• JAMES DARRAH
  • about
  • work
  • chronology
  • company
  • feeling adventurous?
James Darrah
  • JAMES DARRAH
  • about
  • work
  • chronology
  • company
  • feeling adventurous?

The Romance of the Rose

An opera by Kate Soper (music, book and lyrics)

WORLD PREMIERE

San Pedro, CA---LONG BEACH OPERA, February 2023

director and production

james darrah

conductor

christopher rountree

costume designer

molly irelan

scenic designer

prairie t. trivuth

lighting designer

pablo santiago

sound designer

carlos mosquera

hair and makeup designer

berenice gallegos

Desert In

Desert In ……is impossible to contain in a portfolio. SO: Here’s just a slew of photos that show this once in a lifetime coven….

The Feast

Music of G. F. Handel

with Martha Graham Dance Company

Segerstrom Center for the Arts, LBO Spring 2023

production and direction
james darrah

co-production and choreography
janet eilber

 

The Fall of the House of Usher

Les Enfants Terribles

p r i s m

Ellen Reid (music) and Roxie Perkins (libretto)

NEW PRODUCTION- WORLD PREMIERE

Los Angeles, CA---LA Opera (Production and World Premiere), December 2018

New York, NY---Prototype Festival and LA MAMA (NYC Premiere), January 2019

director and production
james darrah

conductor
julian wachner and daniela candillari

costume designer
molly irelan

scenic designer
adam rigg

lighting designer
pablo santiago

choreographer and associate director
chris emile

with Anna Schubert and Becca Jo Loeb

(All Production photographs by Noah Stern Weber and Maria Baranova, 2018-19, production creatively produced by Beth Morrison Projects)

Soldier Songs

Anima Sacra

A new music video for JAKUB JOZEF ORLINSKI's 2018 Album:

ANIMA SACRA

director and designer
james darrah

director of photography
nathan mercury kim

editor
adam larsen

lighting designer
pablo santiago

producers
warner classics and james darrah

styling
ysabel riina

 

cast
jakub orlinski (countertenor), sasha rivero (dancer)

 

Produced by Warner Music, Erato, Ltd-Copyright and All Rights Reserved, 2018. 

Proving Up

Missy Mazzoli (music) and Royce Vavrek (libretto)

NEW PRODUCTION PREMIERE

Based on the short story by Karen Russell

Omaha, NE---Opera Omaha ONE FESTIVAL (Production Premiere), April 2018

New York, NY---Miller Theater (NYC Premiere), September 2018

conductor
christopher rountree

director and production
james darrah

costume designer
chrisi karvonides

scenic designer
adam rigg

lighting designer
pablo santiago

cast
michael slattery (miles), john moore (pa zegner), talise trevigne (ma zegner), andrew harris (sodbuster), cree carrico and abigail nims (daughters), and sam shapiro (peter zegner)

Breaking the Waves

Missy Mazzoli (music) and Royce Vavrek (libretto)

WORLD PREMIERE

Based on the film by Lars von Trier (Zentropa Entertainments3)

Philadelphia, PA---Opera Philadelphia (World Premiere), September 2016

New York, NY---PROTOTYPE Festival (NYC Premiere), January 2017

conductor
steve osgood (philadelphia) and julian wachner (new york)

director and production
james darrah

costume designer
chrisi karvonides

scenic designer
adam rigg

projection designer
adam larsen

lighting designer
pablo santiago

cast
kiera duffy (bess), john moore (jan), eve gigliotti (dodo)

In War and Peace

Music video for JOYCE DiDONATO's 2017 Album:

IN WAR AND PEACE: HARMONY THROUGH MUSIC

HANDEL: Lascia ch'io pianga

director and production designer
james darrah

director of photography and editing
adam larsen

lighting designer
pablo santiago

line producer
michelle magaldi

production assistance
théa morton

 

cast
joyce didonato (mezzo soprano), manuel palazzo (dancer)

 

Shot on location in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Produced by Warner Music, Erato, Ltd-Copyright and All Rights Reserved, 2016. Joyce DiDonato, creative producer

REV 23

Julian Wachner (music) and Cerise Lim Jacobs (libretto)

