Filled with subtle, salacious undertones, this opera is set during the Crusades. Countess Adèle and her retinue have sworn to live like widows in the absence of the men of the castle. But Count Ory, both naughty and debauched, uses any subterfuge necessary to find himself in bed with Countess Adèle. The beautiful Countess, for her part, is consumed with love for her cousin Isolier, who is equally enamored with her. Will virtue be preserved?

The charm of the piece comes essentially from the balance between the lightness of the libretto and the refinement of the music, which avoids lapsing into vulgarity. Once again, the production can count on the immense talent of Laurent Campellone, a seasoned conductor of the French and Italian repertoires, to express the sophistication and beauty of Rossini’s partition.

As for the antics of the terrible Count Ory, they will be skilfully staged by Jean-Romain Vesperini. The man who created a poetic setting for Gounod’s Faust, presented as part of the Festival d’opéra de Québec in 2022, this time proposes a journey to the Middle Ages in a universe of slightly offbeat, madcap chivalric romanticism.