International Classical Artists BIOGRAPHY LAURENT PELLY

International
Classical Artists
BIOGRAPHY
LAURENT PELLY
Director
‘The magic with which Pelly brings to life first the inanimate objects
in the house, then the world of nature in the garden beyond, is breathtaking.’
Guardian
French-born Laurent Pelly enjoys a career as one of France's most sought after directors of both theatre and
opera. He directs and designs costumes and sets for productions that are detailed, satirical, often surreal,
exquisite in taste and wonderfully imaginative in both conception and execution. He is particularly renowned for
his work in French repertoire, and has a particular skill for revealing the serious side of comedy. He underlines
his interpretation of characters through skilful and inspired costume designs and in recent years has expanded
into set design.
Laurent Pelly enjoys a distinguished career in the theatre – in 2007 he was appointed Director of Théâtre
National de Toulouse, having previously been Director of Cargo / Centre Dramatique National des Alpes in
Grenoble from 1997-2007. Highlights in Toulouse include Victor Hugo’s Mille cents francs de récompense
(also at l’Odéon in Paris and winner of the 2011 french critics “best director” award, as well as “best set
design”), Hanokh Levin’s Funérailles d’hiver, Carlo Goldoni’s Le Menteur, Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads, a
staged recital of songs by Michel Legrand, featuring Natalie Dessay and most recently Shakespeare’s Macbeth
and Victor Hugo’s Mangeront-ils? for which he designed both sets and costumes.
Current opera productions include Ravel’s L'enfant et les sortilèges and L'heure espagnole for the
Glyndebourne and Saito Kinen Festivals, Robert le Diable for the Royal Opera House and Grand Théâtre de
Genève and Bellini’s I Puritani for L’Opéra national de Paris. Other current work includes Les contes
d’Hoffmann for San Francisco Opera and Teatro del Liceu, Barcelona, a revival of Prokofiev’s Love for Three
Oranges in Amsterdam, Manon at Covent Garden (also in Japan), Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala Milan
and Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse and Cendrillon (originally created in Santa Fe) for the Royal Opera House,
Teatro del Liceu Barcelona, La Monnaie Brussels and Opéra de Lillle. Plans for 13/14 include direction and set
and costume design for Rossini’s Le Comte Ory for L’Opéra national de Lyon and Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
Other recent successes include Handel’s Guilio Cesare for L’Opéra national de Paris, Kurt Weil’s Threepenny
Opera for la Comédie-Française, Massenet’s Don Quichotte at La Monnaie, Mahagonny for Théâtre du
Capitole Toulouse, Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne for Opéra de Lyon and Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse,
Hansel und Gretel for Glyndebourne Festival (also revived in Lyon) and Verdi’s La traviata at Santa Fe and
Teatro Regio di Torino.
His celebrated production of Donizetti’s La fille du régiment (Royal Opera House, Vienna State Opera,
Metropolitan Opera) received world-wide acclaim, and enjoys constant revival, whilst other productions
include Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen (Saito Kinen Festival and Maggio Musicale Florence), Debussy’s
Pelléas et Mélisande and Mozart’s La finta semplice (Theater an der Wien), L’elisir d’amore (Opéra national
de Paris, Royal Opera House,Teatro alla Scala Milan, Mariinsky Theatre St Petersburg), Strauss’s Ariadne
auf Naxos, Weill’s Les Sept péchés Capitaux (Opéra national de Paris), Poulenc’s La Voix humaine and
Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's Castle (Opéra national de Lyon), Rameau’s Platée (Opéra national de Paris, Santa
Fe), Chabrier’s Le roi malgré lui (Opéra national de Lyon and L’Opéra Comique), Offenbach’s La Grande
Duchesse (Théâtre du Châtelet) and La Belle Hélène (Théâtre du Châtelet, Santa Fe, English National Opera).
Updated biographies are available at www.icartists.co.uk. Please do not use if more than three month’s old
International Classical Artists Dunstan House 14a St Cross Street London EC1N 8XA Tel: +44 20 7902 0520
June 2013 -