Where does Mélisande come from and what did she endure before losing her way in the forest of Allemonde? The drama unfolds in a mysterious world of dark caves and sleeping waters: Pelléas, Golaud’s half-brother, and Mélisande fall in love, arousing the jealousy of Golaud, who has married the young girl. In 1892, Claude Debussy, very much taken with Maurice Maeterlinck’s play, found it to be the ideal libretto for the musical form he had in mind: a lyric drama in which the characters would sing “like natural people”. Ten years later, this ground-breaking opera was premiered to great scandal. Wajdi Mouawad explores this fascinating work in his second production for the Paris Opera.

Arkel: Old king of Allemonde (an imaginary country) Golaud: Arkel’s grandson, a widower who has married Mélisande Pelléas: Golaud’s half-brother Mélisande: Young woman of mysterious origins, Golaud’s wife Geneviève: Mother of Golaud and Pelléas Little Yniold: Golaud’s son by a former marriage

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Pelléas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy, from 28 February to 27 March 2025 at the Opéra Bastille

Where does Mélisande come from and what did she endure before losing her way in the forest of Allemonde? The drama unfolds in a mysterious world of dark caves and sleeping waters: Pelléas, Golaud’s half-brother, and Mélisande fall in love, arousing t

Claude Debussy

Pelléas et Mélisande

Julia, a priestess in the Temple of Vesta, is torn between her religious duties and her love for the Roman general Licinius. This is the crux of La Vestale, Gaspare Spontini’s opera, written at the beginning of the First Empire.Dedicated to Josephine and multiplying political allusions to Napoleon, the work was a triumph from its first performance at the Paris Opera in 1807. Admired by Berlioz, the score features brilliant orchestration and a sustained lyrical vocal style that heralds grand opera while remaining true to the legacy of Gluck.After remaining absent from the Paris Opera for almost 150 years, the return of this work in its original French version is an eagerly awaited event. Stage director Lydia Steier explores the themes of religious extremism and militaristic zeal: can love have any hope of surviving between these two ruthless extremes? The Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Julia: Vestal, priestess in the temple of the goddess Vesta Licinius: Roman general, Julia’s lover Cinna: Army commander, friend of Licinius The Sovereign Pontiff: High priest of Vesta The Great Vestal: Head priestess of the vestals Chief of the aruspices: Soothsayer priest A Consul: Roman magistrate

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fiche spectacle La Vestale

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La Vestale

Julia, a priestess in the Temple of Vesta, is torn between her religious duties and her love for the Roman general Licinius. This is the crux of La Vestale, Gaspare Spontini’s opera, written at the beginning of the First Empire. Dedicated to Josephin

Gaspare Spontini

It’s no easy matter taming a vixen! The gamekeeper, who introduces one into his household, learns this the hard way, especially as the animal in question is particularly cunning, feminist and even revolutionary, calling on the hens in the barnyard to revolt against the cockerel and “forge a new world”! Alas, while freedom allows her to find love, the little vixen will pay a high price...Premiered in Brno in 1924, Leoš Janáček’s piece, with orchestration as lush as the nature it describes, is a score apart in the history of opera, where foxes, crickets and grasshoppers, dogs and woodpeckers are rarely the heroes of the story. A fairy tale fable, this Cunning Little Vixen an allegory of human life, a hymn celebrating the eternal renewal of life and nature. The Paris Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Atelier lyrique Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine / Paris Opera's Childen Choir Director: Don Kent © Idéale Audience - Opéra national de Paris -NHK - France 2008

Bystrouška: The little vixen The forester: The man who captured Bystrouška The forester’s wife Lapák: The forester’s dog The village schoolmaster The village priest Pásek: The innkeeper Mrs Pásková: The innkeeper’s wife Harašta: A poacher The fox: Bystrouška’s husband Farmyard and wild animals

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The Cunning Little Vixen

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The Cunning Little Vixen, from 15 January to 1 February 2025 at the Opéra Bastille

It’s no easy matter taming a vixen! The gamekeeper, who introduces one into his household, learns this the hard way, especially as the animal in question is particularly cunning, feminist and even revolutionary, calling on the hens in the barnyard to

