Pelly's Barber of Seville opens at the TCE in Paris

"For a director and his team to receive an ovation at the end of an opera performance, that is more and more rare these days. Yet this is what happened at the end of the premiere of The Barber of Seville on the stage of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on Tuesday, December 5." (Forum Opera, 2017)

Laurent Pelly's "original and intelligent" production of Rossini's acclaimed opera pays tribute to the composer's music in its scenography. By using gigantic sheets of virgin music paper scattered on stage during the first act and a huge music book open on the score for the second, Pelly's "chimerical setting" (Bachtrack, 2017) allows the characters by be freed of their stereotypes, revealing an unexpected tragedy under the superficial lightness of the plot.

Together with a "scintillating vocal team" (ResMusica 2017),  Pelly's latest production recreates an austere fantasy driven by shadows and mystery while evoking the graphic poetry present in the the notes of music written by Figaro.  

With sets and costumes also by Pelly, and conducted by Jérémie Rhorer, the cast features Michele Angelini as Il Conte Almaviva, Florian Sempey as Figaro, and Catherine Trottmann as Rosina. There is also a cast of Jeunes Talents, featuring some of today's emerging stars.

Performances continue throughout December. Click here for more information.