Hamlet

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Hamlet

Opéra Bastille - from 11 March to 09 April 2023

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Opera

Hamlet

Ambroise Thomas

Book

Opéra Bastille - from 11 March to 09 April 2023

3h40 with 1 interval

Language : French

Surtitle : French / English

Pre‑opening for the young : 8 March 2023
Opening night : 11 March 2023

About

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In few words:

In the course of the 19^th century, Shakespeare’s works were a constant source of inspiration for the Romantics. In particular, The Tragic History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, one of the English playwright’s most famous plays, dominated by the existential questions of the title role – To be or not to be –, the ghost of his murdered father and his doomed love for Ophelia. Alexandre Dumas père was himself fascinated by this drama and in 1847 he produced a highly successful adaptation. It was on the basis of this version that Michel Carré and Jules Barbier gave Ambroise Thomas the libretto for Hamlet, the last opera to be performed in the Salle Le Peletier. Inspired by the musical and dramaturgical forms of French grand opera, the composer imbues the story with an intensity that contributes to the beauty of the score. A milestone of opera for which Krzysztof Warlikowski, ever fathoming the depths of the human psyche, redraws the Shakespearean contours.

Act 1:
Hamlet is disgusted to see his mother, a mere two months after his father’s death, marry his brother. Mourning is followed by wedding and coronation celebrations. Despite the human fickleness that surrounds him, Hamlet tells Ophelia that she can doubt everything but his love. Hamlet learns from Horatio and Marcellus that they have seen his father’s Spectre. On the Esplanade where Hamlet has followed his friends, the Spectre appears to him and reveals that he was betrayed by Gertrude, his wife, and murdered by his brother, the new King. The Spectre calls upon his son to avenge him.

Act 2:
Ophelia complains of Hamlet’s cold and distant attitude. The Queen, distressed by her son’s attitude, hopes that Ophelia will be able to bring him reason and peace. The King and the Queen seek to reassure themselves: Hamlet suspects nothing. Hamlet refuses to call the King “father” when the latter suggests it. Upon hearing of their arrival, Hamlet informs the King and Queen that actors will entertain them during the evening. Hamlet asks the actors to perform the tragedy of King Gonzago and Queen Genever. The murder of the King that the play portrays should make his father-in-law and his mother react. This is what happens. Hamlet then calls for revenge and the death of the culprit. In a state of delirium, Hamlet falls into the arms of Marcellus and Horatio while the whole court remains distraught.

Act 3:
Hamlet is alone. “To be or not to be... oh mystery... to die... to sleep... perchance to dream”: such is Hamlet’s entry into metaphysics. He discovers that the King is not far from him. He hesitates to kill him when he discovers him kneeling in prayer, since repentance, he thinks, might save his soul. Polonius, Ophelia’s father, is talking to the King. Hamlet deduces that he was an accomplice in his father’s death. He then declares to Ophelia that she must lock herself away in a convent. He no longer believes in anything, not even in love. His soul is like marble, he declares to her. Ophelia is desperate. The Queen tries to reason with her son. But his violence and his rejection frighten her. Hamlet tells her that he knows everything and that he will take revenge. The Spectre appears to remind Hamlet to leave the Queen to the judgment of Heaven and to go after the murderous King.

Act 4:
Alone, Ophelia, who calls herself “Hamlet’s wife”, plunges into madness, sinks into the water of a river and dies.

Act 5:
Hamlet speaks with two gravediggers who have forgotten the name of the person for whom the grave they are digging is intended. Hamlet mourns Ophelia without knowing that she is dead. Laertes, in despair over his sister’s death, reveals Ophelia’s demise to Hamlet. When the funeral procession arrives, Hamlet wants to commit suicide. Horatio and Marcellus prevent him from doing so. The Spectre appears. This time, in full view of everyone, Hamlet kills the King, “my father’s murderer”. “Live for your people, it is God that makes you King”, declares the Spectre to his son.

Characters

Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, son of Gertrude
Ophelia: Daughter of Polonius engaged to Hamlet
Gertrud: Queen of Denmark and wife of Claudius
Claudius: King of Denmark and uncle of Hamlet
Laërte: Ophelia’s brother
The King’s Spectre: Ghost of Hamlet’s father
Horatio and Marcellus: Friends of Hamlet
Polonius: Lord Chamberlain

Opening
First part 130 mn
Intermission 40 mn
Second part 45 mn
End

Hamlet

opera in five acts (1868)

After William Shakespeare

Music

Ambroise Thomas

(1811 - 1896)

Libretto

Michel Carré

Libretto

Jules Barbier

Conductor

Pierre Dumoussaud

Director

Krzysztof Warlikowski

Set design and Costume design

Małgorzata Szczęśniak

Lighting design

Felice Ross

Video

Denis Guéguin

Choreography

Claude Bardouil

Dramaturgy

Christian Longchamp

Chorus master

Alessandro Di Stefano
Hamlet

Ludovic Tézier

Claudius

Jean Teitgen

Laërte

Julien Behr

Spectre du roi défunt

Clive Bayley

Horatio

Frédéric Caton

Marcellus

Julien Henric

Gertrude

Eve-Maud Hubeaux

Ophélie

Lisette Oropesa

11 > 30 March

Ophélie

Brenda Rae

2 > 9 April.

