjoy it. The Fly is, fittingly, a bizarre sort of genetic fusion. It combines a lurid sci-fi story - a rarity on the opera stage, though quite a welcome change to me - with a score of grimly serious intent; philosophical reflection (albeit not so high-flying) and real emotion with credibility-stretching special effects and cartoon-series scenes reminiscent of Who Killed Roger Rabbit ; an uneasy blend of ...

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Thursday May 29 2008 Conductor: José Fabra. Production: Emilio Sagi. Sets: Daniel Bianco. Costumes: Jesús Ruiz. Choreography: Nuria Castejón. La Generala: Carmen Gonzalez. Principe Pio: Enrique Ferrer. Princess Olga: Beatriz Diaz. Reina Eva: Itxaro Menxaka. Cirilo II: Enrique Baquerizo. Clodomiro V: Miguel Lopez Galindo. Duque de Sisa: José Luis Gago. General Tocateca: David Rubiera. Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid. Chorus of the Châtelet. Production from the Teatro de la Zarzuela - Madrid. If it was the Châtelet management's intention to introduce zarzuela to Parisians, La Generala (even in a production from the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid) was an odd choice. It is set in England, not Spain (albeit a fantasy sort of England where Oxford is a stone's throw from Cambridge and hosts a Scottish regiment). Instead of popular Spanish characters it features exiled royalty from fictional kingdoms. And there is little specific "local colour...

Châtelet, Paris, Monday March 24 2008 Conductor: Lawrence Foster. Production: Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Padmâvatî: Sylvie Brunet. Ratan-Sen: Finnur Bjarnason. Alaouddin: Alain Fondary. Le Brahmane: Yann Beuron. Badal: François Piolino. Nakamti: Blandine Folio Peres. Gora: Laurent Alvaro. La Sentinelle: Alain Gabriel. Sets: Omung Kumar Bhandula. Choreography: Tanusree Shankar. Costumes: Rajesh Pratap Singh. Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Châtelet Chorus. La Juive, L'Etoile, Véronique, Zampa , now Padmâvatî : the Paris houses suddenly seem determined to give us more of the rare French repertoire than we were used to, and there's more to come in next season's schedules. Handing over opera productions to novices from the cinema is (as the FT critic pointed out) always a risky business. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is the director of the famous Bollywood blockbuster-tearjerker Devdas , which we all have the DVD of, of course, and admits quite candidly that he knows nothing a...