15.11.2025

SABINE DEVIEILHE & ANTONELLO MANACORDA | Nozze di Figaro in Paris

No stranger to collaborating in the opera house, Sabine Devieilhe and Antonello Manacorda most recently joined forces last season at the Opéra de Paris, where they received high praise for their sensitive interpretations. The French soprano was both fragile and yet so strong at the same time, always with a supernatural vocal purity. The French-Italian conductor gave an inspired and extremely precise conducting, while also allowing the orchestra room to breathe naturally. His exemplary interpretation put the immense richness of Debussy’s score to the forefront.

Now returning once again to the Paris Opera this November – this time the stage of the Palais Garnier, they take on Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in its revival of the 2022 production by Netia Jones. In her interpretation, Jones turns to the Beaumarchais play the opera was originally based on, and the 18th century idea of the theatre as a mirror. She uses the theatrical archetype of the backstage comedy (set in the Opera Garnier itself!) to reflect on the plays’ themes of hierarchy, power and gender in the world of opera.

Debuting the role of Susanna in 2023 at the Salzburg Festival, Sabine Devieilhe she shined once again vocally, astonishing critics with how she “conveyed a lyricism tinged with melancholy. …Her phrasing was never hashed, and her variations sough a romantic ideal of sublime pianissimo.” For his part, Antonello Manacorda conducted the work most recently in Zurich at the beginning of last season – that time with fellow Machreich Artist Nikola Hillebrand in the role of Susanna. Particular praise was given to his “striking verve and sensitivity that never allowed a moment of boredom to arise.”

Time and again, Manacorda impresses with his empathic and intelligent work with the singers, always being able to bring out details of the score in a wonderfully organic way, while Devieilhe stands out as one of today’s unparalleled Mozart interpreters on the operatic, concert and lied stage.

Audiences are in for a treat from this November, witnessing two masters of both their craft and repertoire.

Besetzung

Gordon Bintner, Figaro
Sabine Devieilhe, Susanna
Christian Gerhaher, Il Conte di Almaviva
Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, La Contessa di Almaviva
Lea Desandre, Cherubino
Monica Bacelli, Marcellina
James Creswell, Bartolo
Éric Huchet, Don Basilio
Nicholas Jones, Don Curzio
Ilanah Lobel-Torres, Barbarina
Franck Leguérinel, Antonio

Antonello Manacorda, conductor
Netia Jones, director
Lucy Carter, lighting
Sophie Leplan, choreography
Solène Souriau, dramaturgy
Alessandro Di Stefano, choir rehearsal