Opéra Comique will reopen in March with the creation of “La Princesse légère” by Violeta Cruz, photo S.Brion

Olivier Mantei is a genius at communication and during the eighteen months renovation of Opéra Comique which he runs, he managed to keep his subscribers on alert all the time. His training with Accents and Laurence Equilbey and as an independent agent, with Peter Brook at Bouffes du Nord and as a music teacher in Morocco when he was young, have given him an openness to all genres. Which he is developing starting next year.

The restoration of the ceiling of Salle Favart, photo S.Brion

After changing three hundred doors, creating new windows in the costume workshop so that seamstresses could see what they were doing, restoring all the decors, and refurbishing the whole theatre, he is using the thousands of suggestions left at the office during the closing period, to revamp Opéra Comique.
At his press conference recently, he announced the 2017 season which will follow the calendar year instead of starting in September, and will have performances during the summer, an unusual thing in Paris, where August is a dead cultural month. And coproductions with 25 foreign partners will enrich the programs.

18 months of work were necessary to refurbish the theatre, photos S.Brion

The subscription offer is great with Offenbach in « Fantasia » (in February at the Châtelet), Camille Saint Saëns in « Le Timbre d’argent », Purcell in « Miranda », Rossini in « Le Comte Ory ».
Opéra de Compiègne will coproduce “La Princesse légère” a creation by Violeta Cruz, Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelon will be part of “Alcove” a series of airs by Marin Marais, the Köln Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, Zagreb, Luxemburg and Münchner Kamerspiele will all be partners for the 2017 season

Olivier Mantei is a clever communicator and a creative director, photo S.Brion

The novelty is that once or twice a month, a cabaret will open at 10 pm in a bar below stage on 8 rue Marivaux, with artists invited around for a drink. And in order to bring young people into the theatre, workshops for amateur singers between 8 and 22 will take place and a choir (maîtrise) will be created.

Films presented by writer and musicologist Benoît Duteurtre, will be screened in May (Willemetz), September (Offenbach) and December (Edmond Audran). Recitals will take place between the operas and more projects will tour around France and abroad.
Salle Favart as the Opéra Comique is called by professionals, is definitely taking a new turn with its president Maryanne de Saint Pulgent and active board members such as former minister Roselyn Bachelot and  Charles-Henri Filippi : it was always a fantastic spot for baroque music with William Christie in the 80’s and for popular music with Jérôme Deschamps more recently. It will now be a trendy place for opera which is too often considered an old and rich people’s music.