Stéphane Lissner (born 23 January 1953) is a French theatre director. He was formerly the director of the Paris Opera. His tenure lasted from 2014 to 2020.

Life

Born in the

12th arrondissement of Paris The 12th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le douzième'' ("the twelfth"). Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is ...

, son of a company manager, Lissner is a student at the Collège Stanislas and the

lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges (''lycées'') in France. The school educates more than ...

.Notice biographique, '' Who's Who in France'', 2009 Just graduating from college, he created the "Théâtre mécanique" in 1972 in a small venue in the

7th arrondissement of Paris The 7th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''le septième''. The arrondissement, called Palais-Bourbon in a r ...

. He directed it until 1975. He began his career in the public theatre industry as Secretary General of the of

Aubervilliers Aubervilliers () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, Île-de-France region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Albertivillariens'' or ''Albertivillariennes''. Geography Localisati ...

in 1977, then codirected the from 1978 to 1983. He then directed the "Printemps du théâtre" between 1984 and 1987, taught the management of cultural institutions at the

Université Paris-Dauphine Paris Dauphine University - PSL (french: Université Paris-Dauphine, also known as Paris Dauphine - PSL or Dauphine - PSL) is a public research university based in Paris, France. It is one of the 13 universities formed by the division of the ancie ...

in 1984, and was appointed Director General of the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

in Paris in 1988, while he has been a member of the Board of Directors since 1983. He remained so until 1997 while assuming the general management of the

Orchestre de Paris The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris. History In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du ...

from 1994 to 1996. The direction of the

Aix-en-Provence Festival The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumental ...

was entrusted to him in 1998. He also headed the

Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord The Bouffes du Nord is a theatre at 37 bis, boulevard de la Chapelle, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris located near the Gare du Nord. It has been listed since 1993 as a ''monument historique'' by the French Ministry of Culture. History Founde ...

with

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Sha ...

from 1998 to June 2005, and has been directing with Frédéric Franck the Théâtre de la Madeleine since 2002.« Aix : les dix principaux acteurs des réseaux de pouvoir - Stéphane Lissner », '' Les Échos'' No 19440 22 June 2005, As he was to retain the management of the Aix Festival until 2009, he had to leave it in 2006 to fully assume the positions of Superintendent and Artistic Director of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, to which he was appointed in April 2005 and reappointed in November 2009. In October 2012, he was appointed Deputy Director of the Paris Opera and was appointed to succeed the then Director

Nicolas Joel Nicolas Joel or Joël (6 February 195318 June 2020) was a French opera director and administrator of opera houses. He was general manager of the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse from 1990 to 2009 and of the Paris Opera from 2009 to 2014. He dir ...

at the end of his term in summer 2015. Finally, Nicolas Joël advances the end of his term of office to August 1, 2014 and, on July 9, 2014, Lissner is officially appointed Director of the Paris Opera.

Controversies

In February 2015, during an interview in the program "Qui êtes-vous ?" on

BFM Business BFM Business (called BFM for ''Business FM'' until April 2009 and BFM Radio until November 2010) is France's first business news channel. It's also the most-listened to business news radio station in this country. From November 2010, BFM Business ...

, Lissner was subjected by the journalist to an audio quiz on opera but only recognized one extract from the five classics chosen ('' La Wally'', '' La forza del destino'', '' Carmen'', ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...

'' and '' Madama Butterfly'', attracting the mockery of many Internet users relayed by the press. In May 2018, Lissner supports his Director of Dance,

Aurélie Dupont Aurélie Dupont (born 15 January 1973 in Paris) is a French ballet dancer who performed with the Paris Opera Ballet as an '' Étoile''. She began her career in dance in 1983 when she entered the Paris Opera Ballet School (''L’École de danse de ...

following the disclosure by the press of an internal investigation pointing out the mistrust of a majority of dancers towards their management.

Awards

* Officier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

since 2017.

Publications

* ''Métro Chapelle'',

NiL Éditions NiL Éditions is a French publishing house Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribu ...

, Paris 2000, .

References

Bibliography

* « Stéphane Lissner, directeur de la Scala : Entretien », ''

Télérama ''Télérama'' is a weekly French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic Desautez is de ...

'', No 3151, 5 -11 June 2010,

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lissner, Stephane 1953 births Living people Lycée Henri-IV alumni Collège Stanislas de Paris alumni Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Directors of the Paris Opera Officiers of the Légion d'honneur