I have recently acquired the DVD recording of Philippe Hurel's opera Les Pigeons d'argile, first performed in Toulouse in April 2014.
It has been released by éOle Records. This recording has the invaluable advantage of having silent and stationary titles. The complete duration is 1:37:03, including 90 seconds of opening credits and 4:50 of closing 'credits' : chorus, soloists, conductor, director, composer appearing and bowing on stage one after the other, before the real credits begin, with the names of all people involved in the production. There is no interval. The opera is sung in French, with only French subtitles available.
The DVD also contains about 34 minutes of interview with the artistic director of the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, the composer, the librettist, the director, the set and costume designer, the two singers performing the main characters.
The 36 pages brochure contains :
- complete cast ;
- short introduction on the opera ;
- the synopsis of the opera, in French, English, German and Spanish ;
- an article by Franck Langlois, based on an interview with the composer ;
- an article by the librettist Tanguy Viel ;
- an interview by Robert Penavayre with the conductor Tito Ceccherini ;
- an interview by Jean-Jacques Groleau with stage director Mariame Clément ;
- biographies of all the artists.
The brochure is entirely in French, with the exception of the quadrilingual synopsis. Unfortunately it doesn't include a track listing. The articles printed in the brochure are almost entirely distinct from the interviews available on the DVD.
Shortly after the first performance, I had received the program book published by the Théâtre du Capitole.
