Behind the scenes of “La Boheme” at Sceaux # 1: Jacques Attali – The Point

“Priority music, priority to the show, viewers must have an eyeful! “Jacques Attali, thin smile on his lips, paces in front of the stage swept by a girl with pink gloves in latex. Quick glance skyward. A muscle relaxes. Phew! It will not be under the water for his baptism of staging. A soft sun sets over the castle of Sceaux. “No skates, no mobile phones, no computers … I hate the modern artificially staged. It is grotesque in an opera! “His Bohemia to him, Jacques Attali wants the timeless, universal but not abstract. For that, he gathered his “buddies” Enki Bilal (sets and costumes), Patrick Souillot (musical direction), Anne Gravoin (first violin), Jacques Rouveyrollis (lights) …

Each year, Opera outdoor uses a personality that is not from the opera world to stage a work of their choice in the french castles of parks and monuments. In 2015, Arielle Dombasle had selected La Traviata . Jacques Attali, who is experienced in the musical direction (he was conductor in Paris, Grenoble, London, Jerusalem, Shanghai and Astana) but new to staging, chose La Bohème to its modern history.

the young director of 72 years wanted to give a timeless character to Puccini’s characters. “The Parisians of this opera could well have been Londoners, Romans, New Yorkers … The youth who seeks to live is universal,” he says. Crazy opera, he wanted to innovate in its staging, because instead of having four people on stage, there are fifty, which all lead an independent life, which are connected to the action heroes. “I wanted to plunge my characters in particular look at fate, which gives a special depth to the opera,” he concluded, before returning backstage.

“La Bohème” open air opera to the domain of Sceaux (Hauts-de-Seine). The 17 and 18 June at the Chateau du Champ de Bataille (Eure); 23, 24 and 25 at the Castle of Vincennes (Val-de-Marne) July 8 at the Cité de Carcassonne (Aude) 2 and 3 September in the castle of Haroué (Meurthe-et-Moselle) from 6 to 10 September in the Invalides (Paris 7th); 16 and 17 September at Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne). Rates: from 42 to 84 euros .