Paris Opera the season’s slogan is “Modern Since 1669”

[lennygoran]

Ivo van Hove’s ‘Don Giovanni’ Will Be Shared by Paris and the Met

By ROSLYN SULCAS JAN. 30, 2018

A new production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” directed by Ivo van Hove, who has led fierce Broadway stagings of “A View From the Bridge” and “The Crucible,” will be a highlight of the Paris Opera’s ambitious 2018-19 season, announced late Monday.

A co-production with the Metropolitan Opera, the “Don Giovanni” is part of a broad celebration of the company’s 350th anniversary — the season’s slogan is “Modern Since 1669” — and the 30th birthday of the larger of its two theaters, the Opéra Bastille. French works will be a focus, including Berlioz’s “Les Troyens” (directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, with Elina Garanca and Bryan Hymel); Rameau’s opera-ballet “Les Indes Galantes” (staged by the film director Clément Cogitore); and Meyerbeer’s “Les Huguenots” (directed by Andreas Kriegenburg, with Diana Damrau and Mr. Hymel). A new opera, “Bérénice,” composed by Michael Jarrell and based on Racine, will star Barbara Hannigan and be staged by Claus Guth.

Other highlights of the director-driven season, announced by the company’s director, Stéphane Lissner, include Romeo Castellucci’s version of Scarlatti’s rarely-seen “Il Primo Omicidio”; Krzysztof Warlikowski’s new production of Shostakovich’s “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District”; Calixto Bieito’s take on Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra”; Simon Stone’s staging of “La Traviata”; and Barry Kosky’s of Borodin’s “Prince Igor.”

Mr. Tcherniakov’s pairing of Tchaikovsky’s “Iolanta” and “The Nutcracker” will return, as will Peter Sellars and Bill Viola’s production of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” to be conducted by the company’s music director, Philippe Jordan. Mr. Jordan, who leaves Paris in 2020 to lead the Vienna State Opera, will also conduct “Les Troyens,” “Don Giovanni,” “Prince Igor” and “Bérénice.” The tenor Jonas Kaufmann will sing Cavaradossi in Puccini’s “Tosca” opposite Anja Harteros, who also stars in Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino.”

The Paris Opera Ballet season includes Ohad Naharin’s “Decadance,” new to the repertory, and works from Mats Ek, who announced two years ago he was taking some time off from choreography. He is back with two new pieces: “Bolero,” to Ravel’s well-known score, and “Another Place,” set to Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor. Crystal Pite will create an evening-length piece, her second for the company (after “The Season’s Canon”). The Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto will collaborate with the Italian choreographer Alessio Silvestrin on a new work, and other fresh pieces will come from Marco Goecke and Pontus Lidberg, who has previously collaborated with the Paris Opera Ballet’s director, Aurélie Dupont.

The company will also offer tributes to Rudolf Nureyev on the 80th anniversary of his birth, with productions of his “Cinderella” and “Swan Lake.” Another tribute program, dedicated to Jerome Robbins, is one of many worldwide celebrations of the Robbins centennial and features four works by the choreographer, who worked frequently with the Paris Opera Ballet. Visiting companies include the Martha Graham Dance Company, marking the troupe’s first visit to the Palais Garnier in 27 years.


Mr. Lissner announced that the Paris Opera had balanced its books over the past season, with 73 million euros ($90.8 million) in ticket sales. The opera also reported a 91 percent average attendance rate, an increase of seven percent on the previous season. The Opera also reported that the average audience member was just 45 years old, suggesting that the initiatives like its online 3e Scène, live broadcasts and specially priced tickets for under-40s have been effective in attracting younger audiences.


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/30/arts ... collection

[jbuck919]

Our former member and probably still lurker Nigel Wilkinson, who has lived in Paris for many years but still speaks French with a horrid English accent, will be delighted to hear this.