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.

New in my collection : Philippe Hurel, 'Les Pigeons d'argile' (DVD)

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.

Received in the mail this Thursday morning

This Thursday morning, I received the following in the mail :

- Linz, Landestheater : 2014-2015 season brochure :
- Mannheim, Natioanltheater : July 2014 leaflet ;
- Paris, Ensemble InterContemporain : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Toulouse, Orchestre national du Capitole : 2014-2015 season book.

New 2014-2015 Season at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse

Next season, the following operas will be performed in Toulouse :

- Giuseppe Verdi : Un Ballo in maschera, conducted by Daniel Oren, directed by Vincent Boussard (new production) ;
- Benjamin Britten : Owen Wingrave (revival from Frankfurt, January 2010) and The Turn of the Screw (new production), conducted by David Syrus, directed by Walter Sutcliffe ;
- Amadeo Vives : Doña Francisquita, conducted by Josep Caballé Domenech, directed by Emiliio Sagi (revival, first performed in June 2007) ;
- Richard Wagner : Tristan und Isolde, conducted by Claus Peter Flor, directed by Nicolas Joel (revival, first performed in March 2007) ;
- George Gershwin : Porgy and Bess, conducted by William Barkhymer, directed by Baayork Lee (1980s production from the New York Harlem Theatre, already performed all over the world) ;
- Jean-Philippe Rameau : Castor et Pollux, conducted by Christophe Rousset, directed by Mariame Clément (first performed in Vienna in January 2011) ;
- Wolfgang Mitterer : Massacre, conducted by Peter Rundel, directed by Ludovic Lagarde (opera first performed in Vienna in 2003, production premiered in Porto in 2008) ;
- Sergei Prokofiev : Betrothal in a Monastery, conducedt by Tugan Sokhiev, directed by Martin Duncan (revival from Toulouse, January 2011) ;
- Giacomo Puccini : Turandot, conducted by Stefan Solyom, directed by Calixto Bieito (new production) ;
- Philippe Servain : War of the Buttons, conducted by Christophe Larrieu, directed by Charlotte Nessi (children opera first performed in 1996, revival from a 2013 production).

With 11 operas (including a double bill evening) in six languages, the