Théâtre des Champs-Elysées 2025-26 Review: La Damnation de Faust

(Photo: © Vincent Pontet) From November 3 to 15, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées presented Berlioz’s “La Damnation de Faust” with the Orchestre Les Siècle—formerly conducted by François-Xavier Roth and now under the baton of Jakob Lehmann—in a production by Silvia Costa. Staging is perhaps a big word, given the minimal effort that went into it. Whether in terms of set {…}

Festival d’Aix-En-Provence 2021 Review: Combattimento, La Théorie du Cygne Noir

(Photo: Monika Ritterhaus) “Combattimento, La Théorie du Cygne Noir” is a staged work for eight singers, consisting of madrigals, arias, lamentations, and instrumental pieces from the baroque period taken from the years 1630 to 1650. Put together by musical director Sébastien Daucé and stage director Silvia Costa for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, it includes works by Monteverdi, Cavalli, Messaino, Carissimi, Merula, {…}