We left at the interval...

Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, Tuesday November 15 2022 Conductor: Marc Minkowski. Production and Costumes: Laurent Pelly. New dialogues: Agathe Mélinand. Sets: Chantal Thomas. Lighting: Michel Le Borgne. La Périchole: Antoinette Dennefeld. Piquillo: Stanislas de Barbeyrac. Don Andrès de Ribeira: Laurent Naouri. Le Comte Miguel de Panatellas: Rodolphe Briand. Don Pedro de Hinoyosa: Lionel Lhote. Guadalena/Manuelita: Chloé Briot. Berginella/Ninetta: Alix Le Saux. Mastrilla/Brambilla: Eléonore Pancrazi. Frasquinella: Natalie Pérez. Le vieux prisonnier/Le Marquis de Tarapote: Eddy Letexier. Le premier notaire: Mitesh Khatri. Le deuxième notaire: Jean-Philippe Fourcade. Les Musiciens du Louvre. Chorus of the Bordeaux Opera. All photos: Vincent Pontet / TCE Many people must have been as pleased as I was to see Marc Minkowski and Laurent Pelly were scheduled to pair up again, after twenty years or more (eek!), for La Périchole . Pelly is no more infallibly brilliant than any other direc...

Opéra Comique, Paris, Wednesday May 25 2022 Conductor: Julien Leroy. Production: Valérie Lesort. Sets: Audrey Vuong. Costumes: Vanessa Sannino. Lighting: Christian Pinaud. Choreography: Yohann Têté. Puppets: Carole Allemand. La Périchole: Stéphanie d'Oustrac. Piquillo: Philippe Talbot. Don Andrès de Ribeira: Tassis Christoyannis. Don Miguel de Panatellas: Eric Huchet. Don Pedro de Hinoyosa: Lionel Peintre. First notary/Tarapote/old prisoner: Thomas Morris. Second notary: Quentin Desgeorges. Berginella, Frasquinella: Marie Lenormand. Mastrilla, Brambilla: Lucie Peyramaure. Guadalena, Manuelita: Julie Goussot. Ninetta: Julia Wischniewski. Orchestre de chambre de Paris. Les Eléments chorus. Photos: Stéfan Brion Perhaps I'm an irredeemable misery-guts. But if so, I'm not alone. Halfway through La Périchole , my neighbour turned to me: He : Je peux dire quelque chose ? (Can I say something?) Me : Ça ne décolle pas ? (It isn't taking off?) He : Je m'emmerde. (I'm b...