Co-production: Prima donna, Compagnie Cadéem, Centre Henri Pousseur (Liège) , GMEM (Marseille)
Supported by the Ministère de la Culture, France Fonds de création lyrique (FCL), Spedidam, Ernst Von Siemens music foundation
In association with Printemps des comédiens, Montpellier, Théâtre de l’Athénée, Paris, Teatro San Martin, Buenos Aires

Rachilde’s daring and heretical work, Monsieur Vénus, one of the most provocative and “queer” novels in French literature – before the term was even coined –, is brought to life on the GNO Alternative Stage as a “sung monodrama” by the esteemed Argentinian composer Martin Matalon. This new opera production, directed and choreographed by Greek-born Argentinian choreographer Diana Theocharidis in collaboration with the renowned French-Argentinian director Alfredo Arias, will debut at the Alternative Stage at the SNFCC and run for three remarkable performances on 30 April and 2 and 3 May 2026. Monsieur Vénus is a co-production with the Prima Donna production company.

Written in 1884 and “dedicated to physical beauty,” Rachilde’s novel Monsieur Vénus is considered one of the most scandalous and provocative works of its time, eliciting strong reactions since its first release. Because of its groundbreaking themes, which foregrounded the subversion of gender roles, the fluidity of identity, and the deconstruction of social and moral rules, the work was deemed dangerous and immoral. It is no coincidence that it was banned in Belgium, where it had initially been published, and that its just 24-year-old author faced legal consequences.

Monsieur Vénus tells the story of Raoule de Vénérande – a noblewoman and femme fatale – and Jacques Silvert, a young man from the working class, caught in Raoule’s hands. The two of them are involved in an unequal relationship, in which she imposes the reversal of their genders and sexual roles, ultimately leading to confusion about their gender identities. Sadism, masochism, paedophilia, necrophilia, bestiality, nymphomania, gender role reversal – all the “forbidden” forms of sexuality are found in Rachilde’s work. The challenge, however, does not arise from the linear or raw depiction of these practices, but from their deep, subversive, intellectual conception. In Monsieur Vénus, we witness the destabilization of socially imposed gender constructions – the two protagonists exchange roles as if they were cards in a game.

Synopsis^*
Monsieur Vénus, based on Rachilde’s (a pseudonym of French writer Marguerite Eymery) eponymous 1884 novel, tells the story of Raoule de Vénérande, an aristocratic femme fatale, and Jacques Silvert, a young working man who becomes ensnared by her. They enter into an unequal relationship in which Raoule imposes a reversal of their respective sex and gender roles until their personal pronouns become blurred.

Raoule de Vénérande is ruled by instinct, and as Oscar Wilde might have said, she knows full well that the best way to overcome temptation is to give in to it. Devoted to her pursuit of aesthetic experiences, she is driven to a tragic fate: she loses her social position and destroys the androgynous, monstrous, perfect being she had created with Jacques.

Raoule de Vénérande is a femme fatale. She is defined by her ability to dominate and incite evil, as well as by her coldness. This does not prevent her from possessing a strong, lascivious, feline—in other words, animal— sexuality.

In search of new emotions, this decadent Madame Bovary—this Christopher Columbus of modern love—vampirises her lover, rendering him passive until she finally destroys him. After his death, Jacques will become Raoule’s perpetual possession, transformed into a wax mannequin—an anatomical masterpiece crafted by an expert automaton maker.

^* Based on Rodrigo Guijarro Lasheras’ prologue to the Spanish edition published by KRK, Oviedo, 2017.

Monsieur Vénus, a sung monodrama
Monsieur Vénus, written for a soprano, accordion (and accordina), a female narrator, and electronic media, is the fruit of the creative collaboration among three remarkable artists, all starting from Argentina: composer Martin Matalon, pioneering and prolific playwright Alfredo Arias, and Greek-born choreographer and director Diana Theocharidis. The three creators remark on the work:

“An empty stage. In the background, a body, covered in a white sheet, lies on a plain plank resting on two easels.

Raoule de Vénérande, an aristocrat and femme fatale in a man’s disguise, like her author, Rachilde, prepares to recount her dark encounter with the florist and painter Jacques Silvert.

The narrator serves as a phantom character integrated into the musical narrative as a storytelling device: she accompanies the story of Raoule de Vénérande, complementing transitions and conveying the necessary echoes for the portrayal of the fatal heroine.

Monsieur Vénus is a sung monodrama, a musical piece that, in a minimalist way, uncovers Raoule’s strange desire to experience a love that will transform both her own identity and that of her submissive subject, prey, and victim.

Our intention is to turn this complex and labyrinthine journey into a kind of X-ray that reveals the plot’s skeleton from beginning to end: from Raoule de Vénérande’s encounter with Jacques Silvert to his death, after which he is transformed into a wax figure brought to life by an experienced automaton manufacturer.”

The costumes are designed by Chloe Obolensky, the lighting by Tasos Palairoutas, and the sound by Rémi Le Taillandier.

Raoule de Vénérande will be portrayed by one of the most vigorous young sopranos in the European operatic scene, the French Clara Barbier-Serrano. Diana Theocharidis will perform as the Narrator, and Odysseas Petrakis as the “Body.”

Musician Anthony Millet will join them onstage, playing an electronically processed accordion, and accordina.

