 |
Music
Making space for opera
Les Chorégies d'Orange
7 July to 3 August 2007
When the summer sun scorches the open air tiers of seats in the Roman theatre of Orange, it is easy to see how they acquired the name ‘bleachers’, bleached white by its fierce rays. They began to be rebuilt in the early 1800s, but were completed only just in time for the opening of the first festival in 1860, the oldest in France.
In the beginning, the Chorégies d'Orange consisted only of plays but gradually opera, symphonies and other musical works were added to the programme. However, what put the festival truly on the map was the arrival in 1903 of the great actress Sarah Bernhardt, just short of 60, still playing her masterpiece, Jean Racine's Phèdre, in front of a packed house of 9,000 spectators.
In 1969 the theatrical works were transferred to the Avignon festival and the Chorégies – from the Greek word ‘choreos’, to ‘make space for’ - became devoted solely to opera. The opening performance was ‘Joseph’, an opera by Etienne-Nicholas Méhul, whose stirring qualities back in 1807 had won an award presented by the Emperor Napoleon himself. In 1971 the ‘Nouvelles Chorégies’, were launched at Orange, using the stage of the Roman theatre for all musical and lyrical performances, rather than just a handful, and proved an immediate success. Its stage wall, perfectly preserved from Roman times, 103 metres long, 37 metres high, guarantees exceptional acoustics.
This year’s festival features Puccini's Madame Butterfly and Verdi's Il Trovatore.
|
|
|
|