Polonius

Philippe Rouillon

Premier fossoyeur

Alejandro Baliñas Vieites

Deuxième fossoyeur

Maciej Kwaśnikowski

Orchestre et Chœurs de l’Opéra national de Paris

Hamlet fait l’objet d’une captation réalisée par Stéphane Metge, coproduite par l’Opéra national de Paris, ARTE France et Telmondis, avec le soutien du CNC et de la Fondation Orange, mécène des retransmissions audiovisuelles de l’Opéra national de Paris.

Ce spectacle sera retransmis en direct le 30 mars 2023 sur Arte concert, et avec le concours de FRA cinéma, dans les cinémas UGC, dans le cadre de leur saison « Viva l’Opéra ! » et dans des cinémas indépendants en France et en Europe, et ultérieurement dans le monde entier. Diffusion le 2 mai 2023 dans les cinémas CGR. Diffusion ultérieure sur Arte.

Media coverage

With Ludovic Tézier in the title role and under the musical direction of young conductor Pierre Dumoussaud, Hamlet is already one of the season's key creations at the Paris Opera.
Les Inrockuptibles / 2023
Ambroise Thomas's "Hamlet" transcended by a stunning Ludovic Tézier takes over the Opera Bastille.
Classique d'aujourd'hui / 2023
The American soprano Lisette Oropesa's Ophelia surprises with her vocal density and seduces with her virtuosity and dramatic intelligence.
Philippe Venturini / Les Échos, 2023
A top-notch cast and impeccable orchestral conduction.
Les Échos / 2023

Performances

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Book your tickets today with the Season Pass

Available in audiodescription

Advantages

Full

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Gallery

1/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Ludovic Tézier (Hamlet), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Gertrude) © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

2/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Jean Teitgen (Claudius), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Gertrude) © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

3/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Ludovic Tézier (Hamlet), Clive Bayley (Spectre du roi défunt) © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

4/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Jean Teitgen (Claudius), Ludovic Tézier (Hamlet), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Gertrude) © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

5/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Jean Teitgen (Claudius), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Gertrude), Ludovic Tézier (Hamlet) © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

6/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

7/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Clive Bayley (Spectre du roi défunt), Ludovic Tézier (Hamlet), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Gertrude) © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

8/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Ludovic Tézier (Hamlet), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Gertrude) © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

9/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

10/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

11/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) © Bernd Uhlig / OnP

12/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Jean Teitgen (Claudius), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Gertrude), Ludovic Tézier (Hamlet), Lisette Oropesa (Ophélie) © Elisa Haberer / OnP

13/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Ludovic Tézier (Hamlet) © Elisa Haberer / OnP

14/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Lisette Oropesa (Ophélie), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Gertrude) © Elisa Haberer / OnP

15/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Ludovic Tézier (Hamlet) et Lisette Oropesa (Ophélie) © Elisa Haberer / OnP

16/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Ludovic Tézier (Hamlet) et Lisette Oropesa (Ophélie) © Elisa Haberer / OnP

17/17 : Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas (season 23/24) - Lisette Oropesa (Ophélie), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Gertrude), Ludovic Tézier (Hamlet) © Elisa Haberer / OnP

Videos clips

1/6 : [TRAILER] HAMLET by Ambroise Thomas

2/6 : TOÏ TOÏ TOÏ I 5 questions sur HAMLET avec LUDOVIC TÉZIER

3/6 : [EXTRAIT] Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas - Ludovic Tézier, Invocation

4/6 : [EXTRAIT] Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas - Lisette Oropesa, Air de la folie

5/6 : [EXTRAIT] Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas - Eve-Maud Hubeaux, "Dans son regard plus sombre"

6/6 : [EXTRAIT] Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas - Ludovic Tézier, "Être ou ne pas être"

Audio clips

Hamlet (saison 22/23) - Acte 1

Hamlet (saison 22/23) - Acte 2

Hamlet (saison 22/23) - Acte 3

Hamlet (saison 22/23) - Acte 4

Backstage

Video

Draw-me Hamlet
Podcast

Podcast Hamlet
Video

Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet - Beyond Black
Video

Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet and the Shakespearean spectre

01:25’

Video

Draw-me Hamlet

Understand the plot in 1 minute

By Matthieu Pajot

07’

Podcast

Podcast Hamlet

"Dance! Sing! 7 minutes at the Paris Opera" - by France Musique

By Charlotte Landru-Chandès

"Dance! Sing! 7 minutes at the Paris Opera" offers original incursions into the season thanks to broadcasts produced by France Musique and the Paris Opera.

For each opera or ballet production, Charlotte Landru-Chandès (opera) and Jean-Baptiste Urbain (dance), present the works and artists you are going to discover when you attend performances in our theatres.

06:12’

Video

Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet - Beyond Black

Interview with Pierre Dumoussaud

By Marion Mirande

Absent from the Paris Opera stage for nearly a decade, Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet is being performed for the first time at the Opéra Bastille in a new production by Krzysztof Warlikowski, conducted by Pierre Dumoussaud.

Created in 1868, a few months after Verdi's Don Carlos, Thomas' work is a unique musical and theatrical entity, as the conductor explains.

Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet and the Shakespearean spectre

08:34’

Video

Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet and the Shakespearean spectre

Interview with Ludovic Tézier

By Marion Mirande

It is a major musical and dramatic challenge for a baritone to perform the title role in Ambroise Thomas' opera. In Krzysztof Warlikowski's new production, Ludovic Tézier shoulders this responsibility and raises the question of the true nature of Shakespeare's anti-hero.

Quiz

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Partners

Sponsor of Hamlet

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With the support of the Cercle Berlioz

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