Costume and set design ANDRÉ BARBE
Stage direction and choreography RENAUD DOUCET
After separate beginnings in dance, theatre, television and the opera field Renaud Doucet, Stage director & Choreographer, and André Barbe, Set & Costume Designer, joined forces in 2000. Since then they created together over 30 new opera productions that are recognized for their creativity, sense of spectacle and minutely detailed dramaturgy.
André Barbe received a bachelor of Fine Arts at Concordia University then studied at the National Theatre School of Canada under the tutelage of designer François Barbeau. Up to now he designed over 300 productions for Theatre, Television and Opera. He received the Irish Times Irish Theatre Award 2005 for best designer for the production of Pénélope at Wexford Festival Opera as well as the 2011 Rolf-Mares Prize for best sets & costumes for the production of La Cenerentola at the Hamburgische Staatsoper. Since 2010 he is regularly invited to teach Set & Costume design at the National Theatre School of Canada.
Trained musician Renaud Doucet began his performing career as a solo dancer, ballet master, teacher and choreographer in international dance companies. He was introduced to the opera world as baroque choreographer & baroque gesture specialist coaching singers like Alfredo Kraus, Jaime Aragall, Raina Kabaivanska or Mirella Freni. He also worked as an actor in various movies & TV series.
Their work as a team gained international recognition with their new productions of DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE at the Glyndebourne Festival, LA CENERENTOLA and LA BELLE HÉLÈNE at the Staatsoper Hamburg, SAMSON & DALILA at the Kungliga Operan in Stockholm, DIE FEEN by Wagner - for the bicentenial celebrations - for Oper Leipzig in coproduction with the Bayreuther Festspiele, LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN at Oper Bonn & Volksoper Wien, PÉNÉLOPE by Fauré, SI J'ÉTAIS ROI by Adam, THÉRÈSE / LA NAVARRAISE by Massenet and IL BRAVO by Mercadante at the Wexford Festival Opera (received the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Opera Production), ARABELLA and LA GRANDE DUCHESSE DE GEROLSTEIN at Oper Köln - for the 2019 bicentenial celebrations of Jacques Offenbach in his native city, CENDRILLON by Massenet at l’Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg & l’Opéra de Marseille (France), New York City Opera (USA), Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe (Germany) and L’Opéra de Montréal (Canada), BENVENUTO CELLINI and IPHIGENIE EN AULIDE at l’Opéra National du Rhin, IL MATRIMONIO SEGRETO at the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik & Oper Köln, TURANDOT at Opera Philadelphia, Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Atlanta Opera, Utah Opera, Cincinnati Opera & Vancouver Opera, LA BOHÈME at Scottish Opera, Theatre St Gallen & Vancouver Opera, the Viennese premiere of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, TURANDOTand RUSALKA at the Volksoper Wien (Austria), THAÏS at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, l’Opéra de Montréal, Palm Beach Opera, Boston Lyric Opera & Florida Grand Opera, PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE and THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA at L’Opéra de Montréal, a North American production of LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Colorado & Florida Grand Opera, MANON at the Scottish Opera & Malmö Opera, the entire 2009-10 season of Florida Grand Opera in Miami with LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, IL PAGLIACCI, SUOR ANGELICA, IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA & CARMEN; DON PASQUALE at Scottish Opera, Florida Grand Opera & Teatro Carlo Felice of Genova.