Leoš Janácek

After last season’s The Dante Project, the Paris Opera continues to explore the music of contemporary composer Thomas Adès with the French premiere of The Exterminating Angel. Inspired by Luis Buñuel’s 1962 surrealist film, which offered a scathing critique of the bourgeoisie, the work begins with a dinner among upper-class friends in a plush mansion after an opera performance. But, gradually, a mysterious force prevents the fifteen guests from leaving the reception. In this confinement for no apparent reason, drawn out over several days, the veneer of propriety cracks, revealing the worst of human nature.Thomas Adès has written a rich and tense score, amplifying the libretto’s strange atmosphere with unusual instruments such as the ondes Martenot. The Paris Opera has entrusted the staging of this huis-clos to Calixto Bieito. The director has long been fascinated by Buñuel’s universe. The Paris Opera Orchestra and ChorusWith the participation of medici.tv, and the support of the Fondation Orange, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts. © Opéra national de Paris – 2024 Director: François-René Martin

The hosts Edmundo: Marquis de Nobile Lucia de Nobile: his wifeTheir guests Leticia Maynar: an opera singer Leonora Palma Silvia de Ávila: a young widowed mother, duchess of Ávila Francisco de Ávila: her brother Blanca Delgado: a pianist Alberto Roc: her husband, a conductor Beatriz Eduardo: her fiancé Comte Raúl Yebenes: an explorer Colonel Álvaro Gómez Señor Russell Docteur Carlos CondeThe staff Julio: the butler Lucas: the footman Enrique: the waiter Pablo: the cook Meni: a maid Camila: a maidOutside the house Père Sansón Yoli: Silvia’s son

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The Exterminating Angel_trailer

The Exterminating Angel

After last season’s The Dante Project, the Paris Opera continues to explore the music of contemporary composer Thomas Adès with the French premiere of The Exterminating Angel.  Inspired by Luis Buñuel’s 1962 surrealist film, which offered a scathing 

Thomas Adès

Accused of killing her brother, the heir to the Duchy of Brabant, Elsa asks to be defended by the man she has seen in her dreams. When he appears, led by a swan, he accepts on condition that she never asks him his name.Richard Wagner was 37 years old when he wrote his romantic opera Lohengrin with its compelling score. Writing not only the music but also the libretto (inspired by Germanic legends), he laid the foundations for his “music drama”, to which a prelude, leitmotivs and an extensive orchestra and choruses also contributed.Director Kirill Serebrennikov, known for his striking creations, makes his Paris Opera debut with this work, upon which his reflection on war as a machine for crushing bodies and souls sheds a sombre light. The Paris Opera Orchestra and ChorusWith the support of the Orange Foundation, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts. © Opéra national de Paris - 2023

Lohengrin: Knight of the Grail, son of Percival Elsa: Heiress to the dukedom of Brabant Friedrich von Telramund: Brabantian count and war leader Ortrud: Telramund’s wife, daughter of the pagan King of Frisia Henri the Fowler: King of Germany The Herald: The King’s herald-at-arms

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Lohengrin

Accused of killing her brother, the heir to the Duchy of Brabant, Elsa asks to be defended by the man she has seen in her dreams. When he appears, led by a swan, he accepts on condition that she never asks him his name. Richard Wagner was 37 years ol

Richard Wagner

Invited to the Paris Opera for the first time, director Netia Jones staged a new production of Le nozze di Figaro in 2022, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. A documentary, filmed backstage at the Palais Garnier, looks back at the highlights of this new production, from the first presentation of the model, to the work in the costume, painting and tapestry workshops at the Opéra Bastille; from the first rehearsals with the Orchestra, soloists and chorus artists to the first performance at the Palais Garnier.The Paris Opera Orchestra and ChorusWith the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and the Cercle audiovisuel et numérique.Director: Adrien Pauchet © Opéra national de Paris – 2023

Dans les coulisses des Noces de Figaro

Behind the Scenes of Le nozze di Figaro_trailer

Behind the Scenes of Le nozze di Figaro

Invited to the Paris Opera for the first time, director Netia Jones staged a new production of Le nozze di Figaro in 2022, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.  A documentary, filmed backstage at the Palais Garnier, looks back at the highlights of this new 

