Opera
Les Fêtes Vénitiennes
By André Campra
Les Arts Florissants
Opéra Comique
Conducted by William Christie
Directed by Robert Carsen
Celebrated conductor William Christie and his acclaimed early-music ensemble Les Arts Florissants explore the hedonistic side of the French Baroque with the rarely staged opéra-ballet Les Fêtes Vénitiennes, by André Campra (1660-1744), famed successor to composer Jean-Baptiste Lully. Gamblers, carnies, gypsies, and jilted lovers—baring lots of leg via scanty updates on period dress—populate a series of stories in this crimson-hued carnival of courtly music, dance from Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, and Venetian decadence, originally conceived in the anti-authoritarian ferment surrounding the Sun King Louis XIV’s final days. Play-within-a-play plot devices, melodies borrowed from Lully’s opera Atys, gliding gondolas, and dancing sheep round out Campra’s whimsical nod to French libertinism.
Scenic design by Radu Boruzescu
Choreography by Ed Wubbe
Costume design by Petra Reinhardt
Lighting design by Robert Carsen and Peter van Praet
Co-produced with the support of la Fondation Selz, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Théâtre de Caen, and Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles
Les Arts Florissants are subsidized by the FRENCH MINISTRY OF CULTURE, the City of Caen, and the Basse-Normandie Region.
Les Arts Florissants have their permanent residence at the Théâtre de Caen. Imerys is the sponsor of Les Arts Florissants.
In memory of Robert W. Wilson, with gratitude for his visionary and generous support of BAM.
Leadership support for opera at BAM provided by Aashish & Dinyar Devitre.
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