Maria Bengtsson

The successful artist and playboy Juan is a notorious seducer of women, through his ability to be just what a woman dreams of: Charming, charismatic, strong, sensitive, sexual. Driven by a restless urge to conquer new women, use them, and throw them away, he has hired his friend Leporello to help create a masterpiece: A filmed database of all the women whose dreams Juan has shattered. We follow Juan and Leporello through 24 compressed hours. Juan seduces the young upper-class girl Anna, but ends up accidentally killing her father, a powerful police commissioner. The two friends run away, but Juan's constant need to seduce new women keeps interrupting their flight. As the police gains in on them, Juan also steals the young bride Zerlina from her groom Masetto, and soon a feverish manhunt is on for Juan.

Based on a poem published in 1810 with more ethnographic than dramatic focus, Britten constructed a sombre parable about the conflict between the masses and the individual. The maritime atmosphere, the crudity of people’s lives and passions, and the complex, impenetrable personality of the protagonist come together in a tragedy which ferments and explodes in the din of silence and hearsay. New production of the Teatro Real, in co-production with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden of London, the Opéra national of Paris and the Teatro dell’Opera of Rome

Les Noces de Figaro compte parmi les opéras les plus emblématiques du répertoire. Brahms en parlait comme d’un « miracle » et la plainte de la Comtesse résonne encore aujourd’hui comme une des pages musicales les plus déchirantes. C’est en reprenant la comédie de Beaumarchais qui fut à l’origine d’un scandale dans la société parisienne, que Mozart et son librettiste Da Ponte entamèrent leur première collaboration. La pièce avait été interdite par Joseph II en 1785 au Théâtre de Vienne. Est‑ce parce qu’elle exposait trop sur le devant de la scène les contradictions d’un régime déjà vacillant, prêt à sombrer avec la Révolution française ? Netia Jones conserve l’essence même de la pièce de Beaumarchais en questionnant avec humour mais non sans espièglerie les rapports humains, dans une production qui vient confondre réalité et fiction au point de se demander, comme le Comte : « Jouons‑nous une comédie ? »

Mozart under the stars and on the big screen. This is the principle of the operation proposed on 16 July 2011 by the Opéra de Lyon. The representation that was played on his stage was broadcast simultaneously and outdoors in thirteen Rhône-Alpes cities including Ambérieu-en-Bugey, Valence and Grenoble. Thousands of spectators were able to attend a free version of the opera "Cosi fan tutte". It is Adrian Noble who signs the mise-en-scene of this umpteenth production of the famous masterpiece, a joke on the banter that will turn to drama. The American made a bold choice by transposing the plot to a beach in California . The idea came to him during a stay in Santa Monica: the skaters on the sidewalk made him think of the characters Ferrando and Guglielmo who play with their lovers.

Containing some of the most beautiful arias and attractive ensembles in all opera, Così fan tutte is packed with both pathos and humour. Mozart and Da Ponte's witty, compassionate examination of young love has ensured its lasting popularity. Jonathan Miller’s original 1995 production for Covent Garden is dear to the hearts of London audiences and has been revived numerous times. Necessity, they say, is the mother of all invention. With no money left for costumes, Miller has the genius idea of asking Giorgio Armani to lend a hand... This production is from Sept 2010.

Count Almaviva lives with his Countess on their estate near Seville. The Count has his eye on his wife’s maid Susanna, who is betrothed to the Count’s servant, Figaro. Much to Figaro’s dismay, the Count plans to seduce Susanna on wedding night. Meanwhile, Cherubino, the Count’s young page, is infatuated with the Countess, but has just been dismissed after being discovered with Barbarina, the gardener Antonio’s daughter.