Laurent Petitgirard: Joseph Merrick dit Elephant Man

The subject of this opera is the true story of the life of Joseph Carey Merrick, who lived in the late nineteenth century in England. His nickname “Elephant Man” refers to the outward symptoms of a disease characterized by excessive growth of some parts of the body. The same story was treated in a famous film of 1980 by the American cult director David Lynch. The production of this opera completes the French Project, whose goal has been to present three representative French operas of three centuries on our stage. The first two were Robert le diable by Giacomo Meyerbeer and Ariane et Barbe-Bleue by Paul Dukas. By producing Petitgirard’s opera the Prague State Opera wishes to present to its audiences the world premiere of a contemporary French opera. The performance will be conducted by the composer.

Premiere: Feb 7, 2002