Chéreau, Patrice (b. 1944). French theatre director. Co-director (1972-82) of the TNP with Planchon, and director of the Théâtre des Amandiers, Nanterre, since 1982. Sharing Planchon's Marxist tendencies, he aims to re-situate texts historically in their social and political context. His controversial but influential productions of Wagner's Ring cycle at Bayreuth (1976-80) applied similar principles to opera.
Born: Nov 02, 1944 in Lézigné, Maine et Loire, France
Occupation: Director, Writer, Actor
Active: '70s-2000s
Major Genres: Drama
Career Highlights: Queen Margot, Intimacy, Lucie Aubrac
First Major Screen Credit: La Chair de l'Orchidée (1975)
Biography
Primarily known as a stage director in his native France, Patrice Chéreau has also made quite a name for himself in the realm of cinema with such acclaimed features as Queen Margot (1994) and Intimacy (2001). The Lezigne native crossed from stage to screen with the 1975 thriller Flesh and the Orchid, and the auspicious debut earned its up-and-coming director two César nominations. In 1984, Chéreau shared a Best Writing César with Hervé Guibert for his feature The Wounded Man, and in 1994, Chéreau scored his biggest hit to date with the bloody historical drama Queen Margot. Adapted from Alexandre Dumas' novel, Queen Margot was nominated for Best Costume Design at the 1995 Academy Awards in addition to taking home top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival and the César Awards. Following a pair of successful television endeavors, Chéreau returned to the screen to great success with the emotional drama Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train (1998). An introspective tale of an artist's final wish to be buried in his hometown and the friends and acquaintances who see that his wish is granted, the film was nominated for 11 Césars and took home trophies for Best Cinematography, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress. Though his 2001 drama Intimacy drew fire from conservatives for its graphic, lingering sex scenes, the director publicly defended the film with claims that it was about human relationships, and sex was simply one component of many that makes up those relationships. Despite the controversy, the film proved quite a hit in the European market. In 2003, Chéreau documented the fragile relationship between two estranged brothers with the tender drama His Brother. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Patrice Chéreau was born in Lézigné, Maine-et-Loire, and went to school in Paris. At a young age he became well-known to Parisian critics as director, actor, and stage manager of his high-school theatre. At 15, he was enthusiastically celebrated as a theatre prodigy. In 1964, at the age of 19, he began directing for the professional theatre. In 1966 he created a very busy Public-Theatre at the Parisian suburb of Sartrouville. In 1969, he staged his first opera. The following year he established a close relationship with the leadership of the Piccolo-Teatro in Milan, Paolo Grassi and Giorgio Strehler. In 1975 he worked in Germany for the first time directing Edward Bond's Lear. He often collaborated with Claude Stratz.
Chereau's most discussed production was his 1976 centennial staging of Richard Wagner's tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival, conducted by Pierre Boulez. Polarizing fans and critics, Chereau chose to set the operas during the 19th-century Industrial Revolution, and was thought to have emphasized the dramatic rather than the musical elements of the works[1].
His influence on opera productions around the world was increasingly visible ever since that milestone production, having substantial impact, for good or bad, on concepts of other directors and designers who had chosen to follow similar path of so called "modernization" of many traditional (in style) operatic presentations in many opera houses around the world. Elements of that modernization are particularly visible in using symbolic scenery or novelty in costumes (notably violating original intention of creators of the work's time and place, say, by using on the stage our contemporary items and dresses in action which was supposed to take place in historical past).
Patrice Chéreau, Pascal Greggory, une autre solitude (1995) (TV)
Il était une fois dix neuf acteurs (1987) (TV)
Chéreau - L'envers du théâtre (1986)
Notable TV guest appearances
Claude Berri, le dernier nabab (2003) (TV)
Bleu, blanc, rose (2002) (TV)
Thé ou café 14 September 2003
References
^ That premiere performance of the Ring erupted scandal and laud protests of criticism from the audience, but booing being, characteristically, directed against Chereau and his associate stage designer, but going in parallel with enthusiastic acclaim for most of performers
.jpg)