Documentary

In Peking, a princess renowned for her beauty submits her suitors to three riddles. The prince who manages to solve them will win her hand and the throne. Alas, so far, all have failed and suffered the implacable punishment: death. Will young Calaf succeed?Inspired by Carlo Gozzi's fable, itself drawing on several sources including the Thousand and One Nights, Puccini's last opera revives the oriental atmosphere already present in Madama Butterfly.But in 1924, the year in which the composer died leaving his score unfinished, his writing had grown in modernity, without losing any of its melodic inspiration, as illustrated by the famous aria "Nessun dorma".The references to Asia could not fail to appeal to Robert Wilson, whose aesthetic draws on Japanese Noh theatre. His sparse staging, interspersed with touches of commedia dell'arte, offers striking and hypnotic images. The Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine/ The Paris Opera's Children's Choir Director: François Roussillon A production by: Opéra national de Paris Executive production: François Roussillon et Associés © Opéra national de Paris - 2023

Turandot: Princess of China Altoum: 

Emperor of China, her father Timur: 

Exiled king of Tartary Calaf: 

The “unknown prince”, his son Liù: 

Slave girl, Timur’s guide Ping:

Grand Chancellor of China Pang: 

Grand Master of provisions Pong: 

Grand Master of the Imperial kitchens

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Turandot

In Peking, a princess renowned for her beauty submits her suitors to three riddles. The prince who manages to solve them will win her hand and the throne. Alas, so far, all have failed and suffered the implacable punishment: death. Will young Calaf s

Giacomo Puccini

Giacomo Meyerbeer’s visit to Paris in 1825 was to revolutionise opera. By imposing the Grand Opera genre, the composer made History the pivotal theme of 19th century operatic productions.Les Huguenots is a monumental fresco featuring various impossible loves in the context of the Saint Bartholomew Massacre.First performed at the Paris Opera, the work celebrated its centenary there in 1936, after more than a thousand performances, before being stowed in the archives of the Palais Garnier – the “grande boutique”.For its revival, Andreas Kriegenburg places these timeless conflicts of love and religion in an immaculate setting in which the costumes appear yet more flamboyant and the victims’ blood more violently red. The Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus With the participation of France Télévisions, in association with UGC With the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual retransmissions, and the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée.© Opéra national de Paris - Act4 Productions – October 2018 Director: Andy Sommer

Marguerite de Valois: Daughter of Henri II and Catherine de Médicis, King Henri de Navarre’s fiancée Valentine: Marguerite de Valois’ maid of honour, Count de Saint-Bris’ daughter Raoul de Nangis: Protestant gentleman Urbain: Marguerite de Valois’ page Marcel: Former Huguenot soldier, Raoul’s servant Count de Saint-Bris: Catholic gentleman, Valentine’s father Count de Nevers: Catholic gentleman, Valentine’s fiancé Cossé, Tavannes, Méru, Thoré, Maurevert, Retz: Catholic lords Bois-Rosé: Huguenot soldier

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Les Huguenots (Saison 18/19) - Lisette Oropesa (Marguerite de Valois)

Les Huguenots (Saison 18/19) - 4

2018-19-HUGUE-259 © Agathe Poupeney – OnP

Les Huguenots_trailer

Les Huguenots

Giacomo Meyerbeer’s visit to Paris in 1825 was to revolutionise opera. By imposing the Grand Opera genre, the composer made History the pivotal theme of 19th century operatic productions. Les Huguenots is a monumental fresco featuring various impossi

Giacomo Meyerbeer

In the course of the 19th century, Shakespeare’s works were a constant source of inspiration for the Romantics. In particular, The Tragic History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, one of the English playwright’s most famous plays, dominated by the existential questions of the title role – To be or not to be –, the ghost of his murdered father and his doomed love for Ophelia. Alexandre Dumas père was himself fascinated by this drama and in 1847 he produced a highly successful adaptation. It was on the basis of this version that Michel Carré and Jules Barbier gave Ambroise Thomas the libretto for Hamlet, the last opera to be performed in the Salle Le Peletier.Inspired by the musical and dramaturgical forms of French grand opera, the composer imbues the story with an intensity that contributes to the beauty of the score.A milestone of opera for which Krzysztof Warlikowski, ever fathoming the depths of the human psyche, redraws the Shakespearean contours. The Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus A coproduction ARTE France, Opéra national de Paris and Telmondis, with the support of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée and the Fondation Orange, Sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts  © ARTE France – Opéra national de Paris - Telmondis – 2023

Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, son of Gertrude Ophelia: Daughter of Polonius engaged to Hamlet Gertrud: Queen of Denmark and wife of Claudius Claudius: King of Denmark and uncle of Hamlet Laërte: Ophelia’s brother The King’s Spectre: Ghost of Hamlet’s father Horatio and Marcellus: Friends of Hamlet Polonius: Lord Chamberlain

Hamlet 22-23 

Hamlet_trailer

Hamlet

In the course of the 19th century, Shakespeare’s works were a constant source of inspiration for the Romantics. In particular, The Tragic History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, one of the English playwright’s most famous plays, dominated by the existe

Ambroise Thomas 

In 1890, Engelbert Humperdinck’s sister Adelheid Wette asked him to compose the music for a children’s performance based on a tale by the Grimm brothers (Jacob, 1785-1863 and Wilhelm, 1786-1859) which she hoped to organize for her husband’s birthday.The project quickly evolved and gave rise to the definitive libretto of the Märchenoper which was completed in december 1890. Compared to the Grimm tale, Adelheid Wette’s libretto was greatly simplified for reasons of dramatic effectiveness, but also to limit the length and even violence of the original.The work was enriched with children’s songs and popular melodies evoking brahms‘ Volkslieder. Strongly influenced by Wagner, the composer drew inspiration from continuous melody and the notion of the leitmotiv with the use of recurrent themes.The work was an immediate success. Within months, Hänsel und Gretel had made a name for itself on stages throughout Germany. Gustav Mahler conducted the work in Hamburg in 1894. Hänsel und Gretel would become the first opera to be rebroadcast by radio in Europe (from Covent Garden on January 6th, 1923). Director: Andy Sommer © Opéra de Paris Production – Bel Air Media – France 2013

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Hänsel und Gretel_trailer

Hänsel und Gretel

In 1890, Engelbert Humperdinck’s sister Adelheid Wette asked him to compose the music for a children’s performance based on a tale by the Grimm brothers (Jacob, 1785-1863 and Wilhelm, 1786-1859) which she hoped to organize for her husband’s birthday.

Engelbert Humperdinck

The subject of La Gioconda drew its inspiration from Angelo, tyran de Padoue, a play by Victor Hugo first performed in 1835 at the Théâtre-Français. The libretto was the work of Arrigo Boito, one of the greatest dramatists of his era who would collaborate with Verdi on Otello and Falstaff.The first performance in Milan in 1876 was a resounding success with audiences but was the object of numerous critical reviews notably because of the implausibility of certain situations. This would spur Ponchielli to make some serious modifications until finally, in 1880, his fourth and definitive version would be performed, again at Milan’s La Scala.It is a spectacular work with no less than six leading roles. Alternating intimate scenes and crowd scenes and including a famous ballet (the Danse des heures) which can be performed separately as a concert piece, it offers a historical reconstruction of 17th century Venice.Ponchielli composed a grandiose romantic melodrama abounding in complex characters. It places itself somewhere between a grand opera in the French style and a Verdi drama, and offers a succession of melodies that focus attentions on the performers, of which Enzo’s love song (Cielo e mar) and Gioconda’s aria (Suicidio) are the most famous. But it also contains inventive and sophisticated orchestration, as the orchestral imagery of the lagoon at the beginning of Act II shows. A co-production Paris Opera and Wahoo Production, in association with France Télévisions With the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and with the assistance of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'image animée.© Opéra de Paris production - Wahoo Production - 2013

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La Gioconda

The subject of La Gioconda drew its inspiration from  Angelo, tyran de Padoue, a play by Victor Hugo first  performed in 1835 at the Théâtre-Français. The libretto was the work of Arrigo Boito, one  of the greatest dramatists of his era who would col

