Opéra Populaire Announces New Season

Mise-en-Scène Gazette

By Erin A. Craig

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Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu! Musical mavens, ballet bon vivants, and aficionados of all things galvanizing and glamourous: rejoice! The Opéra Populaire has finally, finally announced its 1894-1895 season and we at Mise-en-Scène Gazette are bringing you each and every exciting tidbit while breaking down exactly what this means for your social calendar—and reticules!

The Populaire celebrates the opening of its season in September with a crowd pleasing favorite—Ponchielli’s La Gioconda. Leading lady—and our favorite prima donna!—Signora Carlotta Giudicelli will take on the titular role of Gioconda, with tenor Signor Ubaldo Piangi returning to the Populaire for his seventh season to tackle the part of disguised Genoese prince Enzo Grimaldo. Long time audience members will no doubt watch with particular attention to their “Laggiú nelle nebbie remote” as rumors of the fiery Italians’ secret assignations have persisted all summer long. Will this be the year their furtive passions spill over onto the stage? We can hope, dear readers, we can hope!

After sitting down with longtime Populaire manager Monsieur Lefèvre, we at Mise-en-Scène Gazette are delighted to be the first to announce the theme of the opera’s season opening gala—Carnival at Sea! This over-the-top celebration—black tie strictly enforced!—will take place on the stage of the Populaire and patrons will have the chance to rub elbows with the company’s finest while standing on the actual set of Act III’s ship!

In October, the season will progress on to Saint-Saën’s Samon and Delilah. Esteemed members of the Jockey Club will want to take note—the opera’s infamous ‘Bacchanale’ dance—to be performed by the lithe and lively members of the Populaire’s corps de ballet—takes place in Act III. Don’t let your dinner parties run long!

In late November we revisit another of Saint-Saën’s masterpieces—Henry VIII—and patron wills be delighted to learn that a special Tudor-inspired masque will take place over the holiday season. Tickets are expected to sell quickly.

With spring’s approach comes a new production of Gounod’s Faust. While Monsieur Lefèvre played coy about the direction and theme the staging might take, this reporter keenly spotted several costume renderings scattered across his desk, depicting that fiendish devil, Méphistophélès—to be played by celebrated bass, Monsieur Marc Heche—and I can assure you, dear readers, this new adaptation is certain to be a diabolical delight.

April marks the return of Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, a grand opera—set against the bloody backdrop of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre—that has not been performed in Paris since the Populaire’s inaugural season. With Monsieur Lefèvre celebrating his twentieth year as manager, one wonders if this production will serve as a bookend for his storied career.

When asked if the closing night afterparty will also serve as a retirement fête, he smiled coyly while claiming it would take more than unexplained mysteries to foist him from his post.

For those not in the know, Monsieur Lefèvre was obliquely referencing last season’s Sturm und Drang, a night which certainly still lives in the darkest nightmares of this reporter. During opening night of Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus, actual bats descended upon both audience and performers, bringing the up-till-that-point enchanting operetta to a swift and terrifying end.  

Though management assured the public that the incident was a one off occurrence—and that the roosting bat colony has been relocated!—several company members have anonymously confided that the so-called Phantom of the Opera—an enigmatic specter of shadowy superstition within the Opéra Populaire—was behind the disaster. Is a ghost attempting to oust our beloved manager? We at Mise-en-Scène Gazette will certainly be keeping watch!

While Monsieur Lefèvre spends a bit of the season reflecting on the opera’s past, he does an about face as we head into summer with a fully new production of Chalumeau’s Hannibal. June will mark the first time any European house has produced the work and we are thrilled to see the heroic general played by our very own Signor Piangi. Elissa’s soaring coloratura will be expertly handled by Signora Giudicelli and I’m told to expect an exceptional performance by the corps de ballet in Act I. As we giddily await the magnitude of this historic tale, Monsieur Lefèvre has already begun plans to commemorate this premiere with all due style and aplomb. An elaborate gala will commence immediately after the opening night curtain falls and while the details, so far out, are admittedly scant, we have no doubt the planned spectacle will befit a Carthaginian queen. Expect this to be the most talked of event of the year!  

Though some insist that the Opéra Populaire has saved its best for last, this reporter cannot help but question the decision to end such a spectacular season with a remount of Armiazetti’s now all too familiar Il Muto. With the same casting, costumes, and scenic designs seen just two years prior, it is my—possibly unpopular—opinion that if you saw it last time, there is little need to revisit such a decidedly tired chestnut. But have no fear. Though steeped in reservations, I will be in attendance on opening night, reporting it all for you, my dearest readers.  

And who knows what surprises may still lie in store for us this season. Rumors of a new patron have been swirling about for weeks and could lead to changes decidedly unforeseen. That is—of course—the magic and marvel of live theatre: it always keeps you on your toes.  

À bientôt, my beloveds!