| Mantovani, Bruno (b. 1974) | Akhmatova |
| Opéra national de Paris | ||
| Pascal Rophé | Conductor | |
| Nicolas Joël | Director | |
| Wolfgang Gussmann | Set Designer, Costume Designer | |
| Susana Mendoza | Costume Designer | |
| Hans Toelstede | Lighting Designer | |
| Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris | ||
| Chœur d'enfants de l'Opéra National de Paris | ||
| Patrick Marie Aubert | Choirmaster / chorus director | |
| Janina Baechle | Mezzo-soprano | Anna Akhmatova |
| Valérie Condoluci | Soprano | Faina Ranevskaya |
| Varduhi Abrahamyan | Mezzo-soprano | Lydia Tchoukovskaya |
| Fabrice Dalis | Tenor | A Sculptor, An English Academic |
| Atilla Kiss B | Tenor | Lev Goumilev |
| Lionel Peintre | Baritone | Pounin |
| Christophe Dumaux | Countertenor | The Representative Of the Writers' Union |
As a tribute to Nicolas Joel, who passed away one year ago, the Paris Opera is releasing online the opera Akhmatova, staged and directed by Joel in 2011. For this worldwide premiere, dedicated to one of the most prominent Russian poets of the 20th century, the Opera commissioned Bruno Mantovani to compose the score and Christophe Ghristi to write the libretto. Their work focuses on the darkest moments of Anna Akhmatova’s life: Stalin’s regime and especially her son’s deportation.
After 20 years at the direction of the Capitole de Toulouse, where he enriched the repertoire with many of his own productions, Nicolas Joel was named Director of the Paris Opera from 2009 to 2014. He directed, among others, Mireille by Gounod and Akhmatova.
A major figure of the operatic stage, he received many awards for his productions, including a Music Award in the “Best Lyrical Production” category for Dialogue of the Carmelites in Toulouse.
