“Did I love a dream?”  This is what we ask ourselves at the end of this unusual opera, a true jewel of the repertoire. Max Brod, Janáček’s friend and translator of his operas in German, describes this work as ‘‘a dream of Nature’s eternity and love’s desire”. From the dream, the work retains the fairy tale: the universe of humans for a brief moment mixes with that of animals and all speak a common language – that of song.

The Cunning Little Vixen was born in 1923 from the composer’s enthusiasm for a newspaper comic strip by Rudolf Tesnohlidek about a semi-domesticated fox living in a village. What audacity to introduce an animal into the universe of opera, long the preserve of human drama! Yet the result is both admirable and particularly touching. In this dialogue between the animal realm and the human realm, the vixen plays the role of one who but passes through – alas, at her risk and peril.

Time takes no break in this opera: from one spring season to the next, the circle is closed – as an eternal return. The year passes and cedes place to the vixen’s offspring. Now it is one of her daughters who in turn will take her place in captivity in the courtyard of the woodsman. The tale becomes a fable, and the moral is cruel, even if the composer’s tender smile alights across each page of this enchanting score.

Robert Carsen, long familiar with the universe of Janáček, takes up the challenge of this daring work that mixes genres and species: he joins with the subtlety of conductor Franck Ollu and the sonic pallet of the Lille National Orchestra, to deliver to us an original and vibrant vision of The Cunning Little Vixen in a production that mixes singers and dancers on the stage.

This performance is available in the package "Christmas Trio".

Opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) on the libretto by livret by Leoš Janáček according to Rudolf Tesnoblidek, created in 1924.

Conductor Franck Ollu
Director Robert Carsen
Assistant and revival of the conducting Maria Lamont
Costumes and sceneries Gideon Davey
Lights Robert Carsen et Peter Van Praet
Choregraphy Philippe Giraudeau
Musical studies and linguistic Irène Kudela
Song master Bertrand Halary
Choir master Yves Parmentier
Children’s choir master Pascale Diéval-Wils

With
The Vixen Elena Tsallagova
The Fox Jurgita Adamonyte
The Forester Oliver Zwarg
The School teacher, Alan Oke
The Priest, the Badger Krzysztof Borysiewicz
Harasta, the Poacher Derek Welton
The Forester’s wife,  Salomé Haller
The innkeeper’s wife Irène Candelier

Pásek, Yves Vandenbussche
Lapàk,  Michelle Seitz Lagache
Le Coq / le Geai Anne-Cécile Laurent
Chocholka,  Camille Slosse
The OwlDonatienne Milpied
The Wixen as a child / Crapaud (Acte III) Sérène Perrel* / Juliette Specq*
Crapaud (Acte I) Léopoldine Aubrée*
Renardeau (solo Acte III) Marguerite Bert* / Léopoldine Aubrée*
Grillon / Pepík Cyprien Nicolay** / Clément Bayet*
Sauterelle/ Frantík Neil Ounais**

Dancers 
Nelli Ahmetova, Violette Angé, Steven Berg, Anne Bogard, Emilie Burc, Dolores Calvi, Flora Gaudin, Sarah De Almeida Gonçalves, Anne-Claire Gonnard, Thomas Dequidt, Lucien Fradin, Paolo Handel, Rémi Hollant, Dimitri La Sade-Dotti, Olivia Lioret, Agathe Munsch, Abderrahim Ouabou, Camille Prieux, Jennifer Rauwel, Marcelo Rodrigues Rolim de Goes, Andrea Sperotto, Audrey Thumerelle, Ludovic Tronché, Antonia Vitti

orchestre national de lille
jean-claude casadesus / region nord-pas de calais
Lille Opera Choir
Wasquehal Conservatory Children’s Choir
The Soloists of Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine
Children’s Choir of the Opéra de Paris / Direction Gaël Darchen**

SA 1ST FEBRUARY 5:30 P.M.
OPERA IN FAMILY
5:30 p.m. : Presentation of the libretto by the artistic team.
6:00 : Representation.

TUE 4 FEBRUARY
RENCONTRE
AVEC L’ÉQUIPE ARTISTIQUE
after the representation.
Free admission.

WED 5 FEBRUARY
WEDNESDAY CONCERT
BOHEMIAN ECHOS I
Works by Leoš Janáček, Bohuslav Martinu.
With Pablo Schatzman violin, Guillaume Lafeuille cello, Jean-Michel Dayez piano.

WED 12 FEBRUARY
WEDNESDAY CONCERT
BOHEMIAN ECHOS II
Melodies by Antonín Dvořák, Johannes Brahms, Leoš Janáček, Franz Listz.
With Diana Axentii mezzo-soprano, Alissa Zoubritski piano