works with the French May in cooperation with the French Consulate-General and other Hong Kong organizations to develop and perform “small footprint” French operas and operettas, selected to be accessible and adaptable with productions which are flexible and cost-effective, able to be performed in a wide variety of venues. Once performed, these works are made available, either as performances or productions, to others in Hong Kong and the wider region.
Production support includes
- dramaturgy
- scripts in English and sometimes Chinese
- subtitles in English, Chinese and (on request) other languages
- Some productions may take advantage of new scores for chamber ensemble written by Marco Iannelli
- directorial oversight (remote or on-site) if requested
Works available:
“Pomme d’Api” by Jacques Offenbach
Reset in contemporary Hong Kong as a play within a play, with new dialogue, some adapted lyrics and two additional arias from Pépito and La Périchole, Pomme d’Api was performed at the 2022 French May, with two additional concert performances at the Peninsula Hotel. It has was adapted and extended for the Guangzhou Opera House as part of the 2023 Croisements Festival, for which Marco Iannelli composed a new score for chamber ensemble. The version has been performed more than a dozen times, including twice at the Peninsula Hotel Shanghai in March 2023.
“Dr. Miracle” (“Le Docteur Miracle”) by Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet’s first opera, produced with a new score for chamber ensemble by Marco Iannelli, reset in contemporary Hong Kong with new dialogue, for French May 2023. It was developed for Opera Hong Kong in cooperation with HKUST. Dr. Miracle has been adapted as a children’s opera for the 2024 season at the Guangzhou Opera House and forms part of the programme of cultural activities for the 60th anniversary of Sino-French relations.
“Le toréador” by Georges Bizet
Le toréador (1849) is a opéra-comique by Adolphe Adam, a French composer best known for the ballet Giselle. The story is of a ménage–a–trois between an erstwhile soprano, her oft–absent and unfaithful husband, and a previous lover. The work features famous variations on the folk–song Ah! vous dirai–je, maman (better known as Twinkle, twinkle, little star in the English–speaking world). This semi–staged performance resets the story in contemporary Hong Kong as The Triad, or Three in Accord (retaining the musical pun in the original French title Le toréador, ou L’accord parfait).
