Profile
Michel Giès studied theatre, music and choreography in Paris.
At the beginning of the 1980s, he was involved in the production of several works of the classic and modern repertoire (Sartre, Brecht, Molière) notably at the “Théâtre National” in Marseille.
He has also worked in many of the most prestigious theatres and opera houses of Europe (Opéra de Paris, Théâtre de la Monnaie – Brussels, Geneva, Glyndebourne, Opéra de Marseille, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Chorégies d’Orange, Capitole de Toulouse, Opéras de Strasbourg, Monte-Carlo, Nancy, Metz, Montpellier…).
For the French Television, he was instrumental in the production of several lyrical Art Documentaries (la Grande Aventure d’Aix-en-Provence, le Charme discret de l’Opéra-Comique, Debout l’Opérette…).
He made his directing début in 1984 with The Tales of Hoffmann in Seoul (Korea) followed in France by Norma (Nantes, 1986), Mignon (Metz, Tours, Avignon, 1988, 1990) and Voices from the Seraglio (Festival of Carpentras, 1992).
Michel Giès, who is fluent in four languages (French, English, German and Italian), has been developing since 1989 the international side of his career. He has staged the French repertoire, has brought French songs and “chansons” to new audiences and he is also involved in contemporary creation. His productions include Manon (Seoul, Korea, 1989), Carmen (Poland, 1991), French Style : a Cabaret show (Philadelphia and on tour in the USA, 1993), Samson and Delilah (Kharkhov, Ukraine, 1993), The Tales of Hoffmann (new production, Seoul, 1995), Anas-el-Wogood (Aziz El-Shawan, World Première, Cairo, 1996), La Vie Parisienne (Hong-Kong, 1996), Flora and Fauna (first staged production of songs by Poulenc, Ravel, Satie, Chabrier… : Lisbon and on tour in Portugal 2001-2003 ; Macao, Hong-Kong, 2002 ; Paris, Péniche Opéra, 2004), D’Amour et d’Humour (Love and Humour, first staged production of songs and arias by Satie, Poulenc, Massenet… and of texts by Choderlos de Laclos, Stendhal, Anouilh… : Tours Opera House, 2005, on tour in France, 2006), Piaf, a Hymn to Love (Paris, Théâtre de la Vieille Grille and on tour, 2006), The Human Voice (Poulenc) and The Telephone (Menotti) (Andorra,2008).
He gave audiences the opportunity to rediscover Offenbach’s hilarious rarities: Le Fifre Enchanté (Offenbach’s Magic Fife, Porto, Opera Studio, Feb. 2005), Offenbach, la Cara + Fresca de l’Opera (double bill of The Electromagnetic Singing Lesson and The Magic Fife, Andorra, 2005).
He created and ran, in 2006 and 2007, the “Moscow Francophone Theatre Workshop”
He was the Director of the French Institute and Cultural Advisor in Bratislava (Slovakia), then in Lisbon (Portugal), between 1998 and 2003, and Advisor for Music and Dance in the French Ministry of Culture between 2007 and 2016.
In 2017 he creates and performs Diálogos Íntimos, una noche de Música e Poesía in Merida, (Mexico) and he stages Verdi! (Scenes from Falstaff, Simon Boccanegra and Aïda) at the André Malraux Theatre in Rueil-Malmaison (France).
In 2018 he returns to drama with The Young Rebel Girl and Romance in A Flat by Georges Feydeau (Théâtre de la Vieille Grille, Paris), followed by Two Ages of Love, (a performance composed of Budding Lovers, The Young Rebel Girl and Romance in A Flat, on tour in France).
In 2023 he stages Miss Margarida’s way, the famous monologue written by Roberto Athayde, created on Broadway by Estelle Parsons and in France by Annie Girardot (on stage at Essaïon Theatre in Paris with Emilie Chevrillon until January 2024).
He is currently preparing a musical show: Proud to be a woman, which will celebrate music-hall and opera stars.
He runs occasional role studies and master-classes (Hong-Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Porto Opera-Studio, Slovak Philharmonic Choir…).
He has been awarded the French “Ordre du Mérite”.
See the shows