Monsieur Vénus

Alternative Stage Founding Donor 

Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera

Co-production: Prima donna, Compagnie Cadéem, Centre Henri Pousseur (Liège) , GMEM (Marseille)
Supported by the Ministère de la Culture, France Fonds de création lyrique (FCL), Spedidam, Ernst Von Siemens music foundation
In association with Printemps des comédiens, Montpellier, Théâtre de l’Athénée, Paris, Teatro San Martin, Buenos Aires

Rachilde’s daring and heretical work, Monsieur Vénus, one of the most provocative and “queer” novels in French literature – before the term was even coined –, is brought to life on the GNO Alternative Stage as a “sung monodrama” by the esteemed Argentinian composer Martin Matalon. This new opera production, directed and choreographed by Greek-born Argentinian choreographer Diana Theocharidis in collaboration with the renowned French-Argentinian director Alfredo Arias, will debut at the Alternative Stage at the SNFCC and run for three remarkable performances on 30 April and 2 and 3 May 2026. Monsieur Vénus is a co-production with the Prima Donna production company.

Written in 1884 and “dedicated to physical beauty,” Rachilde’s novel Monsieur Vénus is considered one of the most scandalous and provocative works of its time, eliciting strong reactions since its first release. Because of its groundbreaking themes, which foregrounded the subversion of gender roles, the fluidity of identity, and the deconstruction of social and moral rules, the work was deemed dangerous and immoral. It is no coincidence that it was banned in Belgium, where it had initially been published, and that its just 24-year-old author faced legal consequences.

Monsieur Vénus tells the story of Raoule de Vénérande – a noblewoman and femme fatale – and Jacques Silvert, a young man from the working class, caught in Raoule's hands. The two of them are involved in an unequal relationship, in which she imposes the reversal of their genders and sexual roles, ultimately leading to confusion about their gender identities. Sadism, masochism, paedophilia, necrophilia, bestiality, nymphomania, gender role reversal – all the “forbidden” forms of sexuality are found in Rachilde’s work. The challenge, however, does not arise from the linear or raw depiction of these practices, but from their deep, subversive, intellectual conception. In Monsieur Vénus, we witness the destabilization of socially imposed gender constructions – the two protagonists exchange roles as if they were cards in a game.

Synopsis^*
Monsieur Vénus, based on Rachilde's (a pseudonym of French writer Marguerite Eymery) eponymous 1884 novel, tells the story of Raoule de Vénérande, an aristocratic femme fatale, and Jacques Silvert, a young working man who becomes ensnared by her. They enter into an unequal relationship in which Raoule imposes a reversal of their respective sex and gender roles until their personal pronouns become blurred.

Raoule de Vénérande is ruled by instinct, and as Oscar Wilde might have said, she knows full well that the best way to overcome temptation is to give in to it. Devoted to her pursuit of aesthetic experiences, she is driven to a tragic fate: she loses her social position and destroys the androgynous, monstrous, perfect being she had created with Jacques.

Raoule de Vénérande is a femme fatale. She is defined by her ability to dominate and incite evil, as well as by her coldness. This does not prevent her from possessing a strong, lascivious, feline—in other words, animal— sexuality.

In search of new emotions, this decadent Madame Bovary—this Christopher Columbus of modern love—vampirises her lover, rendering him passive until she finally destroys him. After his death, Jacques will become Raoule’s perpetual possession, transformed into a wax mannequin—an anatomical masterpiece crafted by an expert automaton maker.

^* Based on Rodrigo Guijarro Lasheras’ prologue to the Spanish edition published by KRK, Oviedo, 2017.

Monsieur Vénus, a sung monodrama
Monsieur Vénus, written for a soprano, accordion (and accordina), a female narrator, and electronic media, is the fruit of the creative collaboration among three remarkable artists, all starting from Argentina: composer Martin Matalon, pioneering and prolific playwright Alfredo Arias, and Greek-born choreographer and director Diana Theocharidis. The three creators remark on the work:

“An empty stage. In the background, a body, covered in a white sheet, lies on a plain plank resting on two easels.

Raoule de Vénérande, an aristocrat and femme fatale in a man’s disguise, like her author, Rachilde, prepares to recount her dark encounter with the florist and painter Jacques Silvert.

The narrator serves as a phantom character integrated into the musical narrative as a storytelling device: she accompanies the story of Raoule de Vénérande, complementing transitions and conveying the necessary echoes for the portrayal of the fatal heroine.

Monsieur Vénus is a sung monodrama, a musical piece that, in a minimalist way, uncovers Raoule’s strange desire to experience a love that will transform both her own identity and that of her submissive subject, prey, and victim.

Our intention is to turn this complex and labyrinthine journey into a kind of X-ray that reveals the plot’s skeleton from beginning to end: from Raoule de Vénérande’s encounter with Jacques Silvert to his death, after which he is transformed into a wax figure brought to life by an experienced automaton manufacturer.”

The costumes are designed by Chloe Obolensky, the lighting by Tasos Palairoutas, and the sound by Rémi Le Taillandier.

Raoule de Vénérande will be portrayed by one of the most vigorous young sopranos in the European operatic scene, the French Clara Barbier-Serrano. Diana Theocharidis will perform as the Narrator, and Odysseas Petrakis as the “Body.”

Musician Anthony Millet will join them onstage, playing an electronically processed accordion, and accordina.