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The good Auberge du Cheval Blanc, a friendly and troubling stay
This sums up the intrigues taking place in this charming establishment in the Austrian countryside. The arrival of a merchant from Marseilles and his daughter soon breaks the calm and peaceful atmosphere and leads to misunderstandings between the staff and guests, which only the advice of Emperor Franz Josef himself can solve… But what does it matter when it comes to charming the public to the sounds of the latest wild rhythms from across the Atlantic?
The Auberge du Cheval Blanc is Berlin’s most famous operetta of the interwar period, a delightful blend of Tyrolean folklore, Viennese operetta and Berlin cabaret. That’s how successful it was: translated into many languages, its French adaptation earned it more than 1,700 performances at the Théâtre du Châtelet at the time!
Operetta in two acts
after Blumenthal and G. Kaldenburg
by Eric Charell and Hans Müller – Lyrics by Robert Gilbert
Interspersed Airs by Robert Stolz and Robert Gilbert
Musical adaptation by Paul Bonneau
French adaptation by Lucien Besnard – Lyrics by René Dorin
First performed on September 29, 1968
Edition Raoul Breton
Director of the Opera and the Regional Symphony Orchestra in Tours from 1999 to 2016, Jean-Yves Ossonce has been the guest conductor of numerous opera houses and orchestras in Europe, across the Atlantic, in South Korea and in China. He has recorded works by Magnard, Massenet and Ropartz, among others. His activity was distinguished in 2008 and 2014 by the Syndicat de la critique musicale et dramatique (“best lyrical performance in the region”). In 2016, he received the Grand Prix de la Presse musicale internationale for his entire career. He is a knight of the Legion of Honor.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Così fan tutte (2006), Monsieur de Pourceaugnac (2007), Madama Butterfly (2009), L’Aiglon (2013), Faust (2016) and Les contes d’Hoffmann (2019).
Originally from the Marseille region, Gilles Rico studied music and philosophy before taking a PhD in medieval philosophy at Oxford University. In parallel to his academic career, he turned to opera directing, working first as an assistant for various European and North American opera houses and festivals. He has worked with directors such as Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser, Joël Pommerat, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Jérôme Deschamps, Andreas Homoki, David McVicar, Damiano Michieletto, Robert Carsen, James Gray and Katie Mitchell. In 2016, he directed his first opera production at Angers-Nantes Opéra, the world premiere of Maria Republica by François Paris, which received the Critics’ Choice Award the same year. He also directed Un dîner avec Jacques, a show based on Offenbach produced by the Opéra-Comique in Paris and then taken on tour in France. He created the participatory opera Tistou les pouces verts by Henri Sauguet at the Rouen Opera and then staged Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Philharmonie de Paris. More recently, he directed the participatory opera Les Petites Noces after Mozart at the Opéra de Rouen, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, in Avignon and Toulon, and the operette L’Auberge du Cheval-Blanc by Benatzsky in Lausanne and Marseille. As a librettist, Gilles Rico wrote the libretto of Violetta Cruz’s La Princesse légère for the Opéra-Comique and the Opéra de Lille, and the libretto of Fabian Panisello’s chamber opera Les Rois mages, which he also directed in Madrid, Nice and Tel Aviv. His directing projects include Offenbach’s L’Île de Tulipatan at the Opéra de Lausanne (Route Lyrique), Zingarelli’s Giulietta e Romeo at the Opéra royal de Versailles, Gounod’s Le Tribut de Zamora at the Opéra de Saint-Etienne and the world premiere of Zad Moultaka’s Hémon at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Cendrillon by Pauline Viardot (2018), Le nozze di Figaro (2021), L’Auberge du Cheval-Blanc (2021) and L’Île de Tulipatan (Route Lyrique 2023).
