The Lille Opera, inaugurated on October 7, 1923 after twenty years of work following a fire, will celebrate its centenary with a resolutely modern creation of Mozart's Don Giovanni and a series of festive balls, the establishment announced Friday during a presentation of its 2023-2024 season.
The Don Giovanni, "absolute masterpiece" of the Austrian prodigy, conducted by the conductor and baroque harpsichordist Emmanuelle Haïm, will be presented at the opening in early October, a "nod" to the past of the Opera, explained its director Caroline Sonrier.
It was indeed this room that launched the rebirth of the place in 2003, after five years of closure due to renovation. "Don Giovanni today touches on a subject very present both in Mozart's work and in current events: seduction as a seizure of power, which can be abusive or even aggressive," said Caroline Sonrier.
The Belgian director Guy Cassiers is preparing a reading "political, immersed in the issues of today's society", and very visual, with video images in counterpoint to the action on stage. Almost 100 years to the day after its inauguration, the Lille Opera is also planning a concert on October 11 to resume the programming of its opening night of October 7, 1923.
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Also in October, a German ensemble will perform German and French opera arias, in memory of the occupation of the Opera between 1916 and 1918 by German troops, who performed there during the war, even before its official opening. In December, a parquet floor will be installed to transform the opera house into a ballroom, as in the past, for several dance evenings, including one open to children and the other dedicated to swing.
After Wagner's Tristan and Isolde in March, directed by the new director of the Avignon Festival Tiago Rodrigues and co-produced with the Opéra national de Lorraine, the season will end in June with another, lighter creation: La Chauve-Souris by Johann Strauss. "The Opera House reopened 20 years ago with the priority of being open to all. The idea for this anniversary season is to mix generations and audiences with different tastes," said Caroline Sonrier.
