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Captured live from Naples splendid San Carlo Theatre the worlds oldest continuously running public opera venue - where it opened the companys theatrical season, acclaimed director Dmitri Tcherniakov stages a new production of Dvorks beautiful, supremely romantic opera about a water sprite Rusalka (here the stunning soprano Asmik Grigorian) who longs to find love. Maestro Dan Ettinger conducts a terrific cast that also includes exciting young British tenor Adam Smith, Ekaterina Gubanova, Anita Rachvelishvili and Gbor Bretz.

History  Music 

Opening Night French Film Festival 2025.
Friday May 23rd, 6.30pm for 7.00pm.
Tickets $35.00 - catered by Mark Chance with sparkling wine on arrival!
Just as Marion Cotillard was to La Vie en Rose, Golden Globe-nominated actor Tahar Rahim is to MONSIEUR AZNAVOUR, transforming into the iconic singer/songwriter for this lavishly entertaining rise-to-stardom biography of the man who beat all odds to not only become one of Frances best-loved entertainers, but personified French culture to the rest of the world. Born in Paris in 1924 as the son of Armenian refugees, Charles Aznavours formative years are spent in poverty, but distinguished by his parents passion for music and theatre. Ridiculed for his short stature and raspy tenor voice traits he would in time fully embrace Aznavours early attempts at a showbiz career during the Occupation falter. Whilst gifted, his material finds more success in the hands of others, including his friend Pierre (Bastien Bouillon), and later the imperious Edith Piaf (a scene-stealing Marie-Julie Baup), who becomes a highly influential mentor and supporter. But by the 1950s, Aznavour finally realises his own ambitions; his empathetic chansons' about the heartbreaks, confusions and passions of the common man (mining the dramas of his own life) catapult him to global attention. Led by its star's astonishing performance and stunning vocal prowess, MONSIEUR AZNAVOUR is a true tour de force as intimate as it is spectacular and serves as a triumphant reminder of the power and impact of music. Dont miss one of Frances biggest hits of the year.

Comedy  Drama  Music 

Saturday May 24th at 2.00pm. Adults: $16.00, Concessions: $14.00.
A sensation at Cannes and one of France's biggest box office and audience favourites of the year (achieving over two million admissions and entry into the top five of 2024), writer/director Emmanuel Courcol's wildly entertaining new film follows two very different siblings separated by fate and reunited by their love of music. Thibaut (the exceptional Benjamin Lavernhe, Delicious, Cest la vie!) is a beloved and internationally celebrated orchestra conductor who travels the globe. When a health crisis and subsequent DNA test inadvertently reveals he was adopted as an infant, Thibaut discovers the existence of a younger brother, Jimmy (rising star Pierre Lottin), who lives in more modest circumstances; he works in a school cafeteria, cares for his mother and plays the trombone in a community brass band. The pair seem to have little else in common other than a love of performance, but sensing his siblings exceptional talent, Thibaut decides to remedy the injustice of fate and try to help nurture his brothers untapped gifts. An eruptive crowd favourite wherever it has premiered (notably receiving the highest audience score in the 51-year history of the San Sebastian Film Festival), MY BROTHERS BAND is a rousing, feel-great trip to the cinema, expertly striking the perfect harmony between laughter and tears. Bring your family, your friends, and some tissues.

Action  Adventure  Drama 

Saturday May 24th at 7.00pm. Adults: $16.00, Concessions: $14.00.
Pierre Niney leads a stellar cast in Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellires thrilling new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas epic adventure, the first French cinematic treatment of the iconic tale of romance and redemption in over fifty years. Marseille, 1815. The dreams of principled young sailor Edmond Dants (Niney) are about to come true; promoted to ships captain, he can finally marry the love of his life, Mercds (Anas Demoustier). But his success inspires jealousy betrayed by his rivals, Dants is denounced as a member of a pro-Napoleon conspiracy and incarcerated without trial in an isolated prison. After years of solitude, Dants befriends the inmate in the adjacent cell, Abb Faria (Pierfrancesco Favino), who reveals the location of a hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. An extraordinary plan is hatched to exact revenge on the three men who wronged him A true cultural phenomenon in France (where it stormed the box office with close to 10 million tickets sold), THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO delivers luxurious, spectacular big-screen entertainment, at once timeless and electrifyingly new. Widely expected to sweep the 2025 Csar Awards, its a Festival must-see.

Saturday May 24th at 4.30pm. Adults: $16.00, Concessions: $14.00.
The remarkable Melanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet take centre stage in writer-director Gianluca Jodice's transfixing historical drama, evocatively depicting the last days of the French Revolution and the fates of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI. 1792. The official Parisian residence of the king, the Tuileries Palace, has been stormed. Louis, Marie Antoinette and their children have been arrested and confined in a medieval chateau in the city centre. Far from the splendour of Versailles, where the family and their retinue had lived until only a few years earlier, they are vulnerable for the first time in their lives. While the King naively tries to keep spirits high and manners intact, his pragmatic and imperious wife is far more realistic about their predicament, and the destiny that likely awaits them Drawn from the diaries of Louis XVIs personal valet, this exceptionally crafted drama features not only marvellous production design and cinematography, but incredible costumes by twice Oscar-nominated designer Massimo Cantini Parrini. Dominated by the exceptional performances of its two leads, THE DELUGE is a compelling dramatic rejoinder to Sofia Coppolas Marie Antoinette and Benot Jacquots Farewell My Queen, which both depicted the royal couples lives well before the party was over.