NEW PRODUCTION- NEW YORK PREMIERE

New York, NY---Prototype Festival (NYC Premiere), January 2020

director and production

james darrah

conductor

daniela candillari

costume designer

molly irelan

scenic designer

adam rigg

lighting designer

pablo santiago

associate director

anderson nunnelley

(All Production photographs by Maria Baranova, 2020)

Close Quarters

16 EPISODES OF ORCHESTRALLY-INSPIRED CONTENT OCTOBER 2020 to JUNE 2021

with Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

with artists (current, and always updating season-long):

Yee Eun Nam, Yuki Izumihara, Shauna Davis, Zackary Drucker, Chris Emile, Ardeshir Tabrizi, Wang HuiMeng, Ben Guillory, Michael Thomas, Frank Mohler, Jonny Black, Ellen Reid, Geneva Jacuzzi

Alcina

G. F. Handel

PREMIERE- NEW PRODUCTION

Karlsruhe, Germany---Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, February 2018

INTERNATIONAL HANDEL FESTSPIELE, 2018 (revival 2019)

conductor and music director
andreas spering

director and production
james darrah

scenic and lighting designers
macmoc design

costume designer
chrisi karvonides

projection designer
adam larsen

dramaturgy
michael fichtenholz and boris kehrmann

cast
layla claire (alcina), david hansen (ruggiero), benedetta mazzucato (bradamante), aleksandra kubas-kruk (morgana), alexey neklyudov (oronte), carina schmeiger (oberto) and nicholas brownlee (melisso)

Flight

Jonathan Dove (music) and April de Angelis (libretto)

Opera Omaha, April 2017

The Juilliard School, November 2016

conductor
steven osgood (new york)

christopher rountree (omaha)

production
james darrah

projection design
adam larsen (new york)

scenic design
ellen lenbergs

costume design
mattie ullrich

lighting design
cameron jaye mock (new york and omaha)

pablo santiago (omaha)

The Threepenny Opera

Kurt Weill (music) and Bertolt Brecht (libretto)

NEW PRODUCTION PREMIERE

Boston, MA---Boston Lyric Opera, March 2018

conductor
david angus

director and production
james darrah

costume designer
charles neumann

scenic designer
julia noulin-mérat

lighting designer
pablo santiago

On the Town

Leonard Bernstein

San Francisco Symphony, May-June 2016

conductor
michael tilson thomas

production
james darrah

projection design
adam larsen 

scenic design
mac moc design

costume design
peabody southwell

lighting design
pablo santiago

 

La voix humaine

Francis Poulenc and Jean Cocteau

Philadelphia, PA— Opera Philadelphia O18, September 2018

as “Ne Quittez Pas”, featuring additional art songs by Poulenc and texts by Cocteau and Apollinaire

director
james darrah

costume designer
chrisi karvonides dushenko

production design
tony fanning

lighting design
pablo santiago

cast
patricia racette (woman), christopher allen (piano), edward nelson (baritone), marc bendavid (paul), mary tuomanen (lise), and ames adamson (owner)

San Antonio, TX---Opera San Antonio, March 2015

director
james darrah

co-director and costume designer
peabody southwell

scenic, lighting and properties designers
emily anne macdonald and cameron jaye mock

 cast
anna caterina antonacci (woman), donald sulzen (piano)

Iphigénie en Tauride

Christoph Willibald Gluck

Lisbon, Portugal---Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (São Carlos Premiere), January/February 2016

conductor
david peter bates

production
james darrah

costume designer
chrisi karvonides

scenic and lighting designer
emily anne macdonald and cameron jaye mock

cast
alexandra deshorties (iphigéngie), john moore (thoás), william berger (oreste), colin ainsworth (pylade)

Iris

Pietro Mascagni

Annandale on Hudson, NY---BARD Summerscape 2016

production
james darrah

costume designer and dramaturg
peabody southwell

scenic design
macmoc design

projection design
adam larsen

lighting design
neil peter jampolis

cast
talise trevigne (iris), gerard schneider (osaka), douglas williams (kyoto), cecelia hall (geisha), WIFE, and samuel levine

Vespers

Missy Mazzoli (music) and Olivia De Prato (violin) for her album STREYA, 2018 on New Focus Recordings

ORIGINAL MUSIC VIDEO based on Mazzoli’s “Vespers for Violin”

