Meet the team: Béatrice

Hello, I'm Béatrice! I am the artistic director and one of the co-founders of Gothic Opera. I am a singer, with a background in art history and literature. You might also have seen me onstage in our productions. Some of my favourite memories with Gothic Opera are performing in the Act I finale of Donizetti’s Maria de Rudenz in 2024, and rehearsing Act II of Rip Van Winkle, dressed as bowling pins and playing with a huge balloon!

What does an artistic director actually do?!
I unearth, research and select the operas that we produce. Each year I try to alternate styles, languages and periods. I like to have a ‘hook’ each time – sometimes it’s a title that rings a bell (The Bloody Nun….) , sometimes it’s an unknown work from a famous composer (like Donizetti’s Maria de Rudenz), or an appealing gothic theme (Der Vampyr by Marschner). This year’s Halloween opera, Die Rheinnixen, really fits the bill. It preceded the Tales of Hoffmann and is the “other” serious opera by Offenbach! It includes a particularly famous theme that we’re sure you will recognise.

Proudest moment:
The achievements I’m proudest of so far are our UK premiere of Gounod’s La Nonne sanglante, and the first revival of Louise Bertin’s Le Loup-Garou in Europe since its creation in 1827.

Why the gothic?
I’ve always been attracted by ghostly and dark realms, whether in literature or painting. I also love the gothic revival style in architecture and decorative arts. When I started to explore this universe in music and opera as well, I discovered a treasure trove of repertoire that is - unjustly - too scarcely performed…