Opera Fuoco is a French lyrical ensemble conducted by

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of ...

Presentation

Founded by David Stern in 2003, Opera Fuoco dedicates itself to the interpretation of operatic repertoire from the beginning of the 18th to the end of the 19th centuries. Consisting of an orchestra playing on period instruments (Katharina Wolff first violin), Opera Fuoco works alongside young professional singers, recruited by audition. From 2008, the Opera Fuoco Troupe is officially created: two or three productions per year, individual support, master-classes, performances for professionals from the music world, etc... Stern and Artistic Advisor and Educational Director Jay Bernfeld jointly oversee the troupe's audition process and development. In addition, David Stern strongly believes in bringing operatic repertoire to new audiences and particularly in making opera more accessible to children. Since the beginning of its residency at the Theater at

Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines () is a new town and an agglomeration community in the French department of Yvelines. It is one of the original five villes nouvelles (new towns) of Paris and was named after the Saint Quentin Pond, which was chosen to ...

in 2005, many activities were led for and with the children and their families. Elizabeth Askren supervises this educational work. Opera Fuoco is in residence at the Théâtre de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines since 2005.

The troupe

Created in 2008, the troupe consists of young professional singers, recruited by audition and offers a rigorous program over a two- to three-year period: * masterclasses surrounding specific themes (the Baroque era, bel canto, role playing, the art of recitative) supervised by David Stern and Jay Bernfeld as well as by world-renowned singers (

Jennifer Larmore Jennifer Larmore (born June 21, 1958) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer, particularly noted for her performances in coloratura and bel canto roles which she has performed in the world's major opera houses.Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, ...

in 2009,

Paul Agnew Paul Agnew (born 1964 in Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europ ...

and

Isabelle Poulenard Isabelle Poulenard (born 5 July 1961) is French contemporary soprano. Poulenard was born in Paris. Her work has generally been focused on music of the French Baroque, however, she has performed and recorded George Frideric Handel and Georg P ...

in 2010, and Veronica Cangemi in 2011) * Individual support when needed as well as other artistic and/or career advice * Musical Encounters: performances and introductions organized in prestigious venues for sponsors and music professionals.

Educational activities

The activities below took place at the Théâtre de

. * 2012 : ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', by Gilbert & Sullivan, with the scenic participation of children on stage * 2011 : Activities around Donizetti's ''

Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, a ...

'' * 2010 : Adaptation of Handel's ''

Giulio Cesare in Egitto ''Giulio Cesare in Egitto'' (; , Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis, HWV 17), commonly known as ''Giulio Cesare'', is a dramma per musica (''opera seria'') in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music (company), Royal ...

'', with the scenic participation of children on stage * 2010 : Activities around

Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...

's ''Orpheus'' * 2009 : Activities around Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' * 2008 : Purcell's ''

Dido and Æneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was com ...

'', with the scenic participation of children on stage * 2006 : Activities around Mozart's ''

La finta giardiniera ' ("The Pretend Garden-Girl"), K. 196, is an Italian-language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart wrote it in Munich in January 1775 when he was 18 years old and it received its first performance on 13 January at the in Munich. There is deb ...

Productions

* 2011 : ''Polixène'', by Dauvergne, and Gluck's ''

Iphigénie en Aulide ''Iphigénie en Aulide'' (''Iphigeneia in Aulis'') is an opera in three acts by Christoph Willibald Gluck, the first work he wrote for the Paris stage. The libretto was written by François-Louis Gand Le Bland Du Roullet and was based on Jean ...

'' * 2011 : ''

Zanaïda ''Zanaida'' is a three-act opera with music by Johann Christian Bach and libretto by Giovanni Gualberto Bottarelli. It debuted in London on 7 May 1763.''W. A. Mozart'', p. 41, Hermann Abert, Cliff Eisen (2007). "''Orione'' and ''Zanaida'' prov ...

'', by

Johann Christian Bach Johann Christian Bach (September 5, 1735 – January 1, 1782) was a German composer of the Classical period (music), Classical era, the eighteenth child of Johann Sebastian Bach, and the youngest of his eleven sons. After living in Italy for ...

* 2011 : Donizetti's ''

'' * 2010 :

's ''Orpheus'' * 2009 : Mozart's ''

'' * 2008 : Purcell's ''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was co ...

'' * 2007 : Author of ''Figaro'',

Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, ...

in Mozart and

Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born in T ...

* 2007 : Telemann's ''Der Tag des Gerichts'' * 2006 : Mozart's ''

Der Schauspieldirektor ' (''The Impresario''), K. 486, is a comic ''singspiel'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, set to a German libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie, an Austrian ''Schauspieldirektor''. Originally, it was written because of "the imperial command" of the Holy Roma ...

'' &

Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarchy ...

's ''Prima la musica'' * 2005 : Mozart's ''

'' * 2005 : ''De Semele à Ino, le conte de deux sœurs'', by

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

and Telemann * 2004 : Handel's ''

Jephtha Jephthah (pronounced ; he, יִפְתָּח, ''Yīftāḥ''), appears in the Book of Judges as a judge who presided over Israel for a period of six years (). According to Judges, he lived in Gilead. His father's name is also given as Gilead, ...

'' * 2004 :

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, air d'opéras et de concerts * 2004 : Cherubini's ''

Médée ''Médée'' is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Pierre Corneille in 1635. Summary The heroine of the play is the sorceress Médée. After Médée gives Jason twin boys, Jason leaves her for Creusa. Médée exa ...

'' * 2003 : Handel's ''

Semele Semele (; Ancient Greek: Σεμέλη ), in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia (Greek goddess), Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. Certain elements of the cult of Dionysu ...

'' * 2003 : Handel's

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

Discography

* 2007 : ''Jephtha'' – Label

Arion Arion (; grc-gre, Ἀρίων; fl. c. 700 BC) was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb. The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant ...

* 2004 : ''Semele'' – Label Arion

External links

*
Théâtre de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines website

Fuoco E Cenere website

Elizabeth Askren website
{{Authority control French classical music groups Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in France