MONDAY, JULY 17, 2023
The Magic Flute
Composed by Mozart shortly before his death, The Magic Flute is arguably his most popular opera. Inspired by an oriental tale, this magical, fairytale work is also the story of an initiation. The Magic Flute is the story of the adventures of Prince Tamino, who, accompanied by the fearful bird-catcher Papageno, sets out to rescue the young Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night, kidnapped by the magician Sarastro. After many trials, Tamino is finally reunited with the young woman he has fallen in love with.
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet are madly in love. But their two rival families are locked in a merciless battle, making their union impossible. Some, seeing in this love the possibility of putting an end to this ancestral conflict, arrange their marriage in secret. But when Romeo is forced into exile after the ceremony for the murder of Tybalt, Juliet is promised to the Count of Paris. To escape this forced marriage, Juliette takes a drink that leaves her as good as dead. Romeo finds Juliet in her tomb and poisons himself to join her in death. When Juliet awakes to find Romeo lifeless, she too kills herself.
The minute operas created by Edouard Signolet are in the tradition of the Singspiele, spoken and sung theatrical works akin to the French opéra-comique. In these rewrites, the spoken roles are taken over entirely by an actor-reciter who gives body and flesh to the story, a kind of public crier, who allows the audience to enter the operatic fiction through his or her story, voice and body. The narrator is also the "bonimenteur", the person who introduces the lyric circus acts, characters and voices. The singers, two in number, perform all the roles in a work from the great repertoire. This cast - deliberately small - represents a real interpretative virtuosity on the part of the singers who, on sight, transform their bodies to give life to each character they embody. A pared-down scenographic process and a musical accompaniment reduced to a single instrument are used to open up the show to all types of venues, indoors and outdoors, and by extension to all types of spectators.
Direction and adaptation: Edouard Signolet; Musical arrangements: Pierre Cussac. Production: Compagnie Opéra.3.
Starring : Ainhoa Zuazua, (soprano), Rémy Poulakis (tenor), Céline Groussard (actress), Pierre Cussac (accordion).