Sunday May 25th at 4.30pm. Adults: $16.00, Concessions: $14.00.
Inspired by incredible true events, acclaimed writer/director Pascal Bonitzers sharp and engrossing new social comedy follows a self-assured auctioneer whose professional and personal integrity is challenged by the discovery of a long-lost masterpiece. Paris, present day. Brash 40-something Andr Masson (Csar Award-winner Alex Lutz), a hotshot modern art appraiser at prestigious high-end auction house Scotties, receives word that a painting by Egon Schiele may have been found in a young factory workers home in the Alsatian city of Mulhouse. Though highly sceptical, Andr travels to view the canvas with his ex-partner Bettina (the superb La Drucker, Custody) who is also an expert valuator, only to be convinced of its authenticity as a masterwork long assumed destroyed by Nazi officials during WWII. For Andr, the ramifications of this once-in-a-lifetime find for his career and for his contentious relationship with his less-than-reliable intern Aurore (Louise Chevillotte), will prove both unexpected and transformative. Skilfully brought to life by an array of both endearing and duplicitous characters, THE STOLEN PAINTING is a thrilling exploration of the often-cynical world of art dealing and collecting, where the jaw-dropping prices aren't always related to the rarity of the object. Its savvy and sophisticated entertainment.

Sunday May 25th at 2.00pm. Adults: $16.00, Concessions: $14.00.
One of Frances most beloved and awarded actors, the remarkable Daniel Auteuil is also an accomplished writer and director (The Well-Diggers Daughter), and this engrossing new legal thriller finds him once again in outstanding form. Auteuil stars as Jean Monier, a well-past his prime defence lawyer who ever since discovering he was responsible for a killer being exonerated prefers to work as a prosecutor. But one evening he agrees to help his over-committed wife and fellow counsel Annie (Sidse Babett Knudsen, Borgen) by meeting with Nicolas Milik (Grgory Gadebois, Delicious, AF FFF21), a shell-shocked father of five who has just been arrested for the murder of his troubled wife. Miliks predicament inexplicably touches Jean; the more he pieces together the case, the more he becomes convinced of Miliks innocence. Soon Jean rediscovers his passion for his vocation and becomes obsessed with exposing the real killer. Characterised by typically first-rate performances from its stellar cast, this pulled-from-the-headlines drama based on true events and adapted from the memoirs of lawyer-turned-bestselling author Jean-Yves Moyart - is a gripping exploration of guilt, conceit and the slippery nature of justice. Packing a genuine punch, THE THREADs conclusion lingers long after the credits have rolled.

In 1961, Rudolf Nureyev toured Paris with the Kirov, enthralling audiences as the Prince in The Sleeping Beauty. Thirty years later, he proposed a new choreography of what he considered to be the ballet of ballets for the Paris Opera Ballet. Retaining the spectacular enchantment of the ballet and the sparkling charm of Tchaikovskys music, Nureyev brought a new balance to Marius Petipas original choreography by giving more prominence to the male roles. Returning to the Paris Opera stage after an absence of ten years, there is no doubt that Aurora and Dsir, the Lilac Fairy and the Blue Bird, not forgetting the terrible Carabosse, will fascinate new generations.

Gods and mortals battle in the second chapter of Wagners Ring cycle. Conductor Antonio Pappano and director Barrie Kosky reunite to continue the mythical adventure that began with Das Rheingold in 2023. On a stormy night, fate brings two strangers Sieglinde (Lise Davidson) and Siegmund (Stanislas de Barbeyrac) together, unleashing a love with the power to end worlds. Meanwhile, in the realm of the gods, an epic battle ensues between their ruler Wotan (Christopher Maltman) and his rebellious daughter, Brnnhilde (Elisabet Strid).

  Family 

Four of The Royal Ballet's Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldons most distinctive short works are brought to the Covent Garden stage, bringing together sensuous contemporary ballet with the energy of musical theatre. Fools Paradise (2007), The Two of Us (2020), Us (2017), An American in Paris (2005): four stories of tender devotion and blossoming romance, showcasing Wheeldons remarkable choreographic range.

Poor Cio-Cio-San! The 15-year-old geisha (here superb soprano Eleonora Buratto) who, having renounced her family and Japanese traditions for the love of an American naval officer (Stefan Pop), finds herself abandoned in favour of a Western wife. Puccini used this classic theme of a woman seduced and abandoned to create an opera with lush orchestration and burning lyricism. For singular American director Robert Wilson, this Japanese tragedy of a woman as fragile as a butterflys wings proves the ideal environment in which to display his signature refined formalism. Far from the traditional fans and cherry branches, he uses stylised acting and a stripped-down space to allow the melodic lines to blossom in all their purity.