A culinary-inspired, feminist Magic Flute
Barbe and Doucet may be based in Italy, but the French-Canadian design/directing duo are always on the go—their busy schedule keeps them jetting to and fro between various cities in Europe and North America. Recently, they’ve been preparing their first production for England’s premiere
summer opera festival, Glyndebourne. “The idea is that we are going to make a celebration of theatre,” says stage and costume designer Andre Barbe.
“We give things to the audience, and the audience decides to travel with us,” adds director and choreographer Renaud Doucet. “It’s an exchange. Sometimes the things that have the most challenge are the most interesting.”
The pair has provided challenge and entertainment in vivid doses for almost two decades with their vast array of chewy, visually-striking productions. After separate starts in the worlds of theatre, opera, dance, and television, the two formally became a brand (‘Barbe & Doucet’) in 2000, and have since helmed over 30 new productions. In 2009/10, Florida, , , and . In 2013, they helmed Richard Wagner’s in a co-production between Oper Leipzig and the Bayreuth Festival. At Wexford Festival Opera, they’ve produced (by Adolphe Charles Adam; the 2000 production featured a then-unknown Joseph Calleja), (Gabriel Faure, 2005) and (both Massenet, both 2013), and most recently, their colourful vision of (Saverio Mercadante, 2018), which won Best Opera Production at The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards in March. This season they’ve presented Offenbach’s at Oper Koln and and at Volksoper Wien; at Staatsoper Hamburg, and at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. In February, they staged for Vancouver Opera, incorporating elements of time travel and Jazz Age Paris.
