This is a great first for French-speaking opera. After two years of discussions, the Opéra Comique and the Beijing Music Festival have signed a partnership agreement.
The two institutions have met to set up a partnership for a period of at least four years with the intention of promoting cultural exchanges between France and China through the co-production and spreading of operatic productions emblematic of both countries.
There is also a plan to implement educational programs intended to discover both cultures and foster occupational exchanges for the improvement of the technical and artistic techniques of each theater.
The partnership will begin with two productions that are emblematic of the approach of the two institutions:
Carmen, the most performed opera worldwide, premiered at the Opéra Comique in Paris in 1875, directed by Andreas Homoki and conducted in Paris and Beijing by Maestro Long Yu with the Shanghai Symphonic Orchestra.
Madame White Snake by Zhou Long, in a new production conducted by Maestro Long Yu that will demonstrate the way our cooperation is deeply rooted in contemporary creation which, in this case, draws on ancient Chinese cultural heritage.
The revivals of Hamlet, directed by Cyril Teste, and Orphée et Eurydice, directed by Aurélien Bory with Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon, complete the partnership and will be an opportunity for masterclasses and novel artistic exchanges between the two countries.
