Early years Arias were born in
Lanús, an industrial city contiguous with
Buenos Aires. His father was a factory worker: output included
espadrilles and tarpaulins. His relationship with his mother was troubled and Arias joined the
Péronist youth organisation. His parents planned that he should become a lawyer, although Arias himself developed an early determination to work in the arts. Aged 11 he was enrolled in a military school after which he was required to pass a legal qualification. He participated in the theatrical courses provided by the
Alliance Française, but was quickly discouraged by its outdated and classical approach.
Theatrical career With like-minded friends Alfredo Arias founded a theatrical group in
Buenos Aires called "TSE" in 1968, and presented a series of original productions blending fantasy, magic and humour, "Dracula", "Aventuras" and "Aventuras". However, identified as both a
communist and a homosexual he began to targeted by official repression from proxies for the
military dictatorship which then held sway in
Argentina. He decided to leave Argentina at the end of 1968, settling briefly in New York City before moving on to Paris. His first piece in Paris, "History of the Theatre" (
"Histoire du Théâtre"), and his production of a play about
Eva Perón, written by his fellow exile,
Copi, were both commended for their originality of tone, elements of fantasy, and above all for their radically new theatrical approach. They were followed by "Police Comedy de luxe" (
"Comédie policière; Luxe"), a
music hall parody, and by "Heartbreak of an English she-cat" (''"Peines de cœur d'une chatte anglaise"''), based on the novel of
Balzac and the illustrations of
Grandville, in which the characters wear masks, which ran for more than 300 performances in France and enjoyed commensurate success internationally, especially in Italy. His "TSE group" having been successfully translated from South America, staged productions in a range of Paris theatres, presenting new creations including "The North Star" (''"L'Étoile du Nord"
), "The Venetian Twins" ("Les Jumeaux vénitiens"
) by Goldoni, "The Jungle Beast" ("La Bête dans la jungle"
) by Marguerite Duras based on a novel by Henry James, and "The seated woman" ("La Femme assise"'') by
Copi. In 1985 Arias was appointed to direct the
Commune Theatre at
Aubervilliers in the northern suburbs of Paris. Here he spent six years working on the classical repertoire, on contemporary productions and on ironic music hall reinterpretations, ranging across
Marivaux,
Maeterlinck,
Mérimée,
Goldoni and others. His musical production "Family of Artists" underwent a reprise in
Argentina. He also collaborated again with his compatriot,
Copi, for "The steps of the Sacré-Cœur" (
"Les Escaliers du Sacré-Cœur"). He was invited to produce
The Tempest in the
Palais des Papes for the
Avignon Festival, and the
Comédie-Française invited him to stage
Schnitzler's
La Ronde at the
Odéon Theatre in Paris. In 1992, he began a series of original creations that enabled him to invent a new theatrical language, blending dance and music with poetic dialogues. Examples include the award-winning review "Mortadela" (written in collaboration with
René de Ceccatty, with whom he has subsequently written regularly),
Folies Bergère reviews
"Fous des Folies" and
"Faust Argentin" and a new staging of "Heartbreak of an English she-cat" (''"Peines de cœur d'une chatte anglaise"'') which won Molière awards for its staging and costumes.
Opera Alfredo Arias has also brought his very personal touch to opera, in France (
Opéra Bastille,
Théâtre du Châtelet, the
Aix-en-Provence Festival and the Caen Opera), in Italy (
Milan,
Turin and
Spoleto) in Spain and Argentina (
Teatro Colón). Operas staged by Alfredo Arias include the following: •
Les Indes galantes by
Rameau •
The Rake's Progress by
Stravinsky •
The Merry Widow by
Lehár •
The Tales of Hoffmann by
Offenbach (two different productions) •
The Breasts of Tiresias by
Apollinaire •
The Barber of Seville by
Rossini •
A Midsummer Night's Dream by
Britten •
Carmen by
Bizet (included in the repertoire of the
Opéra Bastille) ==References==