After studying political science and piano, Fabienne Conrad made her debut in the title role of La Traviata. Since then, she has sung on many European stages roles such as the Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro), Juliette (Romeo and Juliet), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Mimì (La bohème), Micaëla (Carmen), Princess Marie de Gonzague (Cinq-Mars), as well as the title roles of Lucia di Lammermoor, Manon, Mirelle and Madama Butterfly. She has also collaborated with Jesús López Cobos, Cyril Diederich, Myung-Wung Chun, Robert Carsen and Vincent Boussard. Fabienne Conrad has been invited by Alain Duault for a series of recitals ” Maria Callas, une passion, un destin “, in partnership with Radio Classique, and has also sung during the show ” Musiques en fête ” live on France 3 and France Musique. In the pipeline: the roles of Liù (Turandot), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) or the title role of Tosca.
Julien Dran discovered singing thanks to his parents, themselves both opera singers. He studied at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux and the CNIPAL in Marseille. After graduating from the latter, he was quickly engaged to sing increasingly important roles such as Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Fenton (Falstaff), Tebaldo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi). He won the Concours international Gayarre in Pamplona under the presidency of Teresa Berganza in 2013 and, in the same year, the Prix de l’Opéra de Paris at the Salle Gaveau in the male singer category. He has performed in France and abroad in Les Pêcheurs de perles, Fra Diavolo (where he played the title role), L’italiana in Algeri (Lindoro), Béatrice et Bénédict (Benedict) and Carlotta ou la Vaticane (Tiberius), a world premiere by Dominique Gesseney-Rappo at the Opéra de Fribourg. Among the highlights of his last seasons: Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) in Marseille, Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore) in Quebec, the title role in Gounod’s Faust and Alfredo (La traviata) at the opera houses of Marseille, Toulouse, Vichy and Limoges, the Viceroy of Naples in the world premiere of Marc-André Dalbavie’s Le Soulier de satin at the Opéra Bastille and Mireille at the Opéra de Metz.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: La Belle Hélène (2019), L’Auberge du Cheval-Blanc (2021) and My Fair Lady (2022).
Distinguishing himself in various performing arts, Patrick Rocca found himself on several occasions in front of the cameras of films and television series. He was Javert in Les Misérables and Albin in La cage aux folles at the Théâtre Mogador. He played in plays, notably alongside Isabelle Adjani, and in numerous opera productions at the Opéra Comique. Above all a lyrical singer, he interprets Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Jupiter in Orpheus in the Underworld, Agamemnon in La belle Hélène and General Boum in La Grande-duchesse de Gérolstein. He also performed in concert with Katia Ricciarelli in Brahms’ Requiem at Saint Eustache in Paris and in Manon, conducted by Colin Davis, at the Royal Opera House Covent
Colin Davis, at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. In Lausanne, he was heard in La belle Hélène (2008), La Périchole (2009), La veuve joyeuse (2014), La vie parisienne (2016). He has participated in numerous filming in recent years: Baron Noir, Candice Renoir, Cain, Demain nous appartient, Garder ton nom directed by Vincent Duquesne.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: La belle Hélène (2008), La Périchole (2009), La veuve joyeuse (2014) et La vie parisienne (2016).
Mathias Vidal graduated from the Paris Conservatory in 2003, after studying musicology in Nice. He has been celebrated for his performance in numerous baroque operas, such as those of Monteverdi, Purcell, Rameau , Lully, Cavalli, or Campra. Vidal offers interpretations of the Light Music repertoire, the great works of the romantics and bel cantos, as well as twentieth century and contemporary works. He has recently appeared in title roles including: Orlando Paladino (Haydn), The Count Ory (Rossini), Cinq-Mars and Faust (Gounod), and Der Zwerg (Zemlinsky).
