LE FIGARO - Thierry Hillériteau

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This inaugural concert is a faithful picture of the project: modern; unexpected and elegant. One laughs happily at the comedian, Nicolas Carpentier’s pranks when he indirectly retraces the history of the spot and the stakes of the project. Sam, the conductor’s chihuahua appearing as a guest star is a memorable moment. The rest of the evening is along the same line.

When the soprano Sandrine Piau rebels against the condition of women in operas, in the middle of her song La Finta Giardiniera, pictures of Simone Weil file past in the background behind her.

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AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

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On Saturday evening, for the surprising programme,( Mozart, Carl Maria von Weber and Beethoven) young French talents were invited to sing (Sandrine Piau, Anaïk Morel, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Florian Sempey) as well as the pianist Bernard Chamayou. A special lighting and video projection gave the concert an innovating touch – some would say brazen – to this opening concert.

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Laurence Equilbey reveals her desire to experiment, aiming at crossing different arts or new technologies, such as videos or even mapping.​

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LE MONDE - Marie-Aude Roux

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Laurence Equilbey had promised a surprise program. It was also a daring choice: long extracts from La Finta Giardiniera, Mozart in the German Singspiel version, Die Garinerinaus Liebe, with a brilliant bevy of French singers: the tenor Stanislas de Barbeyrac, the baryton Florian Sempe, the mezzo Anaïk Morel and the soprano Sandrine Piau whose mastery and musical quality are most admirable.

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She is a confirmed actress and easily interrupted her aria Ferne von Threm Neste (the turtledove whimpers, far from its nest) on the pretext that the old-fashioned precepts are no longer in use.

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A portrait gallery of feminists then appears on the screens behind the orchestra, from Simone de Beauvoir to Virginia Woolf, Indhira Gandhi to Simone Weil, and the Femen suffragettes.

Laurence Equilbey rubs it in with humour, so as to promulgate certain themes. Basically, she denounces the inferior congruent place of women in artistic performances. As for the form, we see the staging of what one might call ‘an increased concert, with visual and technological props, overtitles and a lot of hard work carried out on the lighting and the theatre’s safety.

Thus, the part of the ringmaster, Monsieur Loyal, played by the comedian Nicolas Charpentier finds its place when he evokes the industry origins of the place, the heart of the working class’s demands.

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We can but applaud this start off, full of generous perspectives.

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LA CROIX  - Emmanuelle Giuliani​

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Laurence Equilbey who is now settled in Boulogne with her Insula Orchestra had imagined an inauguration concert to fill several purposes: make the auditorium resound of course and show its technical possibilities (clear acoustics, sound effect for the speaking voice, lighting effects and spatialization of soloists and chorus singers in the theatre); she also wanted to honour Insula’s favourite repertoire – from Mozart to Weber – but also send a few social and political messages on the part played by music in these troubled times.

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The comedian Nicolas Charpentier was given the delicate task of telling the story of the Ile Seguin in a humouristic way, which often fell flat but in a harmless way, , while clear images were projected on a  of screens at the back, using the libretto of Die Gärterin, as a reminder of the feminists’ struggles and social struggles that took place there and, last but not least, the necessity of doing one’s duty by going to vote.

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When the face of President Macron appears on the screen, one discovers the face of…Mozart of course! There was something rather pleasant about the mixture of innocence and the activists’ fervour and kitsch (the apex was the illustration of the mischief from Freischütz.

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OPERA MAGAZINE - Richard Martet

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Laurence Equilbey who founded the Insula Orchestra imagined an extremely original programme with extracts from Mozart’s Die Gärtnenn ans Liebe  and Weber’s Der Freischultz, followed by Beethoven’s La Fantaisie for piano, chorus and orchestra. Olivier Fredj staged the evening, calling on an excellent comedian, Nicolas Charpentier.

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