Béatrice et Bénédict - Premiere

In the organizer's words:

For a good romantic comedy, take four young people, two ideas of love that couldn't be more different, and one or two masterminds who give the love carousel a powerful push from the outside.

Héro and Claudio dream of marriage, domestic bliss and sofa coziness and want to get hitched as quickly as possible. Béatrice and Bénédict, on the other hand, are self-declared love skeptics and marriage grouches who are very vocal about what they think of each other: namely nothing.

How do you pair up two die-hard singles who know no greater fun than insulting each other? You whisper to them that one is hopelessly in love with the other - and vice versa. With "Béatrice et Bénédict", Hector Berlioz brought his operatic oeuvre to a cheerful close in 1862, spinning a subtle, musical comedy about sharp-tongued battles on the field of love, successful couplings and a wedding for four.