Romeo Castellucci's Child-Led Staging of Scarlatti's 'Il Primo Omicidio' at Paris Opera

The Paris Opera presents Alessandro Scarlatti's oratorio 'Il Primo Omicidio' (The First Murder) from January 22 to February 23, 2019, directed by Romeo Castellucci and conducted by René Jacobs. The production features children miming biblical figures—God, Lucifer, Cain, Abel, Eve, Adam—while adult singers perform from the orchestra pit. Castellucci divides the oratorio into two acts: the first is a series of abstract, Rothko-esque light tableaux behind a scrim, with singers at the front; the second sees children replace adults onstage, transforming Cain into a child at the moment of murder. The staging emphasizes the arbitrariness of God's preference for Abel's sacrifice, suggesting Cain imitates God by sacrificing his brother. Jacobs, who previously recorded the work in 1998, leads the ensemble B'Rock, having reconstructed the instrumentation from the manuscript that lacked any. The libretto by Antonio Ottoboni explores Cain's inner turmoil and remorse, ending with the promise of the Last Judgment and the Redeemer. Castellucci's direction invites questioning of the biblical text, using visual signs such as a reversed Annunciation by Simone Martini and a blue shawl linking Eve to Mary. The production marks the first staging of the oratorio since its 1710 revival in Rome, three years after its Venice premiere.