United States Various: Franco Fagioli (countertenor), The Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra / Stefan Plewniak (conductor). Printemps at 1 Wall Street (21.7.2025) and L’Alliance New York (23.7.2025), New York. (RP)
Orchestras from around the world regularly make their New York debuts, but few, if any, with the style and sophistication of the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra. Naysayers might argue it would be folly to do so in July when many people flee the city. For the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra, it was not only an opportunity to perform but also a chance to be at the center of two extraordinary artistic experiences.
‘You work with whom you have faith’ is the guiding principle of Laurent Brunner, Director of Opéra Royal/Château de Versailles Spectacles. For the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra’s first US appearances, that person was Charles Letourneau, co-founder of Festival Napa Valley, who serves as its Vice President and Director of Artistic Planning. This connection led to the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra’s first US performances in Napa Valley, which took place immediately before they arrived in New York.
In Napa, the Versailles Royal Opera presented Donizetti’s La fille du régiment in a new production that premiered in April 2025, for which the renowned fashion designer Christian Lacroix created the costumes. The Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra also performed a free concert at Copeland Olive Hill Estate, which is owned by Tatiana and Gerret Copeland, proprietors of Bouchaine Vineyards, who sponsored its New York appearances.
The Napa connection led to Andrew Ousley, Founder and Artistic Director of Death of Classical, who curated and presented the orchestra’s New York debut. Ousley’s only condition was that it be staged ‘Death of Classical’ style. Ousley is notorious for presenting classical music concerts and opera in venues such as church crypts and cemeteries. For the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra’s first New York performances, the locales were Printemps at One Wall Street on 21 July 2025 and L’Alliance New York two evenings later.
Printemps’s New York outpost opened in March 2025, fittingly on the first day of spring. The department store has been described as being ‘as much about indulgence as it is about fashion’ due to its champagne bar and culinary offerings. The venerable French department store was also a sponsor of the orchestra’s New York appearances as part of its 160th anniversary celebration. The Wall Street store afforded an opulent setting for ‘Versailles in Printemps: The Affair of the Poisons’, for which its kitchens did not disappoint, and Bouchaine wine flowed freely.
Ousley’s inspiration for the immersive experience was ‘The Affair of the Poisons’, an extraordinary episode involving poisoning and black magic that obsessed the French court during the reign of Louis XIV. The scandal reached into the highest ranks of society, even touching Madame de Montespan, the king’s mistress. The affair ensnared 442 suspects, resulting in 36 executions, five of the condemned sentenced to the galleys and 23 sent into exile. Ousley’s concept was far less lethal.
The spectacle was staged in multiple rooms throughout Printemps’s 55,000 square feet of space, and there was music everywhere. In the main salon, harpsichordists Elliott Figg and Caitlyn Koester, violinists Rebecca Nelson and Shelby Yamin and cellist Cullen O’Neill performed music from the court of Versailles, including works by Couperin and Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, one of the few well-known female composers of the day.
In other parts of the store, Adam Young performed on the viola da gamba, and Dušan Balarin accompanied soprano Ariadne Greif, in the guise of Mme Montespan, in vocal selections by other French composers of the period. Adding to the extravagance were performance artists from Company XIV, attired in eighteenth-century finery, performing hand balancing, bottle walking and Baroque bird-dancing acts.
Ousley described the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra’s performance as an amuse-bouche before its full concert at L’Alliance New York. The orchestra, led by Stefan Plewniak, and countertenor Franco Fagioli, fulfilled this role deliciously, tantalizing the audience with music by Rossini and Pierre Rode. As with the orchestra, the Argentinian countertenor was making his New York debut.
The evening ended with a Black Mass in One Wall Street’s glittering Red Room. The space, which formerly served as a reception room for a bank, is emblazoned with gold and red mosaics by Hildreth Meière, an American muralist active in the first half of the twentieth century. Restored to its full brilliance by Printemps, it provided an atmosphere of grandeur and luxury to the Black Mass. As guests sipped wine or cocktails, drag opera artist Creatine Price sang, The Coup d’État Quartet played, dancers Liana Zhen-ai, Truth Colón and Mark Bankin moved with grace, and members of Company XIV, who include Syrena, a candelabra balancer and belly dancer, and Gin, a sword swallower, enhanced the satanic rituals.
