Petibon Models Lingerie for Salzburger Festspiele (and Berg's Lulu)

© Salzburger Festspiele / Monika Rittershaus

What is it with Patricia Petibon and scathing Lulus? Remember this? We last saw the French coloratura as an underwhelming Morgana, poorly-suited to Haendel's Alcina here at La Scala in March 2009 as she was heartily booed for a flighty interpretation and a problematic voice. But when Petibon sticks to what suits her, the elegant redhead rocks our world. She's currently in Salzburg, poised to sing the lead in Berg's Lulu which opens on August 1 for the 2010 Salzburger Festspiele.

Vera Nemirova's direction calls for Lulu to be in lingerie, but this is ridic -- underwear 2 sizes too small makes her banging body look like she sits in a dark room in front of a computer and posts on an opera blog all day. Wait a sec...

NSFW photos are waiting under the cut for the assorted Puritans up in here...

(Above: all photos of Patricia Petibon and Pavol Breslik, credit AP) 

We've got one word for Petibon: Cadolle.

Comments

[Lily]

I never pictured Lulu in white lingerie. Black or red seems more likely. Or even (shudder) black with red trim.

I think she needs a lot more face paint, too, to accentuate her role as a living doll to all these men.

[Evenflow]

She's got a great body, but the underwear does nothing for her!

Also opera is one of the only performance arts where it's okay to be so pale, even in the height of the summer!

[Bill Philin-Ploplis]

Hehehe! Glad to see that a thin person can have too much body fat--the draping folds over her high-rise panties. If she is going to wear something like that she needs to cut down on carbs, salt, sugar and get to the gym. Needs a super-rock star regimen. I thought the current approach to the character stresses her innocence in a world of evil, dirty men where the cards are stacked against her--even in Lulu's showbiz days. But, she does have a striking face--love the erotic red hair. (Why is red hair considered erotic?)

[Jeffrey Sarver]

Lulu's panties do look a bit glued on, and more is better when it comes to eroticism; the flesh oozing over the tops of things is a little anaphrodisiacal.

Der Maler ain't bad either.

I hope this production if being filmed for commercial release.

[pavel nedved]

@Evenflow - What? As opposed to what, skin cancer? And anyway, I don't see many tans in ballet (they practice INSIDE, you see...)

Interesting, and only slightly more stuipid than your comment, is that opera could also be described as the only performance art where its ok to be fat, foreign, un-plastic surgury-ed or, indeed, human.

[vale]

Hey! HE'S the cutie here!

[abba]

There are too many figure-policemen in the world today!!

[alejandra]

The underwear does not do her justice, the shorts are not the right size .. and I think a little bit of lace would be fine with the role..

[Bill Philin-Ploplis]

Her legs are not toned. Sorry. They look like bloodless slugs. No shape to them. Sorry, when you expose yourself to the world, expect constructive criticism.

[David Dollinger]

My first exposure to Petibon was the Oliver Py Contes d'Hoffmann from Geneva--allegedly nude! Perhaps a body stocking? Regardless she was/is a superb Olympia.

[Alexander]

They look absolutely idiotic, like Mrs. Harpy and Mr. Dracula at leusure;)))) Hopefully with angel voices;))))

[Nikolaus Vogel]

Do the words Patricia Petibon and "superb" belong in the same sentence? Only perhaps if there is a "not" in there somewhere....

[El Cajon]

I'd like to play Czech mate with the tenor.

[Nourrit's Number]

I'm not a puritan, but I believe that every choice in a production should have a purpose, and not sacrifice the cohesiveness of a production for the sake of driving some silly symbolism that drives the whole production into a reductio ad absurdum pastiche.

From those photos, it looks like Patty got into her mother's liquor cabinet and then decided to play supermodel. Do Brilliant Stage Directors ever stop and *look* at the deformed spawn that comes out of their heads, or are they always blinded by the halo of their own self-proclaimed brilliance? The public wants to know!

[Devon Estes]

Does anyone know if the tattoos are real, or for the character?

[Masahiro Yamamoto]

Petibon beatiful!!