Patrice Chéreau imposed on the theatre a physical, frontal way of acting, in which bodies weigh as much as the text. Bayreuth was celebrating its centenary in 1976 when he staged the Ring there, with Boulez conducting: the first night caused a scandal, for the Tetralogy had no business talking about capitalism. In 1980 the audience applauded for eighty-five minutes, a festival record.
The story
Patrice Chéreau was born at Lézigné, in the Maine-et-Loire, on 2 November 1944. He was in the theatre very young, ran the Théâtre des Amandiers at Nanterre, and imposed a physical, head-on way of playing where bodies count as much as the text.
In 1976, for the centenary of the Bayreuth festival, he staged Wagner's Ring with Pierre Boulez in the pit. The first night turned into a scandal: the Ring was not supposed to be about capitalism. Four years later, at the last performance in 1980, the audience applauded for eighty-five minutes — a record for the festival.
In Paris, in 1979, he had given the first performance of the complete three-act “Lulu” of Berg; afterwards he staged Mozart, Janáček and Strauss, and brought into opera a direction of actors that came from the theatre. Most of the opera directors who follow work after him.
The cinema gave him “La Reine Margot” in 1994, the jury prize at Cannes, then “Ceux qui m'aiment prendront le train”, which won him the César for best director in 1999, and “Intimité”, Golden Bear at Berlin in 2001.
He died in Paris of lung cancer on 7 October 2013, at sixty-eight, and lies in Division 16 — the Division of Christian Bérard, who designed for Cocteau and Jouvet.
On site, do not miss
A bare stele, two dates, nothing of the theatre or the opera — the sobriety of a man who filled stages.
Visitors' questions
Where is Patrice Chéreau's grave?
In Division 16, Chemin de La Bédoyère, first row, in the lower part of the cemetery. The stele is simple: “Patrice Chéreau, 1944-2013”. Christian Bérard, Cocteau's designer, rests in the same division.
Christian BérardWhat is the Bayreuth Ring?
His staging of Wagner's Ring cycle, created in 1976 for the festival's centenary with Pierre Boulez conducting. Booed on the first night, it was applauded for eighty-five minutes at the final performance in 1980.
Luigi CherubiniWhat are his films?
“La Reine Margot” in 1994, Jury Prize at Cannes, “Ceux qui m'aiment prendront le train”, César for best director in 1999, and “Intimité”, Golden Bear in Berlin in 2001. He made films alongside his work in theatre and opera.
Claude ChabrolWhat did he change in opera staging?
He brought in the direction of actors from the theatre: bodies, power struggles, a political reading of the librettos. Most of the opera directors who came after him work in the wake of his Ring of 1976.
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