The Black Mountain, the opera by Augusta Holmès
19 and 22 May 2026
Discover the Bordeaux National Opera's event show for the 2025-2026 season.
New production: the ultimate opera by Augusta Holmès
La Montagne noire (1895) is the ultimate opera by Augusta Holmès, one of the very few Romantic composers to have been able to create a work of such scope at a time when operas were almost exclusively the preserve of composers. Majestic and exotic, this lyrical drama had never been revived in France for over a century. The style is at the crossroads of the great masters of opera (Wagner, Saint-Saëns, Moussorgski), with a breathtakingly lyrical female lead, played by Aude Extremo, who also held the role in Dortmund not long ago. The action takes place in the Balkans in the 18th century. Montenegrin chiefs Mirko and Aslar return victorious from a battle against Muslim troops. They bring back with them Yamina, an enemy captive with whom Mirko falls madly in love. In his staging, Dominique Pitoiset shows how an opera is in perpetual motion, at times amusing himself by making it seem as if we are still in rehearsal, when in fact we are already in the production.
Around the show
- Saturday March 7 at 5pm: Round table “Rediscovering women composers” Grand-Théâtre - Foyer rouge, in partnership with the Mollat bookshop
- Monday May 11 6pm: Séverine Garnier's lecture on La Montagne noire, Grand-Théâtre
Practical information
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Prices: €10 - €92.
10, Cours Georges Clemenceau, Bordeaux,
33000 Bordeaux
