Opera de Paris 1966/7 season
Before tha Opera Bastille was even thought of, the Paris Opera meant the Palais Garnier. It was a rum place in those days. Georges Auric was the Director. Programmes ('Demandez le programme! Demandez le programme! sellers used to shout in the foyers giving an impression you were in a market of some sort) were in French and execrable English. I wrote to Auric offering to correct the English free of charge. My offer was serious. After all I was employed at one of the most prominent Lycees, the Lycee Janson de Sailly as Assistant delangue anglaise. Anser came there none.
Years later when Terry Hands produced 'Otello' with Solti conducting and featuring Domingo in one of his first forays in the title role, Terry told me that things were so disorganised that within a day or two of the dress rehearsal he still hadn't seen some of the scenery or costumes or both, I forget which. Terry was married to the wonderful French actress Ludmila Mikaël so spoke fluent French and had directed plays for leading French theatres but had never come across a situation like this.
Begging and no doubt screaming, he was tipped off that if he drew a large ampont of cash from the bank and went to see a mysterious gentleman high up in the flies, the situation might be resolved.
And so it was.
In general the standard was mixed. A favourite was the Australian tenor, Albert Lance. He was quite good-looking but by then his voice was stale. Some other singers were also underwhelming. However, I saw 'Tristan' in a Wieland Wagner production there in 1966 with Nilsson and Windgassen. Maurice Bejart was a la mode in those days and rightly so. He had directed Berlioz's 'La Damnation de Faust' so brilliantly I saw it more than once. It looks a bit silly now
I also enjoyed the conducting of Georges Sebastian although he got booed before the performance for some nefarious reason.
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