Now almost totally unknown, Le Loup-garou (The Werewolf) was performed at the Opera Comique when the composer Louise Bertin was aged just twenty-two. Although an anonymous review at the time stated that the work was good “for a woman,” Bertin has all been but forgotten as a composer and the opera performed only a handful of times since.
We performed Le Loup-garou alongside Le dernier sorcier (The Last Sorcerer), written in 1867 by considerably better-known composer and singer Pauline Viardot to a libretto by Ivan Turgenev. Unheard in the UK before now, this opera tells the tale of a bad-tempered sorcerer, the target of teasing by the elves in the forest, and his daughter, who has fallen in love with a young prince.
Performed with chamber orchestra, these two neglected operas are united by their supernatural, fairy-tale like themes and their light-hearted but subtly sinister character.
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Le Loup-garou:
Alice: Alice Usher
Catherine: Charlotte Hoather
Albéric: Matthew Scott Clark
Bertrand: Andrew Rawlings
Raimbaud: Ashley MercerLe dernier sorcier:
Stella: Charlotte Osborn
Krakamiche: Phil Wilcox
Lelio: Anna McLachlan
Queen of the Elves: Béatrice de Larragoïti
Perlimpimpin: Lars FischerEnsemble:
Isabelle Atkinson
Madeleine Todd
Alexandra Dinwiddie
Eleanor KempViolin I: James Widden
Violin II: Xandrija Edwins
Viola: Noemi Foschi
Cello: Alison Holford
Percussion: William Riby
Clarinet: Joy Boole -
Stage Director (Le Loup-garou): Eleanor Burke
Stage Director (Le dernier sorcier): Edwina Strobl
Musical Director / Conductor: Juliane Gallant
Arranger (Le Loup-garou): Joshua Ballance
Arranger (Le dernier sorcier): Nicholas Žekulin
Set and Costume Designer: Anna Kelsey
Lighting Designer: Gabriel Finn
Costume supervisor: Megan Rarity
Assistant Conductor / Répétiteur: Francesca LauriProducers: Alice Usher and Charlotte Osborn
Production Manager: Sean Laing
Stage Manager: Marie-Laure Hay
Deputy Stage Manager: Florian Lim
Production Assistant: Tilly Penn
Surtitles: Clémence Gleizes
Graphic Designer: Max Dabbs
Production Photography: Craig Fuller and Antonin Amy-Menichetti
SUPPORTED BY
LE LOUP-GAROU
LE DERNIER SORCIER
SUPPORTED BY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRAIG FULLER