Mam'zelle Nitouche

About

This 1955 staging of Mam'zelle Nitouche at the Grand Théâtre de Tours represents a classic mid-century French regional operetta production. Directed by Paul Mestre with musical direction by Jean Paquet, the production leveraged the full artistic forces of the venue, incorporating the resident Orchestre du Grand Théâtre de Tours, the Choeurs du Grand Théâtre, and the Ballet du Grand-Théâtre. A notable aspect of this staging's visual identity is its reliance on the Gaîté-Lyrique de Paris for its décors and costumes. The Gaîté-Lyrique was a premier Parisian institution for operetta, and renting or borrowing their physical production elements allowed regional theaters like Tours to present high-quality, visually lavish stagings without the prohibitive cost of building new sets from scratch. The choreography was handled by Mme Premys-Brière, ensuring the integration of the resident ballet into the operetta's 10 tableaux.