National Public Radio (NPR) FIRST WATCH (Exclusive World Premiere), April 2018

National Sawdust (Live Screening Premiere) Brooklyn, NY, April 2018 with Jennifer Koh, violin

director and designer
james darrah

costume designer
sarah schuessler

cinematography and editing
adam larsen

produced by
james darrah

cast
sam shapiro

A Flowering Tree

 

John Adams

Omaha, NE---Opera Omaha, February 2015

conductor
christopher rountree

director
james darrah

projection design
adam larsen

associate director
zack winokur

scenic+properties design
emily macdonald

lighting+scenic design
cameron mock

costume design
sarah schuessler

cast
andriana chuchman (kumudha), andrew staples (the prince), franco pomponi (storyteller) with dancers julia eichten, robbie moore, ana maria lucaciu, morgan lugo, jason collins, and yusha marie sorzano

The Other Euridice

Jonathan Dove

Rockport, ME---Bay Chamber Concerts Festival (US Staged Premiere), August 2015

director + designer
james darrah

costume designer
peabody southwell

music director
gerald steichen

 

cast
douglas williams (pluto)

with marnie breckenridge (persephone)

Pelléas Project I: Smoke

Cincinnati, OH---A project with Louis Langrée exploring three composers' responses to Maeterlinck's great play over three years.

YEAR ONE

Arnold Schoenberg: Pelleas und Melisande

director and curator
james darrah

conductor
louis langrée

projection design and photography
adam larsen

scenic design
francois-pierre couture

costume design
peabody southwell

 

cast
WIFE (kristen leahy, jasmine albuquerque, nina mcneely)

Pelléas Project II: Water

Cincinnati, OH---An ongoing project with Louis Langrée exploring three composers' responses to Maeterlinck's great play over three years.

YEAR TWO

October 2016

Gabriel Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande with text my Maeterlinck

New Translation world premiere: Stephen Wadsworth

director and curator
james darrah

conductor
louis langrée

projection design
adam larsen

production design
macmoc design

photography
quinn wharton

cast
naomi o'connell (melisande), blake berris (pelleas), adam greer (golaud), francesca faridany (genevieve), frank corrado (arkel)

 

Pelléas Project III: Stone

Cincinnati, OH---An ongoing project with Louis Langrée exploring three composers' responses to Maeterlinck's great play over three years.

YEAR THREE in collaboration with CINCINNATI OPERA

October 2017

Claude Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande

production
james darrah

conductor
louis langrée

projection design
adam larsen

scenic design
adam rigg

costume design
mattie ullrich

lighting design
pablo santiago

production photography
nicholas korkos

cast
brian mulligan (golaud), naomi louisa o’connell (mélisande), phillip addis (pelléas), nancy maultsby (génevieve)

Hecate House

a new play by Christopher Adams Cohen

NEW PRODUCTION - WORLD PREMIERE

Berlin, Germany- May 2019

director and production

james darrah

scenic installation designer

antoinette adams

choreographer

andrea galad

Baby

EP RELEASE SHOW for Alex Black’s debut EP “Baby”

HUMAN RESOURCES, December 2017

production designer
james darrah

video editing
yuki izumihara

lighting design by
pablo santiago

Semele

G. F. Handel

Seattle, WA---Pacific MusicWorks, May 2014 (initial staging/workshop)

Omaha, NE---Opera Omaha, April 2016  (production premiere)

Philadelphia, PA---Opera Philadelphia, TBA 

conductor
stephen stubbs (Seattle and Omaha)

production + stage director
james darrah

choreographer
gustavo ramirez sansano

projection design
adam larsen

scenic+properties design
emily macdonald

lighting+scenic design
cameron mock

costume design
sarah schuessler

cast (omaha)

mary feminear (semele), anthony gregory (jupiter), peabody southwell (juno/ino), ray chenez (athamus), aubrey allicock (cadmus/somnus), liz lang (iris)

cast (seattle)
haeran hong (semele), aaron sheehan (jupiter), peabody southwell (juno/ino), nathan medley (athamus), colin ramsey (cadmus/somnus), valerie vinzant (iris)

Don Giovanni

W. A. Mozart

 

Milwaukee, WI- Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, September 2014

conductor
edo de waart

director
james darrah

production design
cameron jaye mock and emily anne macdonald

milwaukee cast
daniel okulitch (don giovanni), tamara wilson (donna anna), nicole cabell (donna elvira), matthew rose (leporello), grazia doronzio (zerlina), james morris (il commendatore), andré courville (masetto)

