2021-2022 Musical Season

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"Dear spectators of the Royal Opera of Versailles,

I hope you and your loved ones are all in good health. We miss you and I know you miss our shows.

It is with a curious feeling that I introduce this new season. First of all, the regret of not having been able to present the performances planned to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the Royal Opera, which would have been magnificent (but 7 of them are being videotaped in June and July, including four recordings for our CD collection: so, they will not have succumbed to the virus!) Then, the feeling that we are presenting a new season depending on a lot of constraints while wanting to fully live up to our Opera’s magnificent anniversary!

Of course, we have had to give up projects that could no longer be put in place and to postpone shows that were cancelled this spring. New dates were found for some; others will be shown in the following season. With the aim to reduce risk and protect artists, here is a programme on par with the quality of all our previous ones. This is Versailles, after all!

So, I'll let you discover this season in all its singularity and excellence, despite a particularly difficult environment.

Operas staged version

The highlights of this new programme are wonderful staged projects that are bound to fascinate:

• The Mozart-Da Ponte Trilogy by Marc Minkowski and Ivan Alexandre, which would normally fill half an opera season: Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così fan Tutte!
• Orpheus and Euridice by Gluck directed by Aurélien Bory and conducted by Raphaël Pichon.
• Monteverdi's Orfeo by Marc Mauillon and Jordi Savall.
• George Dandin by Molière and Lully, by Gaétan Jarry and Michel Fau.
• La Finta Pazza by Sacrati, directed by Leonardo García Alarcón.
• Don Quichotte chez la duchesse by Boismortier with Hervé Niquet and Shirley & Dino.
• Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Lully, Molière and Denis Podalydès - postponed from June 2020.
  
  

Concerts

Among a plethora concerts some highlights:

• Mathias Vidal as the hero of an exceptional Rameau festival.
• Valentin Tournet for a performance of Handel's Messiah and a record of Bach's Motets.
• Sébastien Daucé will present two Charpentier programmes.
• Sir John Eliot Gardiner for an admirable Saint John Passion and Raphaël Pichon with his magnificent Saint Matthew.
• Angelin Preljocaj will present two ballets for the festive season.
• William Christie is conducting three concerts.
• Philippe Jaroussky is on the programme three times, including for the first time as conductor.
• Gaétan Jarry has four projects all linked to recordings for our CD collection.

Some revivals in concert and recordings for our CD collection.
Campra: The new century's destiny ; Cavalli: Egisto ; Corelli: his Trionfo Romano to celebrate the healing of Louis XIV. DeLalande: the famous Symphonies pour les Soupers du Roi ; Charpentier: David and Jonathas ; Clérambault: Grands Motets ; Desmarest: Circe ; by Vivaldi and Guido: two versions of the Four Seasons ; Rameau and Mondonville: their most beautiful Grands Motets.

Finally, the Orchestre de l'Opéra Royal, after a splendid debut in Les Fantômes de Versailles in 2019, will be present for six projects including five recordings, a true season in itself!

Exceptional moments

And since Versailles is not Versailles without exceptional evenings:

• The Couchers du Roi (The King’s bedtime ceremonies) - postponed from June 2020 - will enchant the Louis XIV Apartments at nightfall.
• In the Queen's Theatre, William Christie will perform the love cantatas that Handel intended for the palaces of his Roman patrons.
• Rome was also the site of a sumptuous Trionfo Romano by Corelli for the cure of Louis XIV, this time hosted on the Peristyle of the Grand Trianon.
• Wagner in Versailles. Ludwig II of Bavaria would have dreamt of seing Wagner performed in Versailles, an association of his two passions: his dream will come true with Walkyrie in concert version (Rheingold , initially scheduled for Monday July 6, 2020, is postponed to Sunday June 27, 2021 (3pm) on the show WAGNER: LA WALKYRIE.).

You will be able to book your seats very shortly. You will receive a ticket office email to inform you of the opening of sales. Conditions and details of postponement, vouchers and donations will also be set out.

Those of you who wish to do so can donate the amount of the tickets of your cancelled shows. This will entitle you to a tax reduction of 66% of the total amount. The money raised will be entirely invested in the recording and concert of Rameau and Mondonville’s Grands Motets conducted by Gaétan Jarry – November 15, 2020. This donation to the Château de Versailles Spectacles will be an opportunity to show your support and attachment to the artists who keep the Royal Opera alive.

After a spring-summer season reduced to silence, here comes a second chance to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the Royal Opera of Versailles. I know that we will seize it together, with the hope of shared happiness.

Finally, I would like to add to this message a sincere thought for Joëlle Broguet, founder and treasurer of ADOR, who died suddenly at the end of May, to which her very many friends will be associated: she will hear our fraternal greeting from heaven.

My dear friends,

This new season is now yours to choose from, our team is now gradually coming back to work and at your disposal. We will be so happy to see you again this fall!

In the meantime, I assure you of my friendship."

Laurent Brunner,
Directeur de l’Opéra Royal et de Château de Versailles Spectacles

Download the detailed programme of the 2021-2022 Season (in French)

This programme is presented subject to changes and clarifications of the regulatory conditions in the context of the health crisis.