First performance of 'Le Petit prince' by Michaël Levinas in Paris

Yesterday, I attended the first performance in Paris (Théâtre du Châtelet) of Le Petit prince, the last opera composed by French composer Michaël Levinas. Since its world première in Lausanne last November, The opera has been performed in Lille and Geneva. After Paris, performances will follow in Liège.

Lasting about 80 minutes (no intermission), the opera is a masterpiece of orchestration, one of the most interesting vocal score I have heard in years. Conceived for an orchestra of 40 musicians (including tubax, harp, 2 keyboards, percussion, strings, woodwinds and brass), the score is always compelling, with various styles adapted for each character. The switchman scene is particularly fascinating.

The young singers are very convincing in their multiple roles. Here is the cast : Jeanne Crousaud (Le Petit prince, soprano), Vincent Lièvre-Picard (L'Aviateur, tenor), Catherine Trottmann (La Rose, mezzo), Rodrigo Ferreira (Le Renard / Le Serpent, countertenor), Alexandre Diakoff (Le Roi / L'Ivrogne / L'Allumeur de réverbères / L'Aiguilleur, bass baritone), Benoît Capt (Le Vaniteux / Le Financier / Le Géographe, baritone) and Céline Soudain (La Rose multiple, soprano). The main parts didn't seem particularly easy to deal with, but all the singers did a great job.

The staging by Lilo Baur is a very light and bright one, perfecty suited to the faity-tale aspect of the story. The Orchestre de Picardie is conducted by Arie van Beek.

At least four operas had already been composed after this novel, in Russian (Lev Knipper, 1964), in German (Michael Horwath, 1985 and Nikolaus Schapfl, 2003) and in English (Rachel Portman, 2003). More than 70 years after the book was written, it was about time a French opera was composed !

The program book published by the Théâtre du Châtelet contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- "Waiting for curtain-up", in French and English ;
- synopsis in French and English ;
- an interview with the composer from December 2014 ;
- an interview with the director from early November 2014 ;
- an article on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ;
- biographies of the artists and several color photos of the production.

The opera is to be broadcast by France Musique, on Monday April 6th.

Received in the mail this Friday morning : program book for 'Le Petit Prince' by Michaël Levinas

This Friday morning, I have received the program book published by the Opéra de Lausanne for the world première performance of the new opera by Michaël Levinas, Le Petit Prince, after Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

It is a 16 pages booklet, entirely in French. It contains :
- the synopsis,
- the complete cast,
- interview with Michaël Levinas, reproduced from the November 2014 issue of Opéra Magazine,
- the artists' biographies.

World première of 'Le Petit Prince' by Michaël Levinas in Lausanne

Yesterday, Le Petit Prince, new opera composed by Michaël Levinas, with a libretto by the composer after the novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, was performed for the first time in Lausanne.

© Marc Vanappelghem

I wrote a lyrical piece addressed to children and adults from all cultures, which puts into song the story and message of the Little Prince, an extraordinary being from another place, a luminous and enigmatic child that Saint-Exupéry happens upon in the desert. The theatrical myth of the Little Prince takes on a near Mozart-like dimension. It expresses both wonder and grace, but also ultimate frailty and the sense of gravity experienced when faced with the ruthlessness of human reality: therein lies its paradoxical strength.
(Michaël Levinas, reproduced from the Opéra de Lausanne website)

The opera has been designed for audiences from 7 to 77 years. It should last about 75 minutes. It is the composer's fourth vocal work for the stage, after Go-gol (1996), Les Nègres (2003) and La Métamorphose (2010).

The cast includes Jeanne Crousaud (Le Petit Prince), Vincent Lièvre-Picard (The Aviator), Catherine Trottmann (Rose), Rodrigo Ferreira, Benoit Capt, Alexandre Diakoff and Céline Soudain. The Chamber Orchestra of Geneva is conducted by Arie van Beek. The director is Lilo Baur. The opera is a coproduction between several Swiss and French opera houses. It will be performed in Lille in December, in Geneva in January 2015 and in Paris in February.

New season 2014-2015 in Opéra de Lausanne

Eight operas will be performed in Lausanne, Switzerland, during the 2014-2015 season, including two composed in the 21st Century.

- Jules Massenet : Manon, conducted by Jesus Lopez Cobos, directed by Arnaud Bernard (new production) ;
- Michaël Levinas : Le Petit prince, conducted by Arie van Beek, directed by Lilo Baur (world première). This children opera, with a libretto based on Saint-Exupéry's novel, will also be performed in Geneva, Lille, Liège and Paris ;
- Franz Lehar : Die lustige Witwe, conducted by Cyril Diederich, directed by Jérôme Savary (first performed in Paris in October 2005) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Die Entführung aus dem Serail, conducted by Laurent Gendre, directed by Tom Ryser (new production) ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : La Traviata, conducted by Corrado Rovaris, directed by Jean-Louis Grinda (first performed in Monte-Carlo in January 2013) ;
- Gioachino Rossini : Tancredi, conducted by Ottavio Dantone, directed by Emilio Sagi (new production) ;
- Daï Fujikura : Solaris, conducted by Erik Nielsen, directed by Saburo Teshigawara. The opera was first performed in Bregenz in July 2012. This is the third production, first to be performed in Paris in March 2015 ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Die Zauberflöte, conducted by Diego Fasolis, directed by Pet Halmen (revival from a production first performed in March 2010).

This is quite an interesting season, with two modern works confronting 6 operas of the classical and romantic eras.

New Season 2014-2015 in Geneva (Grand Théâtre)

During the 2014-2015 season, the Grand Théâtre in Geneva will produce 9 operas in 5 languages, including 3 new productions and a new children opera coproduced with the Lausanne opera where it will receive its first performance.

- Giuseppe Verdi : Rigoletto, conducted by Alexander Joel, directed by Robert Carsen. First presented in Aix-en-Provence in July 2013, it was subsequently performed in Strasbourg and Brussels ;

- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky : Eugene Onegin, conducted by Michail Jurowski, directed by Robert Carsen. the production was conceived for the Lyric Opera in Chicago in March 2008, and then performed in New York ;

- Jacques Offenbach : La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, conducted by Franck Villard, directed by Laurent Pelly (already performed in Paris in 2004) ;

- Christoph Willlibald Gluck : Iphigénie en Tauride, conducted by Hartmut Haenchen, directed by Lukas Hemleb (new production) ;

- George Gershwin : Porgy and Bess, conducted by William Barkhymer, directed by Baayork Lee. This production of the New York Harlem Theater has been touring through Europe for at least 20 years ;

- Luigi Cherubini : Medea, conducted by Marko Letonja, directed by Christof Loy (new production) ;

- Ludwig van Beethoven : Fidelio, conducted by Pinchas Steinberg, directed by Matthias Hartmann (new production) ;

- Michaël Levinas : Le Petit prince, conducted by Arie van Beek, directed by Lilo Baur. Performed at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, the French composer's fourth opera will receive its first performance in Lausanne in November 2014.

- Xavier Dayer : Contes de la lune vague après la pluie, conducted by Jean-Philippe Wurtz, directed by Vincent Huguet. This chamber opera is to be first performed in Rouen in March 2015.