Admin

Opéra de Lausanne

Orchestra

Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne

Conductor

Francesco Lanzillotta

Chorusmaster

Chorusmaster (+1)

Alessandro Zuppardo

Stage director

Stage director (+2)

Bruno Ravella

Set designer

Set designer (+1)

Alex Eales

Costume designer

Sussie Juhlin-Wallén

Choreographer

Stage director (+3)

Carmine De Amicis

Baritone (+4)

Jean-Sébastien Bou

William Tell

Soprano (+1)

Olga Kulchynska

Mathilde

Tenor (+4)

Julien Dran

Arnold

Elisabeth Boudreault

Jemmy

Mezzo-soprano (+3)

Géraldine Chauvet

Hedwig

Bass (+5)

Frédéric Caton

Melchtal

Walter Furst

Bass (+4)

Luigi De Donato

Gesler

Tenor (+1)

Sahy Ratia

Ruodi

Jean Miannay

Rudolph

Warren Kempf

A hunter

Baritone (+3)

Marc Scoffoni

Leuthold

Chorus

Chorus of the Lausanne Opera

Lighting designer

Video (+2)

Christopher Ash

Assistant Stage Director

Wilhelm Tell unfolds between lake, forest and mountains
from its famous opening, exposing the characters in its drama to the storms of history and the torments of thwarted love. This great heroic fresco recounts the episodes of the Swiss struggle against the Austrian occupiers. Gioachino Rossini draws his inspiration as much from the beauty of natural forces as from the theme of freedom, the common thread running through this great opera, whose four acts follow the founding events of Swiss history, as structured by Friedrich von Schiller in the tragedy that gave rise to the libretto.

Rossini departs from the bel canto tradition here, yet his music remains vibrantly lyrical. The title role is given to a baritone, who embodies the gestures of the legendary and daring archers. Yet the tenor of the story is not to be outdone, entrusted by the composer with the virtuoso arias of Arnold, the Swiss patriot in love with the beautiful Mathilde, Princess of Habsburg.

With all his Italian successes behind him and having settled in Paris, the much-admired Rossini thus brought his dizzying career as an opera composer to a close in 1829 with this final work that would durably inspire French grand opera.

This season opener is a real event, presenting the Opéra de Lausanne’s very first Wilhelm Tell, in which two great artists – Francesco Lanzillotta as conductor and Bruno Ravella as director – make their debut with this poetic, spectacular production.

Photos