San Francisco, CA---San Francisco Opera/ Merola Opera Program, July + August 2014 (pictured)

conductor
martin katz

production
james darrah

production design
cameron jaye mock and emily anne macdonald

sf merola cast
edward nelson (don giovanni), amanda woodbury (donna anna), karen ho (donna elvira), szymon wach (leporello), yujin kim (zerlina), scott russell (il commendatore), rhys lloyd talbot (masetto)

 

Saul

g. f. handel

New York, NY-- 12th Night Festival, Trinity Wall Street

conductor
julian wachner

director
james darrah

associate director + choreographer
julia eichten

scenic, lighting and costume design (saul, david, jonathan)
emily macdonald and cameron mock

costume design (merab, michal, witch)
robert and rachel danes

cast
anthony roth costanzo (david), christopher dylan herbert (saul), jessica muirhead (merab), ryland angel (jonathan), marie-eve munger (michal), dashon burton (samuel), melissa attebury (witch of endor)

Peter Grimes

Benjamin Britten

San Francisco, CA---San Francisco Symphony, June 2014

conductor
michael tilson thomas

production
james darrah

projection design
adam larsen

scenic+lighting design
cameron jaye mock and emily anne macdonald

costume design
sarah schuessler and james darrah

cast
stuart skelton (peter grimes), elza van den heever (ellen orford), alan opie (balstrode), ann murray (auntie), nancy maultsby (mrs. sedley), john relyea (mr. swallow), richard cox (boles), kim begley (horace adams)

photography for san francisco symphony by stefan cohen

wildUp: Pulp

a multi-media concert installation between wildUp and chromatic

Santa Barbara, CA---wildUp at SB Arts and Lectures series/ Music Academy of the West

conductor and wildUp artistic director
christopher rountree

production design
chromatic (james darrah, cameron mock, peabody southwell and emily macdonald)

program

satie, esquivel, zorn, jarvinen, kallmyer (premiere), deyoe and julia holter (premiere)

Art Jarvinen – Endless Bummer
Erik Satie – Furniture Music & Gymnopedie No. 1, arr. by Jodie Landau
John Zorn – for your eyes only
Chris Kallmyer – amplified orange juice, a louder remembering
Art Jarvinen – Egyptian Two-step
–intermission–
Julia Holter – Endless Song for the End of Summer
Esquivel – music makers / surfboard, arr. by Andrew Tholl
John Zorn – A Rebours, ft. Derek Stein on cello
Nicholas Deyoe – a new anxiety, ft. Archie Carey on amplified bassoon

Andrew Tholl, violin
Andrew McIntosh, violin
Linnea Powell, viola
Derek Stein, cello
Maggie Hasspacher, bass/voice
Erin McKibben, flute/picc
Claire Brazeau, oboe
Brian Walsh, clarinets/saxophones
Archie Carey, bassoon/amplified bassoon
Richard Valitutto, piano/melodica
Chris Kallmyer, trumpet/guitar/bass
Allen Fogle, horn
Danielle Ondarza, horn
Aaron Smith, trumpet
Matt Barbier, trombone
Jeremy Swem, trombone
Luke Storm, tuba
Derek Tywoniuk, percussion
TJ Troy, percussion
Jodie Landau, percussion/voice
Charissa Barger, harp

photography by jodie landau

Agrippina

G. F. Handel

Opera Omaha, February 2014
new performance edition professional premiere

conductor
stephen stubbs

production
james darrah

projection design
adam larsen

scenic+properties design
emily macdonald

lighting+scenic design
cameron mock

costume design
sarah schuessler

cast
peabody southwell (agrippina), jennifer rivera (nerone), hadleigh adams (claudio), nathan medley (ottone), jamie-rose guarrine (poppea), douglas williams (pallante), and zachary wilder (narciso)

L'Allegro, il Penseroso, ed il Moderato

G. F. Handel

The Clark Library, Los Angeles, CA- June 2014

Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, Waimea, HI- July 2012 (pictured)

conductor
stephen stubbs

production
james darrah

scenic+properties design
emily macdonald and cameron mock

costume design, los angeles
rebecca guzzi

costume design, hawaii
sarah schuessler

 

