Olivier Py (; born 24 July 1965 in

Grasse Grasse (; Provençal dialect, Provençal in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional ) is the only Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur Re ...

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

) is a French stage director, actor and writer.

Career

In 1997, Py became director of the Centre dramatique national d'Orléans. In 2007, he became director of the Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris. Py describes himself as

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

. He is known for his emphasis on Catholic and

homoerotic Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, including both male–male and female–female attraction. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be tempor ...

themes. Since the early 2000s, Py has increasingly devoted himself to the

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. His productions of ''

La damnation de Faust ''La Damnation de Faust'' (English: ''The Damnation of Faust''), Op. 24 is a French musical composition for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a ' ...

'', ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; ), often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265. His name ...

'' and ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is a music drama in three acts by Richard Wagner set to a German libretto by the composer, loosely based on the medieval 12th-century romance ''Tristan and Iseult'' by Gottfried von Stras ...

'', all in Geneva, have generally been well received. In March 2008, he debuted at the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

. On this occasion he stated to a French magazine ('' Diapason'', March 2008) that he "would not be done staging operas until edid Wagner's ''

Ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

'' and ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...

''".

Theatre

Works written and directed

* 1988: ''Des oranges et des ongles'' * 1990: ''Gaspacho, un chien mort'' * 1991: ''La femme canon et le bouquet final'' * 1992: ''Les Aventures de Paco Goliard'' * 1992: ''La Nuit au cirque'' * 1992: ''La chèvre'' * 1994: ''La Jeune fille, le diable et le moulin'' * 1995: ''La Servante – histoire sans fin'' * 1996: ''Apologétique'' * 1997: ''Le Visage d'Orphée'' * 1998: ''Requiem pour Srebrenica'' * 1999: ''L'Eau de la vie'' * 2000: ''Le Cabaret de Miss Knife'' * 2000: ''L'apocalypse joyeuse'' * 2001: ''Au monde comme n'y étant pas'' * 2001: ''L'Exaltation du labyrinthe'' * 2001: ''Épître aux jeunes acteurs pour que soit rendue la parole à la parole'' * 2003: ''Jeunesse'' * 2004: ''Le Vase de parfums'', opera libretto * 2004: ''Faust Nocturne'' * 2004: ''Miss Knife chante Olivier Py'' * 2005: ''Les Vainqueurs'' * 2006: ''Illusions Comiques'' * 2011: ''

Romeo et Juliette Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

'' (Shakespeare), at Theatre de l'Odeon * 2011: ''Die Sonne (Le Soleil)'',

Volksbühne Berlin The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre. About The Volk ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany

Published works

* 1994: ''La Jeune fille, le diable et le moulin'', L'école des loisirs * 1998: ''Théâtre'', Solitaires Intempestifs * 2005: ''Les Vainqueurs'', Actes Sud * 2007: ''Les Enfants de Saturne''

Other productions

* 1989: ''Mon Père qui fonctionnait par périodes culinaires et autres'' () * 1996: ''Miss Knife et sa baraque chantante'', Festival d'Avignon * 1993: ''Les Drôles'' (Élizabeth Mazev) * 1999: ''

Der Freischütz ' (Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns, J. 277, Opus number, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Johann Fried ...

'' (

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...

), Opéra de Nancy * 2001: ''

Les Contes d'Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'' (

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

Grand Théâtre de Genève Grand Théâtre de Genève is an opera house in Geneva, Switzerland. As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, officia ...

* 2003: ''

'' (

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

), Geneva * 2003: '' Le Soulier de satin'' (

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

), Orléans * 2005: ''

'' (

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

, Geneva * 2005: ''

'' (Richard Wagner), Geneva * 2006: ''

A Cry from Heaven ''A Cry from Heaven'' is a 2005 play by Irish playwright Vincent Woods. It retells the story of the beautiful Deirdre and the Sons of Usna which is one of the great tragedies of Irish myth. The birth of a girl heralded by omens of a vulture-sh ...

'' (

Vincent Woods Vincent Woods (born 1960) is an Irish poet and playwright. His life Woods was born in County Leitrim. He studied Journalism at the College of Commerce, Rathmines. Woods lived in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia and worked as a jou ...

) * 2006: ''

Curlew River ''Curlew River – A Parable for Church Performance'' (Op. 71) is an English music drama, with music by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by William Plomer. The first of Britten's three 'Parables for Church Performance', the work is based on the ...

'' (

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

) * 2008: ''

The Rake's Progress ''The Rake's Progress'' is an English-language opera from 1951 in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings '' A Rake's Prog ...

'' (

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

Opéra National de Paris The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

(

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

) * 2008: ''La Trilogie du Diable: La Damnation de Faust'' (Hector Berlioz), ''Der Freischütz'' (

), ''Les Contes d'Hoffmann'' (Jacques Offenbach).

* 2017: '' Mam'zelle Nitouche'' – in which he appeared as an actor/singer, touring until 2019 * 2018: ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...

'' (Richard Wagner),

La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

, Brussels; 2022

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with t ...

Movies

Actor

* 1989: ''Dis-moi oui, dis-moi non'' (short) directed by Noémie Lvovsky * 1995: ''

Funny Bones ''Funny Bones'' is a 1995 comedy-drama film from Hollywood Pictures. It was written, directed and produced by Peter Chelsom, co-produced by Simon Fields, and co-written by Peter Flannery. The music score was by John Altman, and cinematography ...

'' directed by Peter Chelsom * 1995: ''Au petit Marguery'' directed by Laurent Bénégui * 1995: ''75 centilitres de prière'' (short) directed by Jacques Maillot * 1995: ''Corps inflammables'' (short) directed by Jacques Maillot * 1996: ''Casse-casse partie'' (TV) directed by Gérard Renouf * 1996: ''Chacun cherche son chat'' directed by

Cédric Klapisch Cédric Klapisch ( ; born 4 September 1961) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Klapisch was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is from a Jewish family; his maternal grandparents were deported to ...

* 1997: ''La Divine poursuite'' directed by

Michel Deville Michel Deville (13 April 1931 – 16 February 2023) was a French film director and screenwriter. Deville started his filmmaking career in the late 1950s, paralleling the emergence of the French New Wave directors. He never achieved the level o ...

* 1998: ''

Late August, Early September ''Late August, Early September'' () is a 1998 French drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is ...

'' * 1999: ''Peut-être'' directed by Cédric Klapisch * 1999: '' Nos vies heureuses'' directed by

Jacques Maillot Jacques Maillot (born 12 April 1962) is a French film director and screenwriter. He has directed nine films since 1993. His film '' Nos vies heureuses'' was entered into the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Filmography * '' Des fleurs coupées'' (199 ...

* 2000: ''Les Yeux fermés'' (TV) directed by Olivier Py

References

External links

*
Interview (in French) about opera on Odb-opera.com

''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'', 29 March 2018 * Langlais, Pierre (2007)
"Olivier Py or the religion of the theatre"
''Label France'' No. 66. {{DEFAULTSORT:Py, Olivier 1965 births Living people People from Grasse Male actors from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur French male film actors French Roman Catholics French theatre directors French theatre managers and producers French opera directors French gay writers LGBTQ Roman Catholics French LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights French National Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni French male dramatists and playwrights