Directing
Jérôme Savary
Born 1942-06-27 · Buenos Aires, Argentina
Jérôme Savary (27 June 1942 – 4 March 2013) was an Argentinian-French theater director and actor. His work has democratized and widened the appeal of musical theater in France, drawing together and blending such genres as opera, operetta, and musical comedy. Savary was born in Buenos Aires; his father was a writer and his mother the daughter of Frank W. Higgins, governor of New York (1905–1907). Savary moved to Paris at a very young age. Here, he studied music under Maurice Martenot, continuing his studies at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs. At nineteen, he moved to New York, where he associated with Lenny Bruce, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Count Basie, and Thelonious Monk. In 1962, he returned to Argentina to fulfill his military service requirements. He remained as an illustrator of dictionaries and a cartoonist, contributing to the same magazine as Copi. In 1965, after returning to Paris, he created the "Compagnie Jérôme Savary", which evolved into "Le Grand Magic Circus" and finally into "Le Grand Magic Circus et ses animaux tristes". His version of Cabaret won awards in France (the Molière, 1987) and Spain (1993). He has remained active, producing such diverse works as La Périchole, Rigoletto, The Barber of Seville, La Légende de Jimmy, Marylin Montreuil, Mistinguett, Irma la Douce, and many other works. After directing the Centre Dramatique National du Languedoc-Roussillon and the Carrefour Européen du Théâtre du 8e à Lyon, he headed the Théâtre National de Chaillot from 1988 to 2000. In the field of opera Savary's first production was La Périchole in Geneva in 1982. Other important early work in the genre included Anacreon and Fra Diavolo at La Scala and several operas for Bregenz. He directed Le Comte Ory at Glyndebourne in 1997 and War and Peace for San Francisco in 1991. His last production was L'étoile in Geneva in 2009. From 2000 to 2007 was director of the Paris Opéra-Comique. Turkish actor, writer and director Ferhan Şensoy worked in his theater for a while after his graduate as Savary's assistant. Richard Elfman performed with Savary's Grand Magic Circus in the early 1970s and married the show's leading lady, Marie-Pascale (Elfman). Richard's brother, Danny Elfman, performed with the troupe when he was 18. The show, Zartan, included Danny's first public musical performance and compositions. Richard says his work with Jerome Savary and the Magic Circus helped inspire him to create the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Savary composed the song "Pleure" in Richard Elfman's film Forbidden Zone. He died at Levallois-Perret, on 4 March 2013, of cancer, at the age of 70. Source: Article "Jérôme Savary" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Acting credits
7.5The underworld (imaginary and real) of Paris, depicted through several sketches. Kaleidoscope of the immoral and nauseating aspects of the capital.
Paris top secret
1969
10.0Based on the idea by Roland Topor (screenwriter of Roman Polanski's The Tenant), this very curious completely silent melodrama tells the story of Mona, who has left her father, the railway gatekeeper, after being raped on the train track. She is kidnapped and taken to a Parisian whorehouse. However, a disinherited prince, Dudu who tries to rescue her, is himself kidnapped and forced to serve as a male prostitute. The two captives meet there and fall in love. They are taken away by different rich people - he to an Arab "harem," she to a surgeon's home.
The Daughter of the Railroad Crossing Guard
1975
6.8Areski and Elijah, two childhood friends (an Arab and a Jew) suburban neighbors working on a construction site of Place des festivals (Belleville) and thus participating in what has driven the city face a wildcat strike providing transportation to one of them "under the imponderable."
It Comes, It Goes
1972
5.0A butcher dreams of becoming a famous director. He hires stars that he begins to kill.
The Butcher, the Star and the Orphan
1975
Behind the camera
10.0Based on the idea by Roland Topor (screenwriter of Roman Polanski's The Tenant), this very curious completely silent melodrama tells the story of Mona, who has left her father, the railway gatekeeper, after being raped on the train track. She is kidnapped and taken to a Parisian whorehouse. However, a disinherited prince, Dudu who tries to rescue her, is himself kidnapped and forced to serve as a male prostitute. The two captives meet there and fall in love. They are taken away by different rich people - he to an Arab "harem," she to a surgeon's home.
The Daughter of the Railroad Crossing Guard
1975
10.0Based on the idea by Roland Topor (screenwriter of Roman Polanski's The Tenant), this very curious completely silent melodrama tells the story of Mona, who has left her father, the railway gatekeeper, after being raped on the train track. She is kidnapped and taken to a Parisian whorehouse. However, a disinherited prince, Dudu who tries to rescue her, is himself kidnapped and forced to serve as a male prostitute. The two captives meet there and fall in love. They are taken away by different rich people - he to an Arab "harem," she to a surgeon's home.
The Daughter of the Railroad Crossing Guard
1975
9.0In this French-language film, Albin is a mercenary soldier. Sure, he's paid to kill, but he only agrees to jobs where he's killing those who need to be killed. Anyway, he trusts his buddies, and they trust him: in this case with a big haul of money they found in a jungle shoot-out. When he returns to France one of the first things he does, quite by chance, is to go see the act of Le Grande Magic Circus. The circus keeps coming into his life for the rest of the movie, as he tries to live a "regular" life.
La vie facile
1973
5.0A butcher dreams of becoming a famous director. He hires stars that he begins to kill.
The Butcher, the Star and the Orphan
1975
5.0A butcher dreams of becoming a famous director. He hires stars that he begins to kill.
The Butcher, the Star and the Orphan
1975
NRPart of a specialized series entitled “Le Grandi Operette” (The Great Operettas), this specific video version presents the Italian-language adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's opera.
Le Grandi Operette : La bella Elena
2000
No synopsis available yet.
Cyrano de Bergerac
1985
NRParis Opera, October 1996. New production Jérôme Savary
Rigoletto
1996
10.0Glyndebourne's intimate opera house provides the perfect setting for Rossini's third French opera, a sparkling medieval comedy of lust and chastity.
Le Comte Ory
1997
NRFranz Lehár’s “Die Lustige Witwe” is reputed to be one of the most famous operettas in the world. Under the direction of the French Jerome Savary's the “Merry Widow” sparkles. At the first staging of this production at the Opera-Comique in Paris (Octobre, 2005) the singers appeared to be having as much fun as the audience. The Austrian Maestro Manfred Honeck presents his musical view on this operetta.
The Merry Widow
2007
10.0Live from La Scala 1991
Attila
1991