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Meyerbeer's Les HuguenotsThéâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels, June 11 - June 30, 2011.Photographs copyright Clärchen und Matthias Baus, courtesy of Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels
Photographs from the 2011 Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels/Opéra national du Rhin,Strasbourg production of Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots. Not only did Brussels take on a work demanding considerable resources but double cast the main parts. Francis Carlin in the Financial Times, June 15, 2011, was ambivalent about the production writing that [Oliver] "Py has his moments but yet again relies on the bargain basement provocation of gratuitously topless women and bare-chested men". Nor was he too happy about the direction of some of the singers. Of the singers themselves, Carlin (commenting on the first night cast) particularly praised Eric Cutler, Julia Lezhneva, Marlis Petersen and Jean-François Lapointe and found " Marc Minkowski’s conducting alternates tub-thumping enthusiasm and exquisite finesse, milking the score for its innovative touches". Other commentators were more positive. George Loomis (New York Times, June 22, 2011) was rather happier with Py's direction, which he thought "consistently lucid" and had praise for both singers and Minkowski, concluding "Anyone who cares about opera should see this production." Michel Le Naour (http://www.concertclassic.com/ ) was also generally positive about the production, the singing and the conducting while leaning slightly towards one of Carlin's complaints, Py "livre une interprétation théâtrale vibrante où Eros et Thanatos, sexe et religion se confondent dans une vision quasi cinématographique soutenant jusqu’au bout l’intérêt, malgré les surcharges érotiques dont le metteur en scène est coutumier". Manual Brug (Die Welt, June 15, 2011) summed up the production "sie rehabilitiert nicht nur blendend eines der bedeutendsten, folgenreichsten Musiktheaterwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts - sie ist eine Sensation" This production will be seen at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg, March 14 - March 28, 2012 and Mulhouse, April 13 and 15, 2012. Most of the major roles have a different singer to Brussels.
The Team
Marguerite de Valois - Marlis Petersen / Henriette Bonde-Hansen Valentine - Mireille Delunsch / Ingela Brimberg Urbain - Yulia Lezhneva / Blandine Staskiewicz Raoul de Nangis - Eric Cutler / John Osborn Comte de Saint-Bris - Philippe Rouillon Comte de Nevers - Jean-François Lapointe De Retz - Arnaud Rouillon Marcel - Jérôme Varnier / François Lis Cossé - Xavier Rouillon Tavannes - Avi Klemberg Thoré - Marc Labonnette Méru - Frédéric Caton
Muzikale leiding ¦ Direction musicale Marc Minkowski Regie ¦ Mise en scène Olivier Py Decors en kostuums ¦ Décors et costumes Pierre-André Weitz Belichting ¦ Éclairages Bertrand Killy Koorleider ¦ Chef des choeurs Martino Faggiani
Symfonieorkest en koor van de Munt ¦ Orchestre symphonique et choeurs de la Monnaie
Marlis Petersen
(Marguerite de Valois)
Eric Cutler (Raoul de Nangis), Yulia Lezhneva
(Urbain)
Eric Cutler (Raoul de Nangis),
Marlis Petersen
(Marguerite de Valois)
Marlis Petersen (Marguerite de Valois), Philippe
Rouillon (Comte de Saint-Bris),
John Osborn (Raoul de Nangis), Ingela Brimberg (Valentine),
François Lis (Marcel)
The chorus
Eric Cutler (Raoul de
Nangis), Mireille Delunsch (Valentine)
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