Nicolas Joël opened his first season at the helm of the company with Gounod’s dimly remembered Mireille. “Starting the new era with a half-forgotten, 19th-century opera in a period-style production is, of course, not an innocent coincidence. It’s an explicit break with the policy of Joël’s predecessor, Gérard Mortier, who favored overbearing directors and willful reinterpretations.”