Théâtre du Châtelet gets first female artistic director

Mackenzie, who was the director of London’s Cultural Olympiad in 2012, has also been the general director of Scottish Opera; artistic director, with Steven Pimlott and Martin Duncan, of the Chichester Festival Theater; general director of the Manchester International Festival; and a consulting dramaturge at the Vienna Festival.

Since 2015, she has been the artistic director of the ambitious, multidisciplinary Holland Festival, which she will continue to direct through 2018 while the Châtelet theater undergoes major renovations that will keep it closed for the next two years.

Under Choplin, Châtelet moved away from classical music and dance productions to became a hub for American musicals, with highly successful productions of “Kiss Me, Kate,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” “42nd Street” and, notably, “An American in Paris,” which transferred to Broadway and will open in London in March.

“What I will say is that I am interested in inventing new popular forms, whether with pop stars or classical composers or choreographers, whether onstage or on the Internet,” she said.