Brief biographical notes
Chloe Obolensky
Greek set and costume designer, she designs sets and costumes for theatre, opera and film. Having studied in England and France, she began her career in theatre as an assistant to Lila De Nobili and Yannis Tsarouchis. She began a long-standing collaboration with Peter Brook in 1980 with the play The Cherry Orchard, followed by the productions of Carmen and The Mahabharata (both stage and film versions). Other notable collaborations include projects with Deborah Warner, Ermanno Olmi (Salzburg Festival), Lev Dodin (Opéra national de Paris, Opéra Bastille, Maly Theatre of St Petersburg), Alfredo Arias, Giancarlo Menotti and Mauro Bolognini (La Scala). She has designed numerous productions including Eugene Onegin (ENO, MET), Dido and Aeneas (set – costumes, Opéra-Comique), Julius Caesar (Paris, Barbican), Death in Venice (ENO, Brussels, Milan), Antigone (Athens Epidaurus Festival), The Queen of Spades (Bolshoi Theatre), Billy Budd (Royal Opera House, London), La traviata (Théâtre des Champs-Élysées), Fidelio (La Scala, Milan), Turandot (Odeon of Herodes Atticus) winning awards and honours. She is also the author of the book The Russian Empire. A portrait in photographs.

Tasos Palaioroutas
He is a graduate of the Cinematography Department of the Eugenia Chatzikou Film and Television School. For approximately ten years, he worked as an assistant to director and director of photography Filippos Koutsafis. He collaborated with him again during the period 2020–2023 as an assistant director on the film The Elefsinians. Since 1999, he has been working as a lighting designer for theatre and contemporary dance performances as well as as a director of photography for television productions. He is a founding member of the theatre group Spasmeni Karekla, the dance theatre company Dalika, and the theatre group One Plant Productions. He is also the publisher of the magazine Ormi, which presents emerging artists; within this context, he directed the interview-documentary of visual artist Natalia Manta, Visualising the Invisible. In March 2023, he co-directed with Thodoris Gonis the film Poetry Finds You for World Poetry Day. Since 2024, he has been collaborating with lighting designer Ioanna Athanasiou.

Rémi Le Taillandier
Music technology producer, a creator and performer of electronic music for composers, ensembles and companies. He regularly performs and creates works for IRCAM, at the Philharmonie de Paris and for Radio France. Rémi holds degrees in Music – Sound Engineering and Electronic Music from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris. He is also an artistic director and sound engineer for recordings and live performances. A classically trained musician, he is now a performer and creator in various experimental, pop and rock music projects. His multidisciplinary approach to music allows him to blend different worlds and techniques to explore, hybridise and deconstruct within a very broad sonic palette.

Clara Barbier Serrano
A ‘Young Talent’ of the Jaroussky Academy (2022/23) and Oxford Lieder, Clara Barbier Serrano is a graduate of the Royal College of Music Opera Studio in London and holds a Bachelor of Music from the Hochschule für Musik in Leipzig. She is currently completing a Diploma in Music and Contemporary Creation at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris. Winner of numerous international competitions, including the Victoria Foundation Prize in Los Angeles and the Maestranza Prize at the ASAO Nuevas Voces in Seville, she has performed such roles as Erste Knabe and Taumännchen at the Leipzig Opera, Papagena at the Verbier Festival Academy, Rodelinda at the Royal College of Music, the Queen of the Night with the Oxford Opera Company, Anne Page with British Youth Opera, and Olympia with Avant-scène Opéra in Neuchâtel. More recently, she performed the title role in La Petite Sirène at the Nice Opera, Avignon, Marseille, and Arcal, as well as La marchande d’oiseaux (Juliette ou la Clé des songes) at the Nice Opera. In concert, she has performed Pierrot lunaire at the Bloomsbury Festival, Chaplin Factory by Martin Matalon at IRCAM, the Opéra de Massy, and in Seoul, and Mysteries of the Macabre by Ligeti with the Ensemble Écoute in Paris. She also performs in a duo with pianist Joanna Kacperek, giving numerous recitals. As a scholarship holder of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, she regularly performs on stage with Andrea Bocelli.

Anthony Millet
One of the first accordionists to join the class of Max Bonnay at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP), where he obtained his higher education diploma with highest honours, before pursuing an advanced postgraduate cycle. He is a founding member of the Trio K/D/M with Gilles Durot and Bachar Mar-Khalifé as well as of the Æolina Quartet. He has been invited as a soloist by various institutions, festivals, and ensembles such as Opéra de Paris, Comédie Française, Villa Medici, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, IRCAM, GMEM, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Orchestre de Paris, Philharmonie, Musica, Brussels International Contemporary Ensemble, Nova, Les Cris de Paris, among others. He regularly performs contemporary accordion repertoire and actively collaborates with composers. He has premiered works by Beytelmann, Bousch, Campo, Cavanna, D’Adamo, Dupin, Drouet, Escaich, Filidei, Fiszbein, Gandrille, Giner, Gubitsch, Hurel, Ianotta, Khalifé, Lepauvre, Matalon, Mosalini, Naon, Narboni, Pontier, Soh, Stroppa, Thilloy and Verunelli. He teaches accordion at the conservatories of Montreuil and Pantin as well as at the CNSMDP. He is also the director of Cadéëm, a company in residence in Taverny, the Pays de Mauriac, and associated with the Espace Vents des Forêts, through which he is dedicated to musical creation, the renewal of repertoire, and artistic and cultural education.