Radamisto

G. F. Handel

Juilliard Opera, November 2013

conductor
julian wachner

production
james darrah

scenic+lighting design
cameron jaye mock and emily anne macdonald

costume design
sara jean tosetti

200 Motels

Frank Zappa

Los Angeles Philharmonic, October 2013
world premiere

conductor
esa-pekka salonen

production
james darrah

visual design
emily macdonald

lighting+visual design
cameron mock

costume design
chrisi karvonides

projection design
adeline newmann

cast
matt marks, jeff taylor, joel david moore, joe fria, morris robinson, hila plitmann, sheila vand, diva zappa, zach villa, michael des barres, rich fulcher

Peer Gynt

Ibsen with the music of Grieg, Schnittke, and Robin Holloway

San Francisco Symphony, January 2013

conductor
michael tilson thomas

direction and costume design
james darrah

projection design
adam larsen

scenic and lighting design
cameron jaye mock

cast
ben huber (peer gynt), joelle harvey (solveig), peabody southwell (the woman in green), janice lancaster (ingrid), jesse merlin (the troll king), rose portillo (aase), brian ruppenkamp , mark deakins (button moulder)

Teseo

G. F. Handel

Chicago Opera Theater, April 2012
US Midwest premiere

conductor
michael beattie

direction and costume design
james darrah

scenic design
francois pierre couture

lighting design
julian pike

cast
cecelia hall (teseo), renée tatum (medea), manuela bisceglie (agilea), gerald thompson (egeo), deanna breiwick (clizia), david trudgen (arcano)

 

Medea (Médée)

Marc-Antoine Charpentier

Chicago Opera Theater, April 2011
US Midwest professional premiere

conductor
christian curnyn

direction and costume design
james darrah

scenic+properties design
francois pierre couture

lighting design
julian pike

 

Theater of the Outrageous

Olga Neuwirth, John Zorn and H.K. Gruber

Los Angeles, CA- Los Angeles Philharmonic, January 2015

conductor
john adams

director, chromatic
james darrah

stage director and costume design
roxie perkins

projection design
adam larsen

scenic design
ellen lenbergs

lighting design
pablo santiago

cast
peter embrechts (chansonnier), nathan medley (klaus nomi soloist) 

Venus and Adonis

John Blow

Cornish Opera Theater, November 2012

conductor
stephen stubbs

production
james darrah

projection and visual design
susie j lee

lighting design
connie yun

costume design
christine meyers

L'incoronazione di Poppea

Claudio Monteverdi

Opera UCLA, June 2012
new performance edition premiere

conductor
stephen stubbs

production
james darrah

scenic+properties design
kaitlyn pietras

lighting design
cameron mock and john a. garofalo

costume design
raquel barreto

Dido and Aeneas

Henry Purcell

Opera UCLA, February 2009

conductor
peter rutenberg

production
james darrah

scenic+properties design
marika stephens

lighting design
cameron mock

costume design
sarah schuessler and james darrah

La tragèdie de Carmen

Peter Brook after G. Bizet

Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, July 2010
Hawaiian Islands Premiere

conductor
ben malensek

production and scenic design
james darrah

lighting design
cameron jaye mock

costume design
sarah schuessler

The Romance of the Rose

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Desert In

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The Feast

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The Fall of the House of Usher

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The Fall of the House of Usher

Les Enfants Terribles

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p r i s m

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Soldier Songs

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Anima Sacra

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Proving Up

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Breaking the Waves

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In War and Peace

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REV 23

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Close Quarters

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Alcina

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Flight

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The Threepenny Opera

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On the Town

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La voix humaine

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Iphigénie en Tauride

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Iris

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Vespers

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A Flowering Tree

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The Other Euridice

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Pelléas Project I: Smoke

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Pelléas Project II: Water

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Pelléas Project III: Stone

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Hecate House

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Baby

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Semele

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Don Giovanni

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Saul

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Peter Grimes

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wildUp: Pulp

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Agrippina

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L'Allegro, il Penseroso, ed il Moderato

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Radamisto

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200 Motels

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Peer Gynt

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Teseo

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Medea (Médée)

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Theater of the Outrageous

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Venus and Adonis

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L'incoronazione di Poppea

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Dido and Aeneas

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La tragèdie de Carmen

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