Deutsche Oper Berlin
Les Vêpres Siciliennes
Opera
Bismarckstraße 35, 10627 Berlin
Giuseppe Verdi

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz

© Marcus Lieberenz
Description
The rebellion of Sicily against its French occupiers in 1282, known as the "Sicilian Vespers", could easily be linked to Verdi's present and the conquest and colonisation of Algeria that began in 1830. This reference forms the starting point for the production of the French director Olivier Py, who extends the historical focus into the 1950s. ...
About the work
For his first commission for the Paris Opéra Verdi demanded a libretto that was “immense, passionate and original”. What he eventually got from star author Eugène Scribe was a text whose political edginess rivalled the grand opéras of Giacomo Meyerbeer, with whom Scribe had collaborated on LES HUGUENOTS and LE PROPHETE. Like these two works, LES VÊPRES SICILIENNES explored a subject that was not only historical but also highly topical. Parallels could easily be drawn between the “Sicilian Vespers” uprising in 1282 against the island’s French occupiers and the most conspicuous of France’s mid-19th-century expansionist ventures, the conquest and colonialization of Algeria, which began in 1830 and was dogged by an ongoing series of brutally quelled revolts.
About the production
This link likewise serves as the slant for the current production by French director Olivier Py, who has already shown his sensibility for the grand-opéra approach to political material in his staging of Meyerbeer’s LE PROPHETE at the Deutsche Oper Berlin: the French occupation of Algeria, which extended from Verdi’s period to the 1950s, provides the setting for Py’s version of the story, which, after LA TRAVIATA and RIGOLETTO, was another example of Verdi expanding the focus of his musical dramas. His regard is no longer fixed only on the fate of individual characters; in LES VÊPRES SICILIENNES he is interested in the fortunes and woes of entire nations. Undiluted hatred, a desire for reconciliation and the tension between these two extremes are what drive the actions of the main protagonists and the interactions of occupiers with the subjugated. LES VÊPRES SICILIENNES has long been overshadowed by Verdi’s other great operas, but here the Deutsche Oper Berlin presents the original 1855 French version of the work, not the Italian adaptation that became the standard.
About the work
For his first commission for the Paris Opéra Verdi demanded a libretto that was “immense, passionate and original”. What he eventually got from star author Eugène Scribe was a text whose political edginess rivalled the grand opéras of Giacomo Meyerbeer, with whom Scribe had collaborated on LES HUGUENOTS and LE PROPHETE. Like these two works, LES VÊPRES SICILIENNES explored a subject that was not only historical but also highly topical. Parallels could easily be drawn between the “Sicilian Vespers” uprising in 1282 against the island’s French occupiers and the most conspicuous of France’s mid-19th-century expansionist ventures, the conquest and colonialization of Algeria, which began in 1830 and was dogged by an ongoing series of brutally quelled revolts.
About the production
This link likewise serves as the slant for the current production by French director Olivier Py, who has already shown his sensibility for the grand-opéra approach to political material in his staging of Meyerbeer’s LE PROPHETE at the Deutsche Oper Berlin: the French occupation of Algeria, which extended from Verdi’s period to the 1950s, provides the setting for Py’s version of the story, which, after LA TRAVIATA and RIGOLETTO, was another example of Verdi expanding the focus of his musical dramas. His regard is no longer fixed only on the fate of individual characters; in LES VÊPRES SICILIENNES he is interested in the fortunes and woes of entire nations. Undiluted hatred, a desire for reconciliation and the tension between these two extremes are what drive the actions of the main protagonists and the interactions of occupiers with the subjugated. LES VÊPRES SICILIENNES has long been overshadowed by Verdi’s other great operas, but here the Deutsche Oper Berlin presents the original 1855 French version of the work, not the Italian adaptation that became the standard.
Cast
Olivier Py
Stage Director
Pierre-André Weitz
Set Design; Costume Design
Bertrand Killy
Light Design
Jeremy Bines
Chorus Director
Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Chöre
Jörg Königsdorf
Dramaturge
Hulkar Sabirova
Hélène
Arianna Manganello
Ninetta
Valentyn Dytiuk
Henri
George Petean
Guy de Montfort
Roberto Tagliavini
Jean de Procida
Chance Jonas-O'Toole
Thibault
Gideon Poppe
Danieli
Jörg Schörner
Mainfroid
Joel Allison
Robert
Gerard Farreras
Le Sire de Béthune
Jared Werlein
Le Comte de Vaudemont
Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Orchestra
Opernballett der Deutschen Oper Berlin
Dancer
Dominic Limburg
Conductor
Dates
Deutsche Oper Berlin
Bismarckstraße 35, 10627 Berlin
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