French screen legend Fanny Ardant brings Cassandre, the spoken opera by Swiss composer Michael Jarrell, to the Pattihio Municipal Theatre in Limassol on 2 October 2026. Conducted by Jean Deroyer, with the Commandaria Orchestra — eighteen Cypriot musicians — performing live on stage, the evening is presented by the Cyprus International Theatre Festival. The performance is in French, with surtitles in Greek, Russian and English. To the festival’s knowledge, it is the first full staging of the work in Cyprus.
The work
Cassandre is a Sprechoper — a “spoken opera,” or monodrama — by the distinguished Swiss composer Michael Jarrell, laureate of the Beethoven Prize. Based on Christa Wolf’s novel Cassandra and staged by director Hervé Loichemol, the piece gives the Trojan seer a single, unbroken voice: a woman who foresees catastrophe, is condemned never to be believed, and speaks the truth as her world falls. Ardant’s spoken text is carried, surrounded and at times masked by the live ensemble — the music sets the tempo of the words, not the reverse.
The performer
Fanny Ardant — César Award winner, more than eighty films, muse of François Truffaut, and a collaborator of Antonioni, Resnais, Zeffirelli, Pollack, Ozon and Polanski. She returns to Cyprus nine years after her memorable appearance at Paphos Castle, and has carried Cassandre across Avignon, Paris and Athens as a role she will not relinquish.
| “My only luxury in life is to do what I love. I am not professional enough to perform a role I do not love.” |
| “Truth is always a voice in the desert. It does not belong to power, to money, or to the law of the strongest — it belongs to the one who seeks it.” |
The Commandaria Orchestra
Eighteen Cypriot musicians take on Jarrell’s demanding contemporary score under Jean Deroyer, Music Director of Ensemble Court-Circuit (Paris) and a recognised interpreter of the composer’s work — a rare chance to hear a Cypriot ensemble perform a landmark of European music theatre live on their home stage.
Open Talk
The evening before the premiere, on 1 October at the Crowne Plaza Limassol Hotel & Spa, Fanny Ardant meets guests in person for an intimate cocktail and conversation. The talk is moderated by Katerina Gordeeva, an independent journalist known for her long-form interview project “Skazhi Gordeevoy” (“Tell Gordeeva”), one of the most closely followed interview formats in the Russian-speaking world. The evening opens with Opera Moments, a vocal tribute to Maria Callas performed by soprano Ksenia Belolipetskaya with pianist Zbyněk Maruška.
Patrons and partners
Cassandre is presented under the auspices of the Mayor of Limassol, with the Pattihio Municipal Theatre as Main Partner, and with the support of Pro Helvetia — the Swiss Arts Council and the Embassy of Switzerland to the Republic of Cyprus. Production by Les Visiteurs du Soir (France). A full list of partners appears below.
About CITF
The Cyprus International Theatre Festival brings landmark international theatre to Cyprus, pairing world-renowned artists with Cypriot talent and audiences. In its previous seasons it has presented John Malkovich, Kirill Serebrennikov, Pilobolus Dance Theatre and Divina Commedia, reaching more than 15,000 spectators and generating over 100 media publications across Cyprus, France and the United Kingdom.
From the Festival Director
| “Cassandre closes the SHE IS HERE season. Cassandre foresaw the war that, on the first attempt, made this performance fall through. October 2 is the second try. The piece is rarely staged live: 18 musicians, Christa Wolf’s text, Jarrell’s score, Ardant in person — an almost impossible set of conditions. If the actress in her most demanding form is what you’re after, this is that meeting.” |
Alexander Weinstein
Founder & Artistic Director · CITF
Practical information
| Production | Cassandre — spoken opera by Michael Jarrell, based on Christa Wolf |
| Cast | Fanny Ardant · Conductor Jean Deroyer · Commandaria Orchestra (18 musicians) |
| Date & venue | Friday 2 October 2026 · Pattihio Municipal Theatre, Limassol |
| Open Talk | Cocktail & conversation with Fanny Ardant, moderated by Katerina Gordeeva · Thursday 1 October, 14:30 · Crowne Plaza Limassol Hotel & Spa |
| Language | French, with surtitles in Greek, Russian and English · approx. 70 min, no interval |
| Tickets | Buy tickets on SoldOut |
| More information | citf.cy/2026/cassandre-fanny-ardant |
| Media partner | Phileleftheros |
Notes to editors
High-resolution photographs are available here: Press photo pack (Google Drive). For interviews, images and accreditation, please contact:
Cyprus International Theatre Festival
Alexander Weinstein — Founder & Artistic Director
[email protected] · citf.cy · @citf.cy
Partners & sponsors
Under the auspices of the Mayor of Limassol Municipality of Limassol
Main Partner Pattihio Municipal Theatre, Limassol
With the support of Pro Helvetia — Swiss Arts Council · Embassy of Switzerland to the Republic of Cyprus · Alliance Française de Limassol · Institut français de Chypre
Orchestra Commandaria Orchestra
Production Les Visiteurs du Soir (France)
Sponsor ASG Leasing
Official Flight Partner Cyprus Airways
Official Hotel Crowne Plaza by IHG, Limassol
Media Partners Phileleftheros · ZIMA Magazine
Event Partners Allegro · Crowne Plaza Limassol · Flowers Be Bloomy
