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The Opéra de Lausanne presents a new world premiere of an opera based on the famous tale by Charles Perrault. The famous story of the little girl in the ruddy hood, her grandmother and the wolf, which has become part of popular culture, is no longer told. If some of Perrault’s tales have inspired many composers (Bluebeard for Bartók, Sleeping Beauty for Tchaikovsky or Cinderella for Isouard or Viardot), Little Red Riding Hood seems to have had a short-lived success on the opera stage. There are only two adaptations of it, which have since been forgotten: one by Gaston Serpette (1885) and the other by Célestin Fontana (1943). It is therefore with good reason that the Opéra de Lausanne has decided to bring this tale back to life in music thanks to the talents of two young Swiss artists: the composer Guy-François Leuenberger and the librettist Stefania Pinnelli.
There are several interpretations of the tale, revisited by the Grimm brothers, by Tex Avery or watered down for the needs of the film industry, but in a world where violence and aggression are omnipresent themes, this opera offers an optimistic version full of freshness, which will delight young and old alike.
Guy-François Leuenberger is a pianist and composer born in 1983. He trained at HEMU Lausanne and he is regularly called upon by the Opéra de Lausanne and the Rudra Béjart School. He works alongside many classical singers and choral groups, and collaborates with various orchestras in Switzerland and France. He has directed the Cossonay School of Music since 2018, where he also teaches music theory, and is accompanist of the musical theatre class at the Conservatoire de Lausanne. Le Ruisseau Noir (2015) and Avec toi (five melodies for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, 2018) are among his latest work. Guy-François Leuenberger was awarded the Leenaards Scholarship in 2011.
Trained at the Conservatoire d’Aix-en-Provence, where he began his career under the baton of Darius Milhaud, Patrick Marie Aubert obtained a first prize in orchestral conducting in the class of Pierre Villette. He also won a prize for singing, a prize for lyric art and a prize for chamber music. He was a professor of the choral singing class and then director of the Léo Delibes Conservatory in Clichy, artistic director of the Vox Hominis vocal ensemble, musical director of the Divertimento orchestra and conductor of the choirs of the Nantes Opera. Conductor of the French Army Choir until 2000, he has participated for nearly twenty years in major national events and has conducted numerous concerts in France and abroad. He was the conductor of the Chœur du Capitole de Toulouse from 2003 to 2009, then director of the Chœur de l’Opéra national de Paris from 2009 to 2014. He has collaborated with conductors Maurizio Arena, Serge Baudo, Roberto Benzi, Marc Minkowski, Evelino Pidò, Michel Plasson, Georges Prêtre, Yutaka Sado, Jeffrey Tate… and directors Robert Carsen, Georges Lavaudant, Jorge Lavelli, Laurent Pelly, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Olivier Py, Robert Wilson…
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Orpheus and Eurydice (2019), The Tales of Hoffmann (2019), Little Red Riding Hood (2021), Candide (2022), Le domino noir (2023), Orphée aux Enfers (2023)
Born in 1976 in Fribourg, Stefania Pinnelli obtained a degree in Art Drama at the Université du Québec in Montréal in 2001. She then became involved in the creation, production and management of theatre and film projects as a director, scriptwriter and actress. In 2011, she created, with Denis Correvon, The Divine Company, in which she pursues and develops a creative work, based on a cinematographic vision of theatre. These experiences have enabled her to direct and participate in ambitious projects (show for the Fête du Blé et du Pain in Echallens in August 2018) and to develop a deep and central human sense in her work. Since 2006 she has collaborated in all of Yvette Théraulaz’s tours de chant as a playwright, then director, on the show Histoires d’ILS created at the Théâtre de Carouge and the Théâtre Benno Besson in January 2020. Since July 1, 2016, she has directed the Alambic Theatre and the Martigny Theatre School.
Born in France, Paola Landolt trained in Lausanne, first in visual arts and singing, then in dramatic art at the École supérieure de théâtre les Teintureries. She has since performed in Switzerland and France in various theatrical and musical genres. She also writes for the stage. Her first show, entitled Il est temps d’être drunk about the life of the surrealist poet Robert Desnos, premiered in 2004 at the Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne. Since 2006, she has been writing and working regularly with her Lausanne colleagues from the company Qu’est-ce t’as toi?. Paola Landolt also accompanies and coaches many singers and groups, in order to refine, energize and/or highlight artists and projects.
Yuki Tsurusaki received her vocal training from Hiroko Kawamichi at the Haute école de musique de Lausanne. From an early age, she has loved the stage: practicing the piano as well as dance, she is an artist equally at ease in both the danced and sung repertoires. Keen to touch her audience, she attaches great importance to interpretation and her relationship with the body, which she has developed in particular with Armand Deladoëy and Enmando. She won the Mosetti scholarship during her studies, as well as first prizes at the Vienne en Voix and Léopold Bellan competitions in Paris. In the operatic repertoire, she sings the roles of Lucy in Menotti’s The Telephone, Miles in The Turn of The Screw, Micaëla and Frasquita in Carmen, as well as creations such as Il gatto con gli stivali by Rinaldo Bellucci at the Turin Opera. She performs at various festivals in Japan, Russia and the United States. She is currently perfecting her vocal skills with the likes of Ludovic Tézier, Béatrice Uria-Monzon, Antoine Palloc and Nadine Denize.
