Editorials
The Opéra de Lausanne’s 2024-2025 season will be marked by the arrival on 1st July of our new director, Claude Cortese, who is presenting his first programme. His appointment was the subject of a rigorous and thorough selection procedure. The Board of Trustees wishes him a warm welcome and every success in his demanding mission.
In the meantime, we’ll still have the pleasure of discovering the final operas to be presented by Éric Vigié.
This is obviously an opportunity to pay tribute to a man who, over the last 19 years, has made an indelible imprint on the life of our Opera, winning over and expanding a very loyal audience.
The transition from one director to another has required special attention from all those involved in our fine institution.
I would like to sincerely thank all the Opera’s staff for their unfailing commitment. The audience’s applause is also intended for them. Many thanks also to the partners who contribute to the Opéra de Lausanne’s excellent financial health: public authorities, the City of Lausanne and the Canton of Vaud, long-standing patrons and sponsors who continue to place their trust in us. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues on the Committee and the Board of Trustees for their contribution to the good governance of our cultural institution.
Philippe Hebeisen
Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Dear Audience,
In 1984, under the aegis of Renée Auphan, the Théâtre Municipal de Lausanne, the forerunner of our institution, became a true production theatre.
Today, I’m delighted to present my first season in Lausanne, which coincides with the 40th anniversary of our opera house as we know it today. This new season will feature a number of works from the classic repertoire which, despite their composers’ fame, have never been performed at the Opéra de Lausanne.
Other, more well-known titles will also make their return to our stage after many years’ absence.
Alongside these stage productions, this program notably features several prestigious concerts, a veritable musical odyssey that will enable us to evoke all eras and repertoires in the company of renowned artists. The 2024-2025 season will see us journey through almost 400 years of operatic repertoire, from the first female composer, Francesca Caccini, born in 1587, to the British composer Benjamin Britten, who died in 1971. This season will also allow you to discover or rediscover the work of renowned stage directors, who will present their theatrical visions through a wide variety of aesthetics. For the first time, you will also have an opportunity to hear some internationally renowned conductors, at the helm of the Orchestre de Lausanne, several of whom will be making their Swiss debuts.
The program also promises to be an exciting one in terms of vocalists, as a number of young and established opera singers will be appearing on stage for the first time in Lausanne, while other artists, already well known and appreciated by our audiences, will be making their return.
As usual, cultural outreach activities will be organised around our opera productions. I have chosen to intensify these activities, with a clear commitment to collaborating with the city’s main cultural institutions for each of the season’s shows. Lausanne is indeed a true cultural capital, whose influence must be fully leveraged. From now on, these cultural mediation activities will no longer be aimed solely at young people and families, but instead at all audiences, in order to strengthen the links between spectators and this formidable universe that is an opera house.
Finally, on a personal note, I’m delighted to be back in Lausanne. It was in this city and in this theatre, that I began my career in 1990. It was here, so to speak, that I entered the world of opera. I am happy and proud to now serve this theatre where my vocation was born.
I look forward to welcoming and meeting you, while wishing you a wonderful 2024-2025 season.
My warmest regards
Claude Cortese
Director
Opéra de Lausanne
A cultural institution located in the heart of Lausanne since 1871. It’s become an emblematic institution in French-speaking Switzerland, contributing to its cultural influence.
Since its renovation in 2012, the Opéra de Lausanne has equipped its stage with the most advanced technologies, and offers a diversified choice of operas, concerts and ballets each season, showcasing a repertoire that spans from the 17th to the 21st centuries, from Monteverdi to Levinas. This diversity, as well as the artistic and vocal level of its international singers, ensures a dynamism and recognition that confirms the Opéra de Lausanne’s renown, and is reinforced by the rebroadcasts and diffusion of its productions, which are often acclaimed.
The Opéra de Lausanne is also known for its annual programming of a true opera for young audiences. In addition to the discovery of the operatic world offered annually to more than 2,000 students, it has a proactive policy of professionally integrating young graduates of the HEMu and HEMGe. In 2010, the Opéra de Lausanne created the Lyric Road, a unique decentralisation operation that takes place in the summer in the French-speaking region and allows distant audiences to enjoy quality opera performances.
A Bit of History
In Lausanne, opera has long been a defining feature of the cultural scene, reflecting the desire of Lausanne’s citizens for theatre, and not just music.
Voltaire was already praising the curiosity of the Lausanne public and was delighted with the reception given to his theatrical works. In its new building, the modern Opéra de Lausanne, with the strength of its heritage, is dedicated to preserving the repertoire, as well as showcasing and commissioning works for a wide audience including its youngest fans.
The Choir
The Choir of the Opéra de Lausanne is a young choir, comprising both vocal students from the Hautes Ecoles de musique romandes, Hemu and HemGe, and professional singers.
The experience acquired at the Opéra de Lausanne often allows new graduates to pursue a career that at times brings them back to Lausanne. Its members are selected by audition and are periodically reheard. They are carefully chosen for each opera according to their voice and/or aptitudes, as well as their stage presence. With their contagious enthusiasm, they are highly appraised by invited Directors.
Members benefit from several years of training under the direction of a number of dynamic expert Choir Directors from different disciplines, who are selected according to the works performed and their specific qualities.
world-class performances and productions that are at the same time renewed and respectful of the operas presented.
Programming
Co-productions with other major theatres have made it possible to create spectacular scenographic productions allowing maximal use of the modern technical equipment installed when the theatre was renovated in 2012. The recognition of these productions is reflected both in the returning attendance of the public each season and in the co-production of a number of recordings, television broadcasts, and live streaming whether with Arte Concert, Mezzo, or the RTS.
Just as much a part of its area of activity, the Opéra de Lausanne encourages the writing and publishing of works dealing with Lausanne’s musical history over the past centuries. The editorial focus is combined with a strategy of commissioning operas from contemporary composers, such as Michaël Levinas, in order to spark and capture the interest of the young public in the operatic art.