This season, he sang Abaris in Les Boréades and Ernesto in Don Pasquale at the Oldenburg Opera, the title role of Platée in Toulouse and Versailles, and Thespis in the same work at the Paris Opera. In concert, he will be heard in Lélio by Berlioz, Circé by Desmarets, Les surprises de l’amour, Zoroastre and Les Paladins by Rameau, L’Orfeo and Les vêpres by Monteverdi, and Ariane et Bacchus by Marin Marais.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Orphée aux Enfers (2012)
Clémentine Bourgoin began by learning the cello, before studying singing and acting. She has performed on various opera stages in France and Europe, notably in Hervé’s trilogy of operettas staged by Pierre-André Weitz: Les Chevaliers de la Table ronde, Mam’zelle Nitouche and V’lan dans l’œil, the last of which will be performed in 2021 at the Théâtre du Châtelet. She also sung the roles of The Shepherdess and the Bat in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges at the Opéra de Limoges and The Princess in Olivier Py’s chamber opera L’Amour vainqueur, premiered at the 2019 Avignon Festival and then performed on international tour. Recently, she played Sylvabelle in L’Auberge du Cheval-Blanc at the Opéra de Lausanne and at the Opéra de Marseille, as well as Les Petites Noces, an adaptation of Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro with Les Musiciens du Louvre.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Mam’zelle Nitouche (2019), L’Auberge du Cheval-Blanc (2021) and L’amour vainqueur (2022).
Julien Dran discovered singing thanks to his parents, themselves both opera singers. He studied at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux and the CNIPAL in Marseille. After graduating from the latter, he was quickly engaged to sing increasingly important roles such as Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Fenton (Falstaff), Tebaldo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi). He won the Concours international Gayarre in Pamplona under the presidency of Teresa Berganza in 2013 and, in the same year, the Prix de l’Opéra de Paris at the Salle Gaveau in the male singer category. He has performed in France and abroad in Les Pêcheurs de perles, Fra Diavolo (where he played the title role), L’italiana in Algeri (Lindoro), Béatrice et Bénédict (Benedict) and Carlotta ou la Vaticane (Tiberius), a world premiere by Dominique Gesseney-Rappo at the Opéra de Fribourg. Among the highlights of his last seasons: Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) in Marseille, Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore) in Quebec, the title role in Gounod’s Faust and Alfredo (La traviata) at the opera houses of Marseille, Toulouse, Vichy and Limoges, the Viceroy of Naples in the world premiere of Marc-André Dalbavie’s Le Soulier de satin at the Opéra Bastille and Mireille at the Opéra de Metz.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: La Belle Hélène (2019), L’Auberge du Cheval-Blanc (2021) and My Fair Lady (2022).
Guillaume Paire studied at the Haute École de Musique de Genève in the class of Gilles Cachemaille and then perfected his skills with Sherman Lowe in Venice. He joined the Academy of the Festival of Aix en Provence and the Rencontres Lyriques de Genève. Member of the Rouen Opera Company from 2010 to 2012, he is Papageno in the production of William Kentridge. He made his debut at La Monnaie in Brussels as the Gendarme in Les Mamelles de Tirésias. Recently, Guillaume Paire presented his first musical one-man show “Le Blues du Perroquet” at the Saint-Etienne Opera and played Peter in Hänsel und Gretel produced by Les Variétés Lyriques.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Les mamelles de Tirésias (2016).
Trained for acting at the E.N.S.A.T.T and the Ecole Florent, Richard Lahady also studied singing. He made his debut at the Saint-Etienne Opera and, in the same city, participated in the Massenet Festival. In recent years, the Opéra de Lausanne has offered him numerous roles. He was heard as Langlois in Les Mousquetaires au couvent at the Opéra Comique. He also regularly participates in productions of the Opéra de Paris and the Opéra de Lyon, as well as in numerous French and Swiss festivals.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Die lustige Wittwe (2014), My fair Lady (2015), La vie parisienne (2016), Le chanteur de Mexico (2017), Les chevaliers de la Table ronde (Route Lyrique 2019), La belle Hélène (2019) and Dédé (Route Lyrique 2021).
Miss Helvetia has made a name for herself in the Swiss folk scene with her legendary stage performances. Her debut album immediately shot to the top of the Swiss charts: “E Guete” made a smashing debut at number four in the charts and stayed in the top 20 for several weeks. Having a personal connection to the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the Oberlandaise couldn’t resist releasing three of her best hits in French. “E Guete – Bon appétit” was released on August 3, 2018, and took her straight to the top spot of the best-selling albums. Whether she is yodeling, singing or hosting a show, Barbara Klossner aka Miss Helvetia, convinces and touches with her incredible talent, authenticity true to traditions and delightfully crazy side. She lent her voice to the official song of the Unspunnen Festival in 2017. For the Swiss National Day on August 1, she sings the national anthem on the Rütli meadow – in all four national languages and in front of the TV cameras. But Miss Helvetia is always curious and open to new things, which is why she decided to write her own songs.
Co-host of several radio programs (“5/5”, “Au fond à gauche”, “Aqua Concert”…), Patrick Lapp pursues in parallel a career as an actor, in particular at the Théâtre de l’Atelier in Geneva under the direction of François Rochaix. He then joined the T’Act with André Steiger. Then came Bergamote, a show with Claude-Inga Barbey and Claude Blanc. Tours in French-speaking Switzerland, France and at the Petit Hébertot for a year, then at the Grand Hébertot for six months in Paris. Recently, he won the Quartz for best actor in Swiss cinema with La Vanité, directed by Lionel Baier. In March 2022, he will perform La Contrebasse, by Patrick Süskind, in Lausanne.
After a bachelor’s degree in Italian, Laurène Paternò entered the Haute école de musique de Lausanne and obtained a master’s degree as a soloist in 2019. In this context, she participates in a Swiss musical creation given in Rio de Janeiro on the occasion of the 2016 Olympic Games. She also performed the roles of Blanche de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites) and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro). She then made her debut as Serpina (La serva padrona) in an Opéra de Lausanne production given in Bhutan in 2018. She performed at the Nouvel Opéra de Fribourg as Sofiya, Yelena and a KGB agent in Russell Hepplewhite’s Laika, the Dog in Space. In 2020, she is part of the program of the Opéra Comique de Paris for a revival of Laika, the Dog in Space. She is also Fille-Fleur in Parsifal at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in 2021, and Mélusine in a revival of Les Chevaliers de la Table ronde at the Opéra Grand Avignon. She made her debut in 2022 at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and at the Théâtre de Caen in the role of Despina (Così fan tutte), a new production by Laurent Pelly and Emmanuelle Haïn, as well as at the Glyndebourne Festival to double the role of Thérèse in Les mamelles de Tirésias by Poulenc (directed by Laurent Pelly). She won the 1st prize in the Kattenburg competition at the Opéra de Lausanne in 2019 and the 2nd prize in the Corsica Lirica competition in 2021.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: La serva padrona (Bouthan 2018), Les chevaliers de la Table ronde (Route Lyrique 2019), La belle Hélène (2020) and Dédé (Route Lyrique 2021).
French tenor Jean Miannay studied singing with Brigitte Balleys at the HEMU and with Scot Weier at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. His first roles were at the Opéra de Lausanne. In September 2021, he played Ferrando in Così fan tutte, a co-production of HEMU, HEM Geneva and Opéra de Fribourg. He made his French stage debut in 2020 as Beppe in I Pagliacci at the Opéra du Grand Avignon – and subsequently performed in the same role at the Opéra de Vichy in Clermont-Ferrand and at the Festival de Saint-Céré. In 2020, he also appeared for the first time at the Chorégies d’Orange, as part of the “Nuit Magique”. He was invited back the following year for a “Scène émergente” recital and in 2022 he played Isepo in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon (2018), Les Contes d’Hoffmann (2019), Rinaldo (2020), L’Auberge du Cheval-Blanc (2021), Semiramide (2022) and L’elisir d’amore (2022).
