Already premiered at the Dijon Opera, this event production dares to produce an opera by the Venetian Galuppi from 1762; a composer as brilliant as he is forgotten; the subject and the sexist particularity of the plot finding a sensitive echo with our most burning news, clearly inspire the guest director for this resurrection, Agnes Jaoui.
Baldassare Galuppi (1706 – 1785) left two operas: Il Mondo alla reversa (The World Upside Down) on the libretto by Goldoni from 1750, followed by this Uomo femina, a giocoso drama, on the libretto by Pietro Chiari, created at the Teatro San Moisé in Venice in 1762 , or in full aesthetic “Emfindsamkeit” (feeling/sensitivity). The score was found recently, in 2006. Here the audacity of the subject is accompanied by an acute expressiveness which knows how to exploit all situations in the sense of a delirious, often farcical comedy.
Two castaways land on an island governed by proud Amazons. Cassandra (Victory Brunel) and Ramira (Lucile Richardot), but also the queen herself Cretidea (Eva Zaïcik) fall in love with the two strangers. Which provokes the jealousy of the reigning favorite, Gelsomino… misunderstandings and misunderstandings intersect as usual, love games and issues of power.
Roberto (Victor Ricard) cut for war minus tenderness, Giannino (Francois Rougier), wise servant, prefiguring the Figaro of Mozart and Rossini, sows trouble and provokes situations which reveal the complexity of the portraits. In particular the delusional character of the queen's favorite, Gelsomino (Anas Séguin). The Royal Opera of Versailles is thus hosting the world premiere show which reveals the genius of Galuppi. All the better articulated orchestrally as Vincent Dumestre and the instrumentalists of the Poème Harmonique redouble their articulation, expressive nuances, and dramatic liveliness (including in the performance of the recitatives). Agnes Jaoui returns to opera (after his vision of Tosca in 2019). His view of this “man/woman” leaves the action center stage in a vaguely Moorish setting. The costumes, which are also crazy, underline the confusion of genders and the domination of women in a society that knows how to corset men.
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Royal Opera of Versailles
From Friday 13 to Sun 15 December 2024
Friday Dec 13, 2024, 8 p.m.
Saturday Dec 14, 2024, 7 p.m.
Sunday Dec 15, 2024, 3 p.m.
GALUPPI : The female Man1762
Staged opera – 2h30 min
Info & reservations – reserve your seats directly on the Château de Versailles Spectacles website: https://www.operaroyal-versailles.fr/event/galuppi-luomo-femina/
Photo © Mirco Magliocca
Distribution
Eva Zaïcik Cretidea
Lucile Richardot Ramira
Victory Bunel Cassandra
Anas Seguin Jasmine
Victor Sicard Roberto
Francois Rougier Giannino
The Harmonic Poem
Vincent Dumestredirection
Agnes Jaouistaged
