It is thanks to your loyal support that we are able to enjoy these wonderful operas in our rural setting and we are very grateful to you all.

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1 Dear Opera Lovers We would like to thank the Commune of Le Bugue for their warm welcome at the Salle Eugène le Roy for the transmissions of the Season from The Metropolitan Opera in New York. It is thanks to your loyal support that we are able to enjoy these wonderful operas in our rural setting and we are very grateful to you all. We are happy to present to you today the programme for the season which includes six new productions from the Metropolitan Opera. It is at these evenings organised by the "Confluence des Arts et des Savoirs", that opera lovers are delighted to meet each other and we are finding that more and more of you are coming, which gives us great pleasure and encourages us to do even more to make you welcome. Don't forget to tell others about this opportunity to share these wonderful operatic evenings. To receive future information by please send your address to: Opera tickets : 15 Reservations : Maison de la Presse, 8 rue de Paris, Le Bugue. Telephone : Drinks and canapés are available to order during the interval. Hélène MacKenzie Peers Présidente de l Association Confluence des Arts et des Savoirs

2 Confluence des Arts et des Savoirs METROPOLITAN OPERA HD LIVE FROM NEW YORK SEASON The Metropolitan Opera in New York returns exclusively to Le Bugue in the Salle Eugene Roy for a season with ten new operas including six new productions such as Otello, Manon Lescaut and Elektra. For this eighth season, the most beautiful voices of the operatic world gather on the most prestigious stage to perform a repertoire as varied as it is demanding: Anna Netreboko, Roberto Alagna, Kristine Opolais, Jona Kaufmann...

3 SEASON CALENDAR Performance dates, running time and schedule subject to change 2015 OCTOBER SAT 31-Oct TANNHÄUSER Wagner 16h30 NOVEMBER SAT 07-Oov LE TROUVÈRE Verdi 18h30 SAT 21-Nov LULU Berg 18h30 DECEMBER SAT 12-Dec OTELLO Verdi 18h JANUARY SAT 16-Jan LES PECHEURS DE PERLES Bizet 18h30 SAT 30-Jan TURANDOT Puccini 18h30 MARCH SAT 05-March MANON LESCAUT Puccini 18h30 APRIL SAT 02-April MADAME BUTTERFLY Puccini 18h30 SAT 16-April ROBERTO DEVEREUX Donizetti 18h30 SAT 30-April ELEKTRA Strauss 18h30

4 TANNHÄUSER Date SAT 31 OCT 2015 Running time 4h40 Compositor Richard Wagner Production Otto Schenk Conductor James Levine Cast Johan Botha (Tannhäuser), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Elisabeth), Michelle De Young (Venus) The poet Tannhaûser leaves the den of Venus, where he has experienced carnal love, to go back to the Wartburg valley. He hopes to win the heart of Princess Elizabeth. On his arrival she organises a singing contest and she will grant a wish to the winner of whatever he desires.. James Levine conducts Wagner s early masterpiece in its first return to the Met stage in more than a decade. Today s leading Wagnerian tenor Johan Botha takes on the daunting title role, opposite soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek as Elisabeth, adding another Wagner heroine to her Met repertoire after her acclaimed Sieglinde in the Ring a few seasons ago. On the heels of his recent triumph in Parsifal, baritone Peter Mattei sings Wolfram, and mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung is the love goddess, Venus. Sung in german with french subtitles

5 IL TROVATORE Date SAT 07 NOV 2015 Running time 3h00 Compositor Giuseppe Verdi Production Sir David McVicar Conductor Marco Amiliato Cast Anna Netrebko (Leonora), Dolora Zajick (Azucena), Yonghoon Lee (Manrico), Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Comte de Luna) The Count of Luna is in love with the beautiful Princess Leonora, herself courted by the Troubadour Manrico. Jealous, Luna challenges Manrico to a duel. However the two men are unaware that they are blood brothers Soprano Anna Netrebko s dramatic and vocal skills are on full display in her next new role at the Met Leonora, the Verdi heroine who sacrifices her own life for the love of the gypsy troubadour. Tenor Yonghoon Lee sings the ill-fated Manrico, baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky is his rival, and mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick is the mysterious gypsy with the troubled past. Angela Meade sings Leonora in later performances. Marco Armiliato conducts Sir David McVicar s Goya-inspired production. Co-production of the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and San Francisco Opera Association Sung in italian with french subtitles The Salle Eugene le Roy was not available on October 3rd when the production was broadcast live from the Met, this is therefore a delayed broadcast.

6 LULU Date SAT 21 NOV 2015 Running time 4h40 Compositor Alban Berg Production William Kentridge Conductor James Levine Cast Marlis Peterson (Lulu), Susan Graham (Comtesse Geschwitz), Daniel Brenna Lee (Alwa) In an art deco Paris, Lulu is a femme fatale no one can resist. Admirers, husbands or lovers are seduced by her irresistable charms and lead her on a path where love, obsession and death meet Acclaimed artist and director William Kentridge (The Nose) applies his unique theatrical vision to Berg s notorious femme fatale who shatters lives, including her own. Musically, the masterful score is in the sure hands of Met Music Director James Levine. Soprano Marlis Petersen has excited audiences around the world with her portrayal of the tour-de-force title role, a wild journey of love, obsession, and death. Susan Graham joins a winning cast, including Daniel Brenna and Johan Reuter. Production a gift of the Kirsh Family Foundation Co-production of the Metropolitan Opera, Dutch National Opera, and English National Opera Sung in german with french subtitles

7 OTELLO Date SAT 12 DEC 2015 Running time 3h20 Compositor Giuseppe Verdi Production Bartlett Sher Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin Cast Aleksandrs Antonenko (Otello), Sonya Yoncheva (Desdémone), Željko Lučić (Iago), Dmitri Pittas (Cassio) On the island of Cyprus, the Moorish Captain Otello rejoins his wife Desdemona. Lieutenant Iago, jealous and wishing to have power over Otello, causes tragedy by trying to persuade him that Desdemona is unfaithful to him with the innocent Cassio... The Met season opens with Verdi s masterful Otello, inspired by Shakespeare s play and matching it in tragic intensity. Director Bartlett Sher probes the Moor s dramatic downfall with an outstanding cast: tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko plays the doomed Otello; new soprano star Sonya Yoncheva sings Desdemona, Otello s innocent wife and victim; and baritone Željko Lucic plays the evil Iago, who masterminds Otello s demise. Dynamic maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts. Production a gift of Jacqueline Desmarais, in memory of Paul G. Desmarais Sr. Sung in italian with french subtitles The Salle Eugene le Roy was not available on October 3rd when the production was broadcast live from the Met, this is therefore a delayed broadcast.

8 LES PÊCHEURS DE PERLES Date SAT 16 JANV 2016 Running time 2h50 Compositor Georges Bizet Production Penny Woolcock Conductor Gianandrea Noseda Cast Diana Damrau (Leïla), Matthew Polenzani (Nadir), Marius Kwiecien (Zurga) In a village in Ceylon, the Chief Zurga and his friend Nadir in the name of their unwavering friendship, swear not to seduce the Priestess Leîla, with whom they are both in love. When Nadir breaks this promise, Zurga condemns the lovers to die... Bizet s gorgeous opera of lust and longing set in the Far East returns to the Met stage for the first time in 100 years. Soprano Diana Damrau stars as Leïla, the beautiful Hindu priestess pursued by rival pearl divers competing for her hand. Her suitors are tenor Matthew Polenzani and baritone Mariusz Kwiecien, who sing the lilting duet Au fond du temple saint, which opera fans know and adore. Director Penny Woolcock explores the timeless themes of pure love, betrayal, and vengeance in a production that vividly creates an undersea world on the stage of the Met. Conductor Gianandrea Noseda brings his romantic flair to the lush score from the composer of Carmen. Production a gift of the Gamma Fisher Foundation, Marshalltown, Iowa Co-production originally created by English National Opera Sung in french with french subtitles

9 TURANDOT Date SAT 30 JANV 2016 Running time 3h30 Compositor Giacomo Puccini Production Franco Zeffirelli Conductor Paolo Carignani Cast Ninna Stemme (Turandot), Anita Hartig (Liù), Marco Berti (Calàf) In Peking, all suitors of Princess Turandot must solve three riddles to have her hand, or die. Calfa, the song of a king deposed by his enemy the Emperor, falls under the spell of the cruel princess and decides to take up the challenge Christine Goerke, Lise Lindstrom, and Nina Stemme, three of opera s greatest dramatic sopranos, take turns in the title role of the proud princess of legendary China. Tenors Marcelo Álvarez and Marco Berti are Calàf, the brave prince who sings Nessun dorma and wins her hand. Franco Zeffirelli s golden production is conducted by Paolo Carignani. Sung in italian with french subtitles

10 MANON LESCAUT Date SAT 5 MARS 2016 Running time 3h30 Compositor Giacomo Puccini Production Sir Richard Eyre Conductor Fabio Luisi Cast Kristine Opolais (Manon Lescaut), Jona Kaufmann (des Grieux), Massimo Cavalletti (Lescaut) The young and buxom Manon arrives in Paris accompanied by the artless Des Grieux who is madly in love with her. There she discovers a new life of luxury and wealth which she cannot resist. Des Grieux desperately tries to win back the heart of this new femme fatale The Met stage ignites when soprano Kristine Opolais and tenor Jonas Kaufmann join forces in Puccini s obsessive love story. Opolais sings the title role of the country girl who transforms herself into a Parisian temptress, while Kaufmann is the dashing student who desperately woos her. Director Richard Eyre places the action in occupied France in a film noir setting. Desperate passion is the phrase Puccini himself used to describe the opera that confirmed his position as the preeminent Italian opera composer of his day. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi leads the stirring score. Production a gift of Helen and Bengt Agerup and Rolex Co-production of the Metropolitan Opera and the Baden-Baden Festival Sung in italian with french subtitles

11 MADAME BUTTERFLY Date SAT 2 AVRIL 2016 Running time 3h40 Compositor Giacomo Puccini Production Anthony Minghella Conductor Karel Mark Chichon Cast Kristine Opolais (Cio-Cio-San), Maria Zifchak (Suzuki), Roberto Alagna (Pinkerton) In Japan, Cio-Cio-San fervently loves her new husband, the American Pinkerton. He leaves the country the day after their wedding night without an explanation. Devastated, Cio-Cio-San continues to live in the hope that her handsome lover will come back to her one day Puccini portrays a stunning boundless love wich the MET offers aexceptional cast : Kristine Opolais, one of the most coveted Butterfly, is accompanied by the french Roberto Alagna in the role of the naval officer who will break her heart. The production of the english director Anthony Minghella is breathtaking. Co-production of the Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, and the Lithuanian National Opera Sung in italian with french subtitles

12 ROBERTO DEVEREUX Date SAT 16 AVRIL 2016 Running time 3h10 Compositor Gaetano Donizetti Production Sir David McVicar Conductor Maurizio Benini Cast Sondra Radvanovsky (Elisabetta), Elina Garanca (Sara), Matthew Polenzani (Roberto Devereux) In 1598 in London Queen Elizabeth 1 is in love with Robert Devereux, the Count of Essex. She finds herself torn between duty and emotions when she must condemn the object of her affection for treason against the Kingdom Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky takes on the extraordinary challenge of singing all three of Donizetti s Tudor queens in the course of a single season, a rare feat made famous by Beverly Sills and not attempted on a New York stage since. In this climactic opera of the trilogy, she plays Queen Elizabeth I, forced to sign the death warrant of the nobleman she loves, Roberto Devereux. Tenor Matthew Polenzani is Devereux, and mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and baritone Mariusz Kwiecien complete the principal quartet in the bel canto masterpiece, conducted by Donizetti specialist Maurizio Benini. As with the earlier Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda, the production is by Sir David McVicar, who with this staging completes an enormously ambitious directorial accomplishment. Production a gift of The Sybil B. Harrington Endowment Fund Sung in italian with french subtitles

13 ELEKTRA Date SAT 30 AVRIL 2016 Running time 2h10 Compositor Richard Strauss Production Patrice Chéreau Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen Cast Nina Stemme (Elekctre), Adriana Pieczonka (Chrysothémis), Waltraud Meier (Clytemnestre) Elektra has only one obession, to avenge the death of her father Agamemnon, killed by her mother Clytemnestra. She will only achieve her goal with the help of her sister Chrysothemis and her brother Orestes Acclaimed artist and director William Kentridge (The Nose) applies his unique theatrical vision to Berg s notorious femme fatale who shatters lives, including her own. Musically, the masterful score is in the sure hands of Met Music Director James Levine. Soprano Marlis Petersen has excited audiences around the world with her portrayal of the tour-de-force title role, a wild journey of love, obsession, and death. Susan Graham joins a winning cast, including Daniel Brenna and Johan Reuter. Production a gift of the Kirsh Family Foundation Co-production of the Metropolitan Opera, Dutch National Opera, and English National Opera Sung in german with french subtitles

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15 ACCESS MAP TO SALLE EUGÈNE LE ROY LE BUGUE

16 THE ASSOCIATION CONFLUENCE DES ARTS ET DES SAVOIRS Wish you a great opera season Salle Eugène Le Roy Le Bugue