LOUISE BY CHARPENTIER
- Recording Date 11 juillet 2025
- Languages Sung in French with French subtitles
- Realisation Jérémie Cuvillier
- Co-production ARTE France, Bel Air Media
- Video available for replay until Tuesday 30 June 2026
ROMAN MUSICAL IN FOUR ACTS AND FIVE SCENES TO AN ORIGINAL LIBRETTO BY THE COMPOSER
FIRST PERFORMED ON 2 FEBRUARY 1900 AT THE THÉÂTRE NATIONAL DE L’OPÉRA-COMIQUE (SALLE FAVART III), PARIS
NEW PRODUCTION OF THE FESTIVAL D’AIX-EN-PROVENCE
A COPRODUCTION WITH OPÉRA NATIONAL DE LYON, PALAZZETTO BRU ZANE – CENTRE DE MUSIQUE ROMANTIQUE FRANÇAISE, THÉÂTRE NATIONAL DE L’OPÉRA-COMIQUE

“Depuis le jour où je me suis donnée...” There are few passages in opera that express so evocatively the pleasure of love and its potential to emancipate a young woman as this most famous aria in Louise. Born into a working-class family with strict morals, the heroine ultimately chooses to face an uncertain future alone, a future personified by Paris, the city of freedom and perdition. With his “roman musical” combining social preoccupations with idealistic aspirations, magnificent flights of lyricism and great picturesque scenes, Gustave Charpentier gave the twentieth century its first opera. A true connoisseur of the work, Christof Loy brings out the darker side of a society which, far from emancipating its daughters, offers them nothing but tawdry romances to sublimate a horizon riddled with frustrations. Elsa Dreisig continues her exploration of the roles of young women full of determination and fighting spirit; and she is surrounded by the most brilliant upholders of the French repertoire, conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti at the helm of the Choir and Orchestra of the Opéra de Lyon.
The Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de Musique Romantique Française promote the rediscovery of French musical heritage from the long nineteenth century (1780-1920). Its main activities include: research, publication of scores and books, production and international promotion of concerts, support for educational projects, and release of recordings. > further information