Amilcare Ponchielli

A teapot dancing the foxtrot with a Chinese cup, an armchair courting a Louis XV wing chair, objects and animals joining forces against an unruly child: such is the marvellous world that Maurice Ravel brings to life in his “fantaisie lyrique” created in 1925. A finely orchestrated musical gem, in which the composer’s taste for humour, childhood poetry and animals – an affection shared with the writer Colette, who wrote the libretto – is clearly apparent.While the artists of the Academy embody the characters of L’Enfant et les Sortilèges in Richard Jones’ oneiric staging, the students of the Ballet School perform the ballet Ma Mère l’Oye (1912) in Martin Chaix’ inventive choreography.An opera, a ballet: two works by Ravel placed under the sign of childhood and fairy tales, sublimated by the red and golden setting of the Palais Garnier. With the participation of the Paris Opera Ballet School students and the Artists in residence a the Paris Opera Académie The Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus With the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris, chœur d'adulte, and the Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine / Chœur d’enfants de l’Opéra national de Paris Produced, edited and color-graded by Floris Bernard A Paris Opera production Executive production BEL AIR MEDIA© Opéra national de Paris - 2023

Spectacle de l'École de Danse (saison 22/23) - Ma Mère l'Oye de Martin Chaix

Ma Mère l'Oye / L'Enfant et les Sortilèges_trailer

Ma Mère l'Oye / L'Enfant et les Sortilèges

A teapot dancing the foxtrot with a Chinese cup, an armchair courting a Louis XV wing chair, objects and animals joining forces against an unruly child: such is the marvellous world that Maurice Ravel brings to life in his “fantaisie lyrique” created

Maurice Ravel

False accusation, unjust imprisonment, torture and a death sentence: such was the unfortunate fate of Beatrice di Tenda, a real character who became the heroine of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera.The work was first performed at Venice’s La Fenice in 1833 without any real success, to the great displeasure of the composer who tackled powerful themes such as justice and the aspiration for freedom, in a score with crystaline and lyrical lines.For its entry into the Paris Opera repertoire, Peter Sellars is directing this little-known score, his first Italian opera. With set designer George Tsypin, he sets the work in a steel-walled palace, evoking the domination and surveillance exercised by a ruthless dictatorship. The Paris Opera Orchestra and ChorusWith the support of the Orange Foundation, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts. © Opéra national de Paris – 2024 Director: Peter Sellars

Beatrice di Tenda: Duchess of Milan Filippo Visconti: Duke of Milan Agnese: Loved by Filippo and secretly in love with Orombello Orombello: Young activist and folk singer Anichino: Orombello’s brother Rizzardo: Agnese’s brother and Filippo’s confidant

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Beatrice di Tenda_trailer

Beatrice di Tenda

False accusation, unjust imprisonment, torture and a death sentence: such was the unfortunate fate of Beatrice di Tenda, a real character who became the heroine of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera. The work was first performed at Venice’s La Fenice in 1833 w

Vincenzo Bellini

Jules Massenet no doubt sought to enchant his era when he set Charles Perrault’s fairytale to music. With Cendrillon, the composer offers us one of his most attractive works, quite unlike other operatic adaptations of the tale. The mischievous Lucette and the women around her give the work a tone whose myriad nuances confirm the words of Claude Debussy who saw Massenet as “the musical historian of the female soul”. By gracing the fairy with an unreal coloratura timbre and having the role of the prince sung by a soprano, the composer offers us a vocal festival carried along by a richly varied orchestration alternating between Mozartian finesse, baroque-style citations and grand romantic overtones. To mark the addition of Cendrillon to the Paris Opera’s repertoire, Mariame Clément plays on the myth’s fantasy side, reflecting on the characters’ inner selves whilst setting them free from their tight suits and court shoes. Orchestre et Choeurs de l’Opéra national de Paris Directed by François RoussillonA coproduction by Opéra national de Paris, François Roussillon et Associés with the participation of France Télévisions With the support of La Fondation Orange, patron of Opéra national de Paris audiovisual retransmissions, Cercle audiovisuel et numérique, Cercle Berlioz and with the assistance of Centre National du Cinéma et de l'image animéeOpéra national de Paris - François Roussillon et Associés - 2022Visual: © Monika Rittershaus / OnP

Cendrillon (Lucette): Pandolfe’s daughter and Madame de La Haltière’s stepdaughter Madame de La Haltière: Cendrillon’s stepmother Mother to Noémie and Dorothée Le Prince Charmant La Fée: Cendrillon’s godmother Noémie: Cendrillon’s stepsister Dorothée: Cendrillon’s stepsister Pandolfe: Cendrillon’s father, a widower and now married to Madame de La Haltière Le Roi

