La Renaissance de l'Opéra Royal de Versailles

Laurent Brunner, director of Château de Versailles Spectacles, reveals how he revived the historic Opéra Royal and what lies ahead. Organized by the Columbia Global Paris Center. To be notified of upcoming Paris Global Center events, we invite you to sign up for our monthly newsletter. — Since reopening in 2009, the Opéra Royal de Versailles has thrived under Laurent Brunner’s leadership. It is now a leading artistic institution offering a rich program of opera, concerts, ballet, and theater, including new works, revivals, and rediscoveries. In his presentation, Brunner will highlight key milestones in this transformation. These include the creation of the Opéra Royal’s own orchestra and the development of an academy for young talent. He will also share his vision for a vibrant opera house: a place to celebrate heritage, create art, and embrace knowledge and openness. Violinist Jaime Garcia-Añoveros III, a student at Columbia University, will open the evening with a performance of “Danse du Grand Calumet de la Paix, exécutée par les Sauvages,” an excerpt from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s opera “Les Indes Galantes,” arranged for violin. Brunner will speak in French, with live English translation. After his remarks, there will be video highlights of notable performances from the Opéra Royal. This event is part of the Judith Ginsberg Cultural Program, an annual series hosted at the Columbia Global Paris Center to explore pressing issues in culture and the arts. The program was inaugurated in 2024 with a conversation between Laurence des Cars, former President-Director of the Musée du Louvre, and Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor of French and Philosophy at Columbia University. The following year featured a conversation between Chris Dercon, Director of the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, and Galia Solomonoff, Professor of Professional Practice in Architecture at Columbia University and founder of Solomonoff Architecture Studio. Speakers & Performers Laurent Brunner is the director of Château de Versailles Spectacles. Since 2007, he has greatly expanded the small, private company by first reopening the Royal Opera in 2009 and establishing an annual season of around 80 performances featuring prominent classical musicians in venues such as the Royal Chapel and the Hall of Mirrors. Brunner’s other initiatives include founding the Orchestra of the Royal Opera of Versailles, staging major contemporary art exhibitions by artists like Jeff Koons and Olafur Eliasson, establishing a young artists’ academy, and launching a dedicated record label and video platform. Jaime Garcia-Añoveros III is a composer and violinist based in New York City. He studies violin with Maja Cerar at Columbia University, where he is pursuing a dual major in music and philosophy. He also serves as President and Co-Founder of the Deleuze New Music Collective (DNMC). As a violinist, he has commissioned and premiered over 20 works by living composers. He has played for audiences in Vienna, London, Chicago, New York, Sevilla, Madrid, Berlin, Prague, Munich, Baltimore, Leipzig, Venice, Lausanne, LA, and Boston. Recent performances span several genres and include a masterclass on Sciarrino’s 6 Capricci with Irvine Arditti, premieres by composers Joey O’Neill and Won Jong at Columbia University, microtonal Bach reharmonizations by Marc Sabat at Opera America, an opening act for J-pop star Fujii Kaze at Lollapalooza Chicago, a set with shoegaze pioneers “Jesus and the Mary Chain” at the Francis Kite Club, and a set alongside Latin Jazz bandleader Axel Tosca at Zinc Bar in Manhattan. — Venue This event will take place in Reid Hall’s Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc, built in 1912 and extensively renovated in 2023 thanks to the generous support of Judith Ginsberg and Paul LeClerc. Reid Hall, the Columbia Global Paris Center, and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination are not responsible for the views and opinions expressed by their speakers and guests.