As New York premieres go, the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra’s ‘Printemps: The Affair of the Poisons’ was a remarkable fête. Musically, its performance at L’Alliance New York was equally marvelous. Entering the stage as they played Lully’s ‘Marche pour la Cérémonie des Turcs’, the orchestra performed overtures from operas by Rossini and Zingarelli with polish and elan. It achieved a rare intimacy in the Overture to Rossini’s Αureliano in Palmira, which he later re-purposed for Il barbiere di Siviglia. Throughout, the pungent, pliant string sound was enriched by particularly fine playing from the solo clarinet, bassoon, and horn.
Plewniak has the aura of a cross between pied piper and sorcerer with his wild hair and flowing black tunic. The music he draws from the orchestra pulsates with energy and a scintillating array of musical colors. He conjures the same magic when playing the violin solo in the ‘Final Polonaise’ from Pierre Rode’s Concerto for Violin No.1. Rode, who was solo violinist to Napoleon, was noted for the lyricism of his playing and the refinement of his tone. To these qualities, Plewniak added impressive virtuosity and expressiveness.
Fagioli performed arias by Italian bel canto composers who, except for Rossini, have slipped into obscurity. Giuseppe Nicolini was an Italian composer who wrote at least 45 operas. His opera seria Carlo Magno premiered in Piacenza in 1813. If there is a case for a Nicolini revival, Fagioli made it with his bravura singing, rapid-fire fioratura, octave leaps and dramatic intensity in an extended scene from the opera, ‘Ecco o numi compiuto…Ah quando cesserà…Lo sdegno io non pavento’, in which the hero, Vitekindo, expresses a cascade of emotions ranging from tender romance to revenge. The solo bassoon playing in the opening section was particularly moving.
Saverio Mercadante, who was active at the same time as Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti, is not forgotten. In recent decades, his operas have occasionally been staged and recorded. To close the concert, Fagioli performed ‘Dove m’aggiro…Era felice un dì…Sì bel contento in giubilo’ from Andronico, which premiered in Venice in 1821. It was the opportunity for Fagioli to express sweeter emotions through the beauty of his voice and exceptionally accurate coloratura.
As an encore, Fagioli performed Arsace’s cavatina from Act I of Rossini’s Semiramide, ‘O come da quel dì, tutto per me cangió’. This is familiar bel canto turf, where comparisons abound. Fagioli hit his mark with an impressive display of vocal prowess. Brilliant high notes, thrilling cavernous chest tones and nonstop vocal pyrotechnics abounded.
This being a Death of Classical experience, there was more music, drink and food at an after-party at the Freeman’s | Hindman Auction House. It was a soiree that summoned the spirit of a royal court. In rooms hung with art, guests were greeted by the strains of Baroque music. In its upper galleries, Monteverdi was heard, and audiences sat engrossed in the storytelling of Foreshadow, which utilizes overhead projector shadow puppetry and original scores. The latter was a simple and refreshing end to a kaleidoscope of experiences that introduced the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra to New York.
Tatiana Copeland attended all of the performances and festivities. When asked why she sponsored the Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra’s New York premiere performances, Copeland responded, ‘I love music. It is a part of who I am and a part of my soul’. It has been so her entire life – Sergei Rachmaninoff was her mother’s uncle, and she was named after his daughter, Tatiana. As for her role in bringing the orchestra to New York, Copeland is nonchalant. ‘I was asked to do it, and the concept was absolutely crazy, so why not?’ She will toast to its success while sipping champagne from her vineyards at the 8th ADOR’s Gala Dinner for the Versailles Royal Opera on 5 October 2025.
Rick Perdian
Featured Image: Kylie Rose (bottle walker) at Printemps New York © Kevin Condon/Death of Classical
Program at Printemps (21.7.2025)
Rossini – Sinfonia (Tancredi); ‘Ecco mi al fine in Babilonia…Ah quel giorno ognor rammento’ (Semiramide)
Pierre Rode – Final Polonaise (Concerto for Violin No.1)
Program at L’Alliance New York (23.7.2025)
Rossini – Sinfonia (Tancredi); Sinfonia, ‘Dolci silvestri orrori…Ah! Che sento…Non lasciarmi in tal momento’ (Αureliano in Palmira)
Giuseppe Nicolinis – ‘Ah se mi lasci o cara’ (Traiano in Dacia); ‘Ecco o numi compiuto…Ah quando cesserà…Lo sdegno io non pavento’ (Carlo Magno)
Paolo Bonfichi – ‘Qual mi circonda e agghiaccia…Dolenti e care immagini…Vedrai quest’anima’ (Attila)
Pierre Rode – Final Polonaise (Concerto for Violin No.1)
Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli – Overture (Giulietta e Romeo)
Saverio Mercadante – ‘Dove m’aggiro…Era felice un dì…Sì bel contento in giubilo’ (Andronico)