Cendrillon 21-22

Cendrillon_trailer

Cendrillon (saison 21/22) - 5

Cendrillon by Jules Massenet

 Jules Massenet no doubt sought to enchant his era when he set Charles Perrault’s fairytale to music. With Cendrillon, the composer offers us one of his most attractive works, quite unlike other operatic adaptations of the tale. The mischievous Lucet

Jules Massenet

Cendrillon

If Handel were alive today, he would be termed resilient. In 1734‑1735, when the public had cooled towards him and his contract with the King’s Theatre drew to a close, the composer began to write Ariodante, an “opera seria” intended for the opening of the brand new Theatre Royal in Covent Garden. As if galvanised by adversity, he produced a radiant work, as virtuoso as the libretto, drawn from an episode of Arioste’s Orlando Furioso, is simple: Ginevra, a Scottish princess, is in love with Ariodante to whom she is betrothed, but a conspiracy led by the traitor Polinesso results in her being accused of infidelity.As well as giving us Handel’s most beautiful lament, this inspired score abounds throughout in virtuoso arias and breathes theatrical intelligence. Enough to inspire Robert Carsen who, in the wake of his legendary Paris Opera production of Alcina, composed the same year, signs a new production of Ariodante. The English Concert Chœurs de l’Opéra national de ParisCoproduction with the Metropolitan Opera, New-York With the support of the Orange Foundation, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts.© Opéra national de Paris - 2023 Picture: © plainpicture / Narratives / Brent Darby

The King of Scotland: Ginevra’s father Ginevra: Daughter of the King of Scotland, betrothed to Ariodante Ariodante: Feudal Prince, Ginevra’s fiancéLurcanio: Ariodante’s brother, in love with Dalinda Polinesso: Duke of Albany Dalinda: Ginevra’s lady-in-waiting, secretly in love with Polinesso Odoardo: King’s secretary

Ariodante_trailer

Ariodante

If Handel were alive today, he would be termed resilient. In 1734‑1735, when the public had cooled towards him and his contract with the King’s Theatre drew to a close, the composer began to write Ariodante, an “opera seria” intended for the opening 

Georg Friedrich Handel

“A nymph reigning over a watery empire” or an “absurd Naiad”? Who exactly is Rameau’s strange creature sung by a countertenor and who shatters the conventions of opera?The ugly and conceited frog Platée is the victim of a machination of the gods who make her believe that she is loved by Jupiter.In this opera, composed to mark the marriage of the Dauphin Louis, son of Louis XV, to the notoriously unbecoming Princess Maria Teresa of Spain, Jean‑Philippe Rameau turns irony into the principal weapon of his score.This cruel yet moving farce is presented in a delightfully whimsical production by Laurent Pelly. Orchestre des Musiciens du Louvre The Paris Opera ChorusA coproduction by the Paris Opera and Telmondis, with the participation of France Télévisions and Mezzo With the support of the CNC and the Fondation Orange, Sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual and digital projects, and Paprec, sponsor of Platée's broadcast.Director: François-René Martin © Opéra national de Paris - Telmondis - 2022 Picture: © Elisa Haberer / OnP

Platée: A batrachian nymph, she reigns over the marshes. Despite her ugliness, she is convinced that Jupiter is in love with her. Jupiter: God of the elements, he governs the earth and the heavens, father of the gods and of men. His identifying attributes are the eagle and the thunderbolt. Cithéron: The legendary king who gave his name to Mount Cithaeron. Mercure: God of commerce and travel and, in Roman mythology, messenger of the other gods. La Folie: An allegorical character symbolising gaiety.Junon: Jupiter’s wife, protector of women, particularly those with a recognized legal status in the city – women who are legitimately married. Amour: Son of Venus-Aphrodite. In Greek mythology, the god of love and creative ernergy. Momus: God of mockery, sarcasm and disguise, the “jester” of the Olympian deities. Thespis: Semi-legendary tragic poet of ancient Greece and, according to Athenian tradition, the inventor of tragedy. Thalie: One of the nine muses: the muse of comedy and idyllic poetry. Clarine: Maidservant to Platée.

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Platée_trailer

Platée

“A nymph reigning over a watery empire” or an “absurd Naiad”? Who exactly is Rameau’s strange creature sung by a countertenor and who shatters the conventions of opera? The ugly and conceited frog Platée is the victim of a machination of the gods who