The opera world's worst-kept secret is finally out. The 2014-2015 Paris Opera schedule released officially this morning largely confirms what was leaked on a Japanese website in January.
Although it will be Stéphane Lissner's first season in charge, the unadventurous programming bears the imprint of current incumbent Nicolas Joel. Yet again, the 19th century provides most of the goods. Although it's fair to say that other other Paris venues (notably the TCE) cover the baroque with expertise, the shortage of 20th (let alone 21st) century opera in Paris is staggering.
There are three completely new productions - Die Entführung aus dem Serail directed by Zabou Breitman, Tosca by Pierre Audi and a real rarity, Chausson's 1903 Le Roi Arthus by Graham Vick. The latter, amazingly never before performed at the Paris Opera, features Thomas Hampson, Roberto Alagna and Sophie Koch.
New to Paris are McVicar's Adriana Lecouvreur, Damiano Michieletto's Il Barbiere di Siviglia from Geneva, and Massenet's Le Cid, featuring Roberto Alagna and Anna Caterina Antonacci in the 2011 Marseille production by Charles Roubaud.
Bringing the total of Mozart productions to three are revivals of Robert Carsen's Die Zauberflöte and Haneke's Don Giovanni. Heaven knows what an anniversary year would look like.
Rounding out the revivals are La traviata, Hänsel und Gretel, La bohème, Ariadne auf Naxos (with 'Karina' Mattila, Sophie Koch and Klaus Florian Vogt), Robert Wilson's Pelléas et Mélisande, Faust, Rusalka and Olivier Py's Alceste.
A French opera audience has proved football fans don't have a monopoly on rowdy behaviour. Saturday night's first-ever Paris Opera performance of Puccini's La fanciulla del West ended in an atmosphere reminiscent of a saloon bar brawl.
Nikolaus Lehnhoff's 2009 production, borrowed from Amsterdam, boldly updates the Wild West tale to modern Wall Street/Hollywood. Predictably, not everyone went for it, with cheers and boos split roughly 50/50.
More surprisingly, the battle continued on the way out. Le Monde reports the two sides carried on swapping insults on the stairs. "Shameful!" and "Shut up, arseholes, you just didn't get it," were just two of the choicer exchanges overheard.
This sounds like a strange marriage. Christian Lacroix is to collaborate with the Paris Opera and the Petit Bateau brand on a capsule collection. Lacroix is known for his inimitably lavish opera and ballet costumery, like the Munich Capuleti, above. Petit Bateau is known in turn for the understated chic of its ohso-Frenchie mamans et enfants t shirts.
The collection, consisting of four items for women and two for children, is scheduled to go on sale in Petit Bateau stores and at the Opéra Garnier boutique in Paris on 6 December. Just in time for Christmas.
It's all go on the Euro operaboss front. And it's all because the incoming La Scala director Alexander Pereira was 'released' by the Salzburg Festival a couple of years early, leaving him ready to start in Milan in 2014 instead of 2016.
That means his La Scala predecessor Stephane Lissner can begin his own new job, at the Paris Opera, sooner than he thought. News comes in that the current Paris director Nicolas Joel has agreed to step aside a year earlier than planned to allow a 2014 handover.
Meanwhile in Salzburg the search for Pereira's replacement is narrowing. There were 15 applicants for the position - 14 men and one lone woman. Roughly half fell at the first hurdle on the grounds of 'improbability'. The remainder will be interviewed and the winner announced on 25 September. The hot favourite is Markus Hinterhäuser, a former interim director of the festival.
In Spain, despite Gerard Mortier's reservations about local candidates, Joan Matabosch has been announced as his successor. This will leave a vacancy at the Liceu from 2016 - perhaps some of the Salzburg rejects can apply?
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