Anne-Catherine Gillet

Performed at the Théâtre Graslin in Nantes in 2013. Francis Poulenc (1899-1963): Dialogues des Carmélites, opera in 3 acts and 12 scenes from a libretto by Emmet Lavery.

Werther loves Charlotte, but she promised her mother on her deathbed that she would marry Albert. After the marriage Charlotte suggests that Werther should travel - but not forget her. In addition to the singing and orchestral accompaniment, the entire cast acts very convincingly. And, there's no backstage mugging, entrances and spoken nonsense to spoil the experience of the drama.

About the Director: John Eliot Gardiner is one of the most versatile conductors of our time. Acknowledged as a key figure in the early music revival, he is the founder and artistic director of the Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. The extent of his repertoire is illustrated in over 250 recordings which have received numerous international awards. Over the years Gardiner has won more Gramophone awards than any other artist. Probably the most francophile of English conductors, John Eliot Gardiner returned to the Opéra Comique, Paris for a much aclaimed production of Carmen last year. On June 25th it was broadcast live to 50 theatres in France and Switzerland and also recorded for TV. This followed an exciting collaboration that began in December 2007 with Chabrier s Opera bouffe L'Etoile, which had opened the new theatre at Opera Comique in December 2007.

In 2009, Frédéric Mistral’s tale of love and loss in Provence came to the Opéra de Paris with a new production of Gounod’s 1864 opera Mireille. Nicolas Joel’s naturalistic staging frames the accomplished performances of Albanian soprano Inva Mula as Mireille and American tenor Charles Castronovo as her ardent country lover Vincent.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry’s death, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie brought the composer’s Guillaume Tell back to life in the city of his birth. With a mostly Belgian cast, they offer a brilliant revival of a monument of Walloon music history. Stefano Mazzonis Di Pralafera decided to exaggerate the comic bent of the original libretto by framing the production with exuberantly zany stage sets inspired by circus theater. Marc Laho incarnates the perfect hero (Guillaume Tell) and the sublime Anne-Catherine Gillet his wife (Madame Tell). The opera is set in 13th century Switzerland, and stages patriotic Swiss people’s heroic fight for liberty—with Tell as their chief—against the evil and oppression of the Austrians led by Guesler, the local governor. A superb production of a raucously entertaining opera!

Emmanuelle Haïm has established herself as one of the world’s leading performers, conductors and interpreters of Baroque repertoire, not only with Le Concert d’Astrée, the ensemble she founded in 2000, but with several of the world’s greatest orchestras. Known for her fresh and expressive approach to Baroque music, she has garnered critical acclaim and several international awards with her own ensemble, including Victoires de la Musique Classique, ECHOs, Gramophone Awards, and Grammy nominations.