Having taken vocal training with Hiroko Kawamichi at the Haute école de musique de Lausanne, Yuki Tsurusaki devotes a lot of importance to interpretation, which she notably developed with Armand Deladoëy. She has been on stage since she was a child and is equally at ease in repertoires including song and dance. In opera, she has appeared in The Telephone (Lucy), The Turn of the Screw (Miles), Carmen (Micaëla), as well as in world premieres such as Il gatto con gli stivali by Rinaldo Bellucci. She performs in various festivals in Japan, Russia and the United States. She was awarded the Mosetti scholarship, as well as first prizes at the Vienne en Voix competition in Vivonne and the Léopold Bellan competition in Paris. She has notably studied with Ludovic Tézier, Béatrice Uria-Monzon and Antoine Palloc, among others.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Les Zoocrates by Thierry Besançon (2017), Die Fledermaus (2018), Dédé (Route Lyrique 2021), Le Petit Chaperon rouge by Guy-François Leuenberger (2021) and L’Auberge du Cheval-Blanc (2021).
The Opéra de Lausanne Choir is young, made up of students of singing from Lausanne’s University of Music and the Geneva HEM, and professional singers. Its members are selected by audition and periodically reheard. For each opera, they are distributed depending on their voice and/or aptitudes. Thanks mainly to their talent on stage, supported by an infectious enthusiasm, they are highly appreciated by all the theatre directors invited. For a few years the choir has benefitted from preparation by several experienced choir masters from different backgrounds, chosen depending on the works being sung and their specific interest.
Jacques Blanc studied the piano at the Conservatoire National de Marseille, and orchestra conducting with Jésus Etcheverry. He began as a singing master then became choir master at the Nantes and Strasbourg Operas. He supported Jeffrey Tate and George Prêtre, before becoming a conductor himself in Bordeaux, Montpellier, Limoges, Nice and Nantes. Between 1986 and 1988 he was director of vocal studies at the CNIPAL national opera centre in Marseille. From 1999 to 2010, he became the permanent chorus master and director of vocal studies of the Opéra National de Bordeaux, and contributed to performances such as Turandot, Carmen and La Bohème. He now devotes himself to conducting and the study of repertoire with young singers to guide them in their careers. He recently conducted La Traviata while on tour with the Opéra en Plein Air. At the Opéra de Lausanne: Die Zauberflöte (1991) assisting Armin Jordan; Phi-Phi (2014) and La belle de Cadix (2016) as conductor; Manon (2014), Die lustige Witwe (2014), My Fair Lady (2015), Les mamelles de Tirésias (2016), La vie parisienne (2016), La Bohème, Hamlet and Lucia di Lammermoor (2017), Die Fledermaus (2018) as chorus master.
Director of the Opera and the Regional Symphony Orchestra in Tours from 1999 to 2016, Jean-Yves Ossonce has been the guest conductor of numerous opera houses and orchestras in Europe, across the Atlantic, in South Korea and in China. He has recorded works by Magnard, Massenet and Ropartz, among others. His activity was distinguished in 2008 and 2014 by the Syndicat de la critique musicale et dramatique (“best lyrical performance in the region”). In 2016, he received the Grand Prix de la Presse musicale internationale for his entire career. He is a knight of the Legion of Honor.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Così fan tutte (2006), Monsieur de Pourceaugnac (2007), Madama Butterfly (2009), L’Aiglon (2013), Faust (2016) and Les contes d’Hoffmann (2019).
Karolina Luisoni studied fashion design at the University of Art and Design in Krakow. She continued her training in costume and textile design at the University of Huddersfield, England. Her graduation project in 2013 earned her a special award from actor Sir Patrick Steward, as well as an award from the Northern Society of Costumes and Textiles. She is the winner of the international competition organized in 2015 by Luc Besson, for the costumes of his film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. In 2019, her costume “Mephistopheles” was exhibited at the Moscow State Historical Museum as part of the exhibition “Innovative Costume of the 21st Century: Next Generation”.
Since 2015, she has collaborated with several theater companies in Switzerland and abroad and initiated her collaboration with the Opéra de Lausanne. Hired in the costume workshops of the institution, she holds the role of assistant to the costume making. In 2017, she assisted in the creation of the costumes for the production of Don Giovanni. She realized her first creation at the Opéra de Lausanne during the production of Cinderella in 2018.
A graduate of the École nationale supérieure des arts et techniques du théâtre in France, Bruno de Lavenère creates stage designs for opera, dance and theatre. In 2014, the Syndicat professionnel de la critique de théâtre, de musique et de danse awarded him the prize for best creator of scenographic elements with the video artist Etienne Guiol in the opera category for the set design of Doctor Atomic in Strasbourg. He has worked with Thomas Jolly, Lucinda Childs, Jean-Louis Grinda, Renée Auphan, Jean-Romain Vesperini, Richard Brunel, Frédéric Roels, Max Emanuel Cencic and Gilles Rico. Among his latest creations are Roméo et Juliette at the Opéra Bastille, Armide at the Opéra-Comique, On purge bébé at La Monnaie, Henry VIII at Bard (New York), L’Avare at the Comédie-Française, Macbeth Underworld at La Monnaie, Norma in Muscat (Oman), Mozart and Salieri in Lyon, Il trovatore in Lille and Luxembourg, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte in Rouen, Quai Ouest and Cav/Pag in Strasbourg, The Sleeping Beauty in Basel, Les Petites Noces at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, La Belle Hélène at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Little Nemo and Maria Republica in Nantes, Re Orso at the Opéra-Comique, Carmen in Hong Kong, La bohème at the Bolshoi, Otello in Monte-Carlo and Akhnaten in Nice.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Siroe (2016), La Vie parisienne (2016), La Donna del lago (2018), Cendrillon (2018) and The White Horse Inn (2021).
In recent years in Europe, David Debrinay has mainly created lighting for theater and opera for Lucinda Childs, Max-Emmanuel Cencic, Jakob Peter-Messer, Nicola Raab, Jean Lacornerie, Laurent Brethome, Jean-Claude Berutti, Johanny Bert, Jean Louis Benoit, Richard Brunel. He also works in the field of dance, collaborating with Bruno Bouché, Alejandro Cerrudo, Yann Raballand, Davy Brun and Jonah Bokaer.
Recently, David Debrinay created LJOMA, a lighting design studio for which he is the artistic director. With this studio, he designs lighting universes in the field of luxury events by collaborating with Hermès, Chanel, Cartier, Pinto, Jonathon Beck (New York), K2 and WB (Shanghai) or Once (Beirut).
At the Opéra de Lausanne : La donna del lago (2018)
Jean-Philippe Guilois entered the National School of the Paris Opera in 1997 and then joined the Rudra Béjart School, with which he participated in several shows and international tours. He made his first professional experience with the Compagnie Buissonnière in Parce que je t’aime, presented at the Théâtre de Vidy-Lausanne. While multiplying his contracts as a dancer, he was introduced to the world of opera as a stage manager, and then became assistant director for La bohème, Nabucco, Carmen and Madame Butterfly at the Avenches Opera Festival, L’Aiglon and La Traviata at the Opéra de Marseille, Armide and Cendrillon at the Opéra de Nancy, Falstaff at the Opéra de Montpellier. Recently, he created the choreographies of My fair Lady at the Opéra de Marseille, Un ballo in maschera at the Opéra de Nancy and Tannhäuser at the Opéra national de Lyon. He currently devotes himself to the creation of choreographies, plays and stage productions.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Alcina (2011), My fair Lady (2015), La vie parisienne (2016), Don Giovanni (2017), Così fan tutte (2018), Les chevaliers de la Table ronde (Route Lyrique 2019), L’auberge du Cheval Blanc (2019) and Dédé (Route Lyrique 2021), My Fair Lady (2022) and Davel (2023)