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In 1934, Franz Lehár, composer of The Merry Widow, was at the height of his fame. The premiere of Giuditta at the Vienna State Opera was broadcast live on over a hundred radio stations around the world… On the eve of World War II, Europe gave a triumphant reception to this joyfully apocalyptic music, a “musical comedy” with a libretto by Paul Knepler and Fritz Löhner-Beda.
A singer and dancer at the Alcazar cabaret, this beautiful and mysterious heroine is the Marlene Dietrich of opera – as seen in the movies Morocco and The Blue Angel. With Giuditta – the swan song of the composer and indeed of an entire era – Viennese operetta draws closer to opera, and Lehár to Puccini. Giuditta resembles Tosca in the depth of her passion, or Carmen in her demand for freedom. The South of France, a cruise ship voyage, Morocco: the various settings of the action enable Lehár to give free rein to the many charms of his art, ranging from Viennese waltzes to light, appealing melodies, lush orchestration tinged with exoticism, along with the sensual lyricism of the grand arias. A world away from boring clichés and brimming with contrasts, the music and story culminate in a surprising bittersweet ending.
Pierre-André Weitz’s flamboyant and inventive staging will transport us to the realm of 1930s circus and cabaret. A connoisseur of this repertoire, Viennese conductor Thomas Rösner will be making his debut at the Opéra de Lausanne, conducting the Sinfonietta de Lausanne in the French version of this spellbinding rarity.
Premiere on January 20, 1934, at the Vienna State Opera in Vienna
© KARCZAG EDITIONS
Sinfonietta de Lausanne
Opéra de Lausanne Choir
Choir Conductor Anass Ismat
Pierre-André Weitz took his first steps on stage at the Théâtre du Peuple de Bussang at the age of ten, where he acted and sang, as well as making and designing sets and costumes until he was 25 years old. At the same time, he studied architecture in Strasbourg and entered the Conservatoire d’art lyrique. During this period, he was a chorister at the Opéra national du Rhin. In 1989, he met Olivier Py and since then he has designed all the latter’s sets and costumes. He has created more than 150 sets for various other directors, both in theatre and opera (Jean Chollet, Michel Raskine, Claude Buchvald, Jean-Michel Rabeux, Ivan Alexandre, Jacques Vincey, Hervé Loichemol, Sylvie Rentona, Karelle Prugnaud, Mireille Delunsch, Christine Berg…). This research into space and time has also led him to perform as a musician or as an author in certain shows. He has been teaching stage design for over 20 years at the École supérieure des arts décoratifs in Strasbourg. Recently, he directed Les Chevaliers de la Table ronde and Mam’zelle Nitouche, two Palazzetto Bru Zane productions.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: La Vase de parfums (2005) and L’Amour vainqueur (2022).
After making his debut with Pierre Barrat at Colmar’s Atelier lyrique du Rhin, he worked with Fran- çois Tanguy and the Théâtre du Radeau for several years. In 2000, he reunited with Pierre André Weitz, whom he had met at a production at the Théâtre du Peuple in Bussang in 1988; the latter introduced him to Olivier Py. Since then, he has designed the lighting for their theater productions and some sixty operas in France and abroad. He has also designed lighting for such artists as Ivan Alexandre, Pierre Lebon, Jacques Vincey, Kidjo and Isabelle Huppert at the Festival d’Avignon.
A native of Piedmont, Ivo Bauchiero received his dance training in Turin, first studying jazz and classical dance, which he then integrated into contemporary dance, dance theater and caractère dance. He trained in Graham, Horton, Mattox, Cunningham and Ailey techniques. He enriched his practice by experimenting with circus disciplines and aerial dance. He began his professional career in Rome. After a number of projects in the peninsula, he settled in Paris and has since spread his wings across France and Europe, as well as appearing on stages in other continents in shows, musicals, operas, operetta, films, music videos and concerts. As a dancer, assistant director and choreographer, he has appeared on Rai, Mediaset and French television, as well as in major theaters and events such as Turin’s Teatro Regio, the Venice Dance Biennale, La Scala in Milan, Opéra de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra Comique, Opéra de Bordeaux, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Opéra de Montpellier and La Monnaie de Munt.
After a first prize in piano, the Franco-German soprano Camille Schnoor studied vocal arts in Paris. She won First Prize, Audience Prize and the Orchestra Prize at the International Vokal genial 2013 Competition in Munich. As a member of the Aachen Opera Company, she sings, among others, the title role in Luisa Miller, Agathe (Der Freischütz), Maria (West side story), Marenka (La fiancée vendue) as well as the main role in Au monde, the latest opera by Philippe Boesmans. Since 2016, Camille Schnoor has been a member of the cast of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich, where she plays Julie in Liliom, a creation by Johanna Doderer, Die erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Mimì (La bohème), as well as Hanna Glawari (The Merry Widow). In 2018, she makes her highly acclaimed debut as Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly) in Limoges and Rouen. In concert, she sang Le poème de l’amour et de la mer (Chausson), Verdi’s Requiem, Poulenc’s Gloria and Mahler’s Second Symphony. In the pipeline: the role of Hilda (Sigurd) in Nancy, Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder in Rouen and Marguerite (Faust) and the title role of Rusalka in Limoges.
The French tenor Jean Miannay studied singing in Lausanne with Brigitte Balleys and in Berlin in the class of Scot Weir. He distinguished himself in 2018 at the 4th Raymond Duffaut Competition, where he won the grand prize. Following this, he won various awards at the Clermont-Ferrand Competition, the Kattenburg Competition, as well as the 2nd Vienna International Music Competition. His young lyric voice leads him to interpret roles such as Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Beppe (Pagliacci), Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), Alfredo (La traviata), Vincent (Mireille), or Des Grieux (Manon). In 2018, he made his first steps at the Lausanne Opera, where he performs regularly thereafter. He sings in France at the operas of Massy, Avignon and Clermont-Ferrand, as well as at the Chorégies d’Orange for the fourth consecutive year. In 2022, he made his German debut at the Theater Magdeburg in a production of Orpheus in der Unterwelt. Curious by nature, he also flourishes in contemporary creation as well as in chamber music. He has performed Benjamin Britten’s Illuminations and Serenade for horn and tenor, Janáček’s Diary of the Missing and Schumann’s Dichterliebe. He is expected this summer as Remendado (Carmen) at the Chorégies d’Orange and joins the Opéra Studio du Rhin for the 2023/24 season.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon (2018), Les Contes d’Hoffmann (2019), Rinaldo (2020), L’Auberge du Cheval-Blanc (2021), Semiramide, Eugene Onegin and L’elisir d’amore (2022).