Today : world première of 'Le Soulier de Satin' by Marc-André Dalbavie in Paris

 

Today, the Opéra national de Paris presents the world première of Marc-André Dalbavie's opera Le Soulier de Satin (The Satin Slipper) with a libretto by Raphaèle Fleury after Paul Claudel's play.

 It is the composer's third opera after Gesualdo (Zurich, October 9, 2010) and Charlotte Salomon (Salzburg, July 28, 2014).

The subject comes from a Chinese legend about two celestial stars in love who, each year, having travelled far, manage to come within reach of each other without ever being able to come together from the disparate sides of the Milky Way. It is an immense parable which alternates between the sublime, the comic and the disturbing. It is set in a specific era (the Spanish Golden Age) during which humanity experiences its first bout of 'globalization'. Confronting a passionate desire for individual happiness, external imperatives and an aspiration for the universal, the work leads the spectator into a ongoing state hovering between hypnosis and joy. (reproduced from the Opéra national de Paris website)

The cast includes mezzo Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Dona Prouhèze), bass baritonr Luca Pisaroni (Don Rodrigue de Manacor), baritone Marc Labonnette (Le père Jésuite, Le roi d'Espagne, Saint Denys), tenor Yann Beuron (Don Pélage), bass baritone Nicolas Cavallier (Don Balthazar, Saint Nicolas, Frère Léon), baritone Jean-Sébastien Bou (Don Camille), mezzo Béatrice Uria-Monzon (Dona Isabel, Dona Honoria), tenor Éric Huchet (Saint Boniface, Don Rodilard) and countertenor Max Emanuel Cencic (Saint Jacques, Saint Adlibitum). The composer conducts the Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris. Stanislas Nordey directs.

All performances begin at 2:00 PM and should last about 6 hours, including 2 intermissions. The venue is the Palais Garnier.

Today : world première of 'The Tidings Brought to Mary' by Marc Bleuse in Toulouse

Today, the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse presents the world première of L' Annonce faite à Marie (The Tidings Brought to Mary), an opera in four acts and one prologue composed by Marc Bleuse with a libretto by Jean-François Gardeil after Paul Claudel's novel.

(c) Emmanuel Thomas

It it the composer's first opera.

Violaine has simple ambitions : to marry the man she loves and to have his children. However, her spiritual qualities are evident. She forgives Pierre for his attack upon her. She denies her own desires by giving up Jacques’s ring for the church. Finally, instead of being repelled by Pierre’s leprosy, she feels compassion for him and kisses him without a thought of her own danger. It is not surprising that she can accept her own leprosy without anger and that she can forgive Jacques for turning upon her and Mara for causing her death, as she has already forgiven Pierre for a far lesser wrong. (reproduced from the enotes website)

The cast includes soprano Clémence Garcia (Violaine Vercors), mezzo Sarah Laulan (Mara Vercors), baritone Philippe Estèphe (Jacques Hury), baritone Pierre-Yves Pruvot (Pierre de Craon) and bass Lionel Sarrazin (Anne Vercors). Pierre Bleuse conducts Les Sacqueboutiers, the Quatuor Béla, the Antiphona Chorus. Jean-François Gardeil directs.

The performance should last about two hours. The venue is the Auditorium St Pierre des Cuisines.