Campus 2026: Coronation of Poppea

Patrice Caurier was born in Paris and Moshe Leiser in Antwerp. They decided to work together in 1982, staging Benjamin Britten’s opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Opéra de Lyon. Since then, they have staged over one hundred and twenty productions in theaters around the world, to international acclaim and recognition. Their productions have been staged at the Grand Théâtre de Genève (The Ring), the Opéra de Lausanne (Shostakovich’s The Nose), Covent Garden (The Barber of Seville), the Théâtre du Châtelet (Eugène Onéguine), the Liceo in Barcelona (Madame Butterfly), the Metropolitan Opera in New York (Hamlet), the Zurich Opera (L’italienne à Alger), Vienna Opera (The Magic Flute), Salzburg Festival (Norma), Baden-Baden Festival (The Queen of Spades), Pesaro Festival (L’equivoco stavagante), as well as in Monaco, Cardiff, Charleston, Nantes, Antwerp and, recently, Venice (Mefistofele, Abbiati prize for best staging), Valencia (L’heure espagnole and Gianni Schicchi).

version n°1 dated 05/2025
Validity of version n°1: 1 year renewable

Course description/content of the training

Number of traines minimum / maximum

Minimum number of artists: 9
Maximum number of artists: 10

Educational objectives

Knowledge

• Understand a spoken or sung text in its literal meaning as well as its subtext
• Integrate the pronunciation of sung and spoken texts in one’s mother tongue as well as in foreign languages
• Defining the dramaturgical content of a work
• Memorize musical works to detach oneself from the score

Expertise

• Efficiently repeat a program in a limited amount of time
• Findyour musical and human place in a band
• Acquire and put into practice the technical tools needed to interpret a repertoire
• Take into account information provided by a musicologist specializing in a given repertoire to fine-tune your interpretation of a work.

soft skills

• Hearing and understanding managers’ requests and musical suggestions
• Clearly express and justify musical and scenic intentions
• Communicating with kindness to the artists with whom we play the difficulties we may encounter in our relationships.
• Share your interpretation with an audience during the final performance
• Adapt to the demands of a repertoire (pronunciation, musicality of a language, acting…)

Target skills

At the end of the training the beneficiary will be able to :

• Perform Monteverdi’s opera “The Coronation of Poppea
• Explore the specifics of stage work with directors Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser
• Work on the particularities of Monteverdi’s music with the harpsichordist and vocal coach
• Confronting theater in Monteverdi’s music
• Learn how to place the singer on stage
• Preparing for opera productions in a professional context

Methods used

Teaching aids :

Individual and group lessons, given face-to-face.
Lessons are given in French.
A public presentation at the end of the course, in the form of a masterclass, a presentation of the entire body of work interpreted or other…
It brings together all the beneficiaries and does not give rise to remuneration.

Technical resources available :

The rooms are spacious, equipped with music stands (solid or folding), chairs or stools suitable for musicians (without armrests) and the instruments required for training.
Beneficiaries bring their own instruments and scores, which are not provided.
Outside class times, rehearsal spaces can be made available free of charge, on request and subject to availability.
The abbey monument in its entirety (rooms and gardens).

Documentation via private Drive.

Monitoring and evaluation methods

During the course, face-to-face

• Evaluation of the beneficiary’s responsiveness and ability to integrate the suggestions made by the trainers, through practical work.
• During the performance at the end of the training course: interpretation of the work in front of an audience, to assess the development of the interpretation and the ability of the participant to present his or her work in a show.

The beneficiaries sign a sign-in sheet for each half-day.

At the end of training

A certificate stating the objectives, nature and duration of the course, and the results of the training assessment, is given to the beneficiary, along with the certificate where applicable.

Qualitative assessment methods

The beneficiary fills in a qualitative evaluation form to assess the artistic, pedagogical, human and material aspects of the training.
A post-training follow-up is established, for which beneficiaries are asked to inform us within six months of the end of the training of any contracts they have obtained.

Accessibility and consideration of disability situations

The Royaumont Foundation has made the acceptance and participation of people with disabilities a strong commitment to its project. Our training courses are open to people with disabilities and different arrangements can be made according to the specificities of each course. To discuss your needs, please contact us when you register, or get in touch with our disability advisors.

The Foundation has :

• Rooms accessible by elevator.
• Screen equipment and amplified speakers.
• Catering on the first floor.

Contact