Laurent Pelly

Director, Costume Designer

‘Laurent Pelly unfolds his magic on Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Teatro Real – an impeccable production, faithful to Wagner’s work’ — El País, Wagner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Teatro Real 2024 

French opera and theatre director Laurent Pelly is sought after by the world’s most prestigious houses. With a natural affinity for Italian and French repertoire, his creative curiosity has in recent years led him towards other composers, including Russian and Czech. He brings theatrical insight to his work with singers and his concepts often contain surreal invention and a dark sense of humour. A master of detail, he designs the costumes for all his productions, as well as occasionally the sets.

Well-known at opera houses such as Opéra national de Paris, Opéra de Lyon, Royal Opera House London, Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Teatro Real, La Monnaie de Munt and Glyndebourne, Pelly is just as adept in and passionate about theatre. His most recent theatrical venture was Goldoni’s L’Impresario de Smyrne (Scènes de la vie d’opéra), featuring on-stage musicians, and the first French theatrical production of Mary Chase’s Harvey, with acclaimed French actor Jacques Gamblin. He was Co-Director of Théâtre national de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées from 2008–18, where creations included Ionesco’s La cantatrice chauve, Aristophane’s Les oiseaux, Goldoni’s L’oiseau vert and Hugo’s Mangeront-ils? as well as Shakespeare’s Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

New opera productions in the 2024–25 season include Gassman’s L’Opéra Seria at Teatro alla Scala Milan and a semi-staging of Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim’s Gypsy for the Paris Philharmonie, as well as numerous revivals. His most recent work includes Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Teatro Real Madrid and Le Chauve Souris (in the original French) for Opéra de Lille, as well as Il Turco in Italia at Teatro Real Madrid, Eugene Onegin at La Monnaie de Munt and Royal Danish Opera, La périchole at Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Lakmé at Opéra Comique, A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Lille, Poulenc La voix humaine/Les mamelles de Tirésias for the Glyndebourne Festival (winner of Best New Production at the International Opera Awards 2022), La Cenerentola (Amsterdam, Geneva, Valencia, Los Angeles), Falstaff (Teatro Real, La Monnaie de Munt, Nikikai Opera Foundation Tokyo) and Il nozze di Figaro (Santa Fe, Matsumoto Festival Japan).

His artistic drive leads him to an ever-expanding catalogue. He has long worked with French repertoire such as Manon, Cendrillon, Pélleas et Mélisande, L’étoile and L’enfant et les sortilèges, as well as Italian works including La fille du régiment, Don Pasquale, L’elisir d’amore, I Puritani, La Cenerentola, La traviata. His Russian and Czech catalogue includes Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel, Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges and Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen. Plans include works by Smetana, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and Strauss. He is also drawn to musical theatre; stagings include Bernstein’s Candide, Brecht–Weill’s Threepenny Opera and Weill’s Mahagonny, with more in the pipeline.

As a renowned Offenbach specialist, Pelly has directed many award-winning titles, including Barbe- bleue, La vie parisienne, La belle Hélène, La grande-duchesse de Gérolstein, Orphée aux Enfers, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Le voyage dans la lune and most recently La périchole for the Théâtre des Champs Elysées. His production of Le roi carotte for Opéra de Lyon won Best Rediscovered Work at the 2016 International Opera Awards.

Appointments: Co-Director Pel-Mel Groupe (2017–); Co-Director (with Agathe Mélinand) of Théâtre national de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (2008–2018); Director Centre Dramatique National des Alpes (1997–2007); Founding Director Compagnie Le Pelican (1980–1996).

Awards: 2022 Best New Production La voix humaine/Les mamelles de Tirésias) International Opera Awards; 2022 Grand Prix du Plaisir du Théâtre; 2022 Best Director Premios Opéra XXI; 2019 Opera News Award; 2017 French Critics Prix de l’Europe Francophone (Le Coq d’Or); 2016 Best Director and Best Rediscovered Work (Le roi carotte) International Opera Awards; 2016 Spanish Critics Best Director (Premios Líricos Campoamor); 2015 French Critics Best Scenic Elements award (L’oiseau vert); 2011 French Critics Best Director and Best Set Design awards (Mille francs de récompense); 2009 SACD Best Director.