Music director, Christophe Rousset
Director, Krzysztof Warlikowski
Set & costume design, Malgorzata Szczesniak
Lighting Felice Ross
Dramaturgy, Christian Longchamp et Miron Hakenbech
Video, Denis Guéguin
Chorégraphy, Saar Magal
Chorus direction, Stephen Betteridge

Cast

Medea, Nadja Michael
Jason, Kurt Streit
Dircé, Laura Claycomb
Néris, Christianne Stotijn
Créon, Vincent Le Texier
Première servante, Gaëlle Arquez
Deuxième servante, Anne-Fleur Inizian
La Monnaie  Choir
Les Talens Lyriques

Intro

Three years after the creation of Médée, Krzysztof Warlikowski and Christophe Rousset are together again at La Monnaie for the revival of this memorable production whose staging reinforces the violence, tension and cruelty of this tragedy. Whilst this work by Cherubini is considered part of the ‘opéra-comique’ genre, it is only due to the presence of spoken dialogue, which has been modernised here in the Polish stage director’s interpretation. Written in 1797, Cherubini’s faithful version of Euripides’ ancient tragedy is one of the most savage and powerful works of the opera repertoire, relating the cruel vengeance of a wounded woman for whom infanticide seems to be the only solution to her humiliation in love. As a continuation of Gluck’s music, Cherubini’s work is of boundless emotion, at once a refined, terrifying and desperate portent of a tragic outcome.

Production La Monnaie / De Munt