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), L’Auberge du Cheval-Blanc (2021), Orphée aux Enfers (2023).
Lydia Spyra obtained a Master’s degree in interpretation at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne, in the class of Frédéric Gindraux. At the Opéra de Lausanne, she is engaged for the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons for the “Atelier Jeune Public”. She will also be heard at the Opéra de Lausanne in the role of Irene la de Pinto in Doña Francisquita in early 2020. The young soprano is a laureate of the Geneva Mahler Competition in 2018.
Having studied under Blandine de Saint-Sauveur and Leontina Vaduva, Hoël Troadec recently completed his training at the Haute école de musique de Lausanne. He has already taken on many roles, such as Nathanaël (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Beppe (Rita), Silvio (Le Docteur Miracle), Benedict (Béatrice et Bénédict), Gardefeu (La Vie parisienne), the Chevalier de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites), Paris (La Belle Hélène), Roland (Les Chevaliers de la Table ronde), Schmidt (Werther), Tonio (La Fille du régiment) and Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore). His roles have taken him to prestigious stages such as the Bregenzer Festspiele, the Opéra de Massy, the Opéra de Clermont-Ferrand, the Opéra de Vichy, the Opéra de Lausanne and, recently, the Opéra de Lyon.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: Les Chevaliers de la Table ronde (Route Lyrique 2019), La Belle Hélène (2019), Le Petit Chaperon rouge (2021), Candide (2022), and L’Île de Tulipatan (Route Lyrique 2023)
After gaining masters degrees in music composition and musicology in Geneva, Benoît Capt trained as a singer at the HMT Mendelssohn in Leipzig (concert masters), then at the HEMU in Lausanne with Gary Magby (soloist masters). Winner of several international competitions (Lyon, Dortmund, Weiden, Marmande, Toulouse), in 2008 he received the Prix du Cercle des Amis de l’OSR. For the past twenty years, he has performed in opera and concert in a repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary music, under conductors such as Theodor Guschlbauer, Stefano Ranzani, Hervé Niquet, Arie van Beek, Frank Beermann, Roberto Rizzi-Brignoli, Leonardo Garcia-Alarcon, Jean-Yves Ossonce and Diego Fasiolis. His recital partners include pianists such as Phillip Moll, Eric Schneider, Alexis Golovine and Michel Dalberto.
At the Opéra de Lausanne: The Telephone (2006), Carmen (2008), L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (2010), Pimpinone (2010), Die Zauberflöte (2010 and 2015), Die Lustigen Weiber (2014), Le Petit Prince (2015), Faust (2016), La Bohème (2017), Simon Boccanegra (2018) and Le petit Chaperon rouge (2021).
Born in Lausanne, David Deppierraz first trained in Architecture at EPFL, and then in Cultural Management at the University of Lausanne. He has been involved in the creation, production, and management of theatrical or cinematic projects as a scenographer, screenwriter or director for over 20 years. His career led him to work for various directors, theatres, museums, and festivals, while pursuing personal writing and directing work. From 2007 to 2014, he co-directed the street arts festival Le Castrum in Yverdon-les-Bains and, from 2008 to 2010, he was the artistic co-director of the arts event produced by the magazine L’Illustré. In 2018, he created the show Solstices as part of the Fête du Blé et du Pain in Echallens, as author, scenographer, and project manager.
After her formation as a theatre costume designer, Amélie Reymond was hired at the Lausanne Opera as a seamstress and stylist from 2002 to 2009. She is involved in the costume production for various opera productions. Early in her career she was also entrusted with the complete production of the costumes for Les moutons bleus, in 2008, and for L’enfant et les sortilèges, in 2010. She opened her own studio in 2007, where she creates and directs costumes for various theatres, musicals, dances and exhibitions. She was appointed Assistant Manager of the Costumes Department at the Opéra de Lausanne in 2009, then Head of the Costumes Department in 2016. From 2012 to 2016, she was also directing the costumes for Avenches Opéra; she worked as costume assistant for Carmen, in 2014, and signed her first opera costume creation in 2015 for Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Opéra de Lausanne: she created the costumes for La Belle de Cadix (Route Lyrique 2016), Les Zoocrates (2017) and Les chevaliers de la Table ronde (Route Lyrique 2019).
Yan Godat began his career in Switzerland as an assistant to Jean-Philippe Roy and Romain Rossel. He continued his training at ENSATT (École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre) in lighting direction. He worked with Robert Sandoz, Simon Delétang, Marielle Pinsard, Jean Liermier and Massimo Furlan. He signs lights for the opera with Bruno Ravella. More recently, he has been executing the digital video control for the company Adrien M & Claire B and developing the lights and technical devices for the artists Clédat & Petitpierre. He also creates interactive installations related to contemporary music for young audiences. In 2007 he founded the company MiMesis with Vincent Scalbert where he is an artistic director and lighting designer.