Julien Chavaz joins MA roster
We are delighted to welcome director Julien Chavaz to the Maestro Arts roster. Born in Bern, Switzerland, he was brought up watching opera from a young age, and although he initially trained in agricultural engineering, fell in love with opera direction at the age of 27. He began to assist directors including Laurent Pelly and in 2018, formed his own opera company, Opéra Louise, in Fribourg. Since 2022, he has served as Generalintendant of Theater Magdeburg in Germany.
Chavaz came to international attention with his 2018 production of Shostakovich’s Moscow, Cheryomushki at Paris’s Théâtre de l’Athénée, shortlisted by Le Monde among the best shows of the year. Since then, he has directed repertoire spanning styles and periods at leading opera houses around the world. Recent productions include Verdi’s Rigoletto for Santa Fe Opera and Irish National Opera Santa, Gerald Barry’s Alice's Adventures Under Ground at Grand Théâtre de Genève and Korngold’s Die tote Stadt for Korea National Opera.
His new production of Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri opened last week at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and other projects this season include Peter Grimes at Korea National Opera and Schnittke’s Life with an Idiot and Clivia at Theater Magdeburg.
In an exclusive interview for Maestro Arts, Chavaz describes his creative process:
‘For me, opera is all about the music: 99 per cent of what I implement on stage comes from what I see and dream when I listen to it. I won’t spend three weeks discussing the psychology of a character or relationship: the emotions, intentions and relationships come primarily from the music. Of course, the text is important and gives structure, but for me, it’s more important to start with the music. Once the bodies on stage move with shape, tension and clarity, you can talk about psychology and dramaturgical finesse.
‘Then I create an aesthetic world, which has its own logic, codes, colours and textures. I try not to reproduce a specific place or time, but to embrace different inspirations and aesthetics. I want to create a world that resembles nothing you’ve seen before. I’m not interested in setting an opera in Italy in 1942, for example. That doesn’t mean it’s completely crazy, but it must have its own character, and not to try to replicate anything.
‘After that, I look for what I call a ‘poetic layer’, especially with comedies. The solution is often to have a lonely soul on stage – it might be a small role that I promote, or an extra actor or dancer. They are looking at what’s happening on stage with sensible, elegiac or nostalgic eyes. It’s a counterpoint, to help the audience experience piece with more sensitivity than if you represent the plot literally. Theatre works because the characters have no time – they have to rush around, especially in comedies – and having this outsider offers a sensible filter to the plot, without losing any of the comedy.’
Read the full interview here.
