Orchestre de l'Opéra de Rouen Normandie

France's Orchestre de l'Opéra de Rouen Normandie has grown beyond its regional operatic roots, offering orchestral concerts and recordings and attracting guest and permanent conductors from around France and beyond. The orchestra consists of just 40 players, typical of ensembles of the Classical period, and in performances of music from earlier periods, it uses gut strings and other historically appropriate equipment. Musical ensembles at the Rouen Opera House date back to the late 18th century, but the current Orchestre de l'Opéra de Rouen Normandie was founded in 1998 by Oswald Sallaberger, who remained its conductor until 2010. Its first guest conductor was David Stern (2002-2005). The orchestra's 40 players are expanded with guest musicians in works calling for a larger ensemble; the group plays repertory from the 18th to the 21st century. In music of earlier periods, it uses historically oriented performing techniques. The Orchestre de l'Opéra de Rouen Normandie provides music for productions of the Opéra de Rouen Normandie, but it began early in its existence to perform independently in orchestral concerts. The group performs in a regular season at the Théâtre des Arts in Rouen and also offers about 50 concerts around the Normandy region and beyond. The orchestra has appeared at such prestigious venues as the Salle Pleyel, the Cité de la Musique, and the Opéra Comique in Paris, and at festivals around France and as far afield as Havana, New York, and Delhi. Sallaberger departed in 2010 and was succeeded by Luciano Acocella, who wielded the baton from 2011 to 2014 and by Leo Hussain from 2014 to 2016. Sallaberger continued to conduct the group, however, and he led the orchestra in its 2012 recording debut on the Zig Zag Territoires label, featuring music by Fauré and Wagner. An interesting feature of the orchestra's concerts is that it has sometimes used digital scores. The Orchestre de l'Opéra de Rouen Normandie has welcomed many guest conductors from France and beyond, including Andreas Spering, Antony Hermus, Laurence Equilbey, and Jean-Pierre Haeck, who led the group in its 2019 recording of Offenbach's Fables de la Fontaine. In 2022, the orchestra moved to the Palazzetto Bru Zane label under conductor Hervé Niquet for a recording of Saint-Saëns' little-known comic opera Phryné.
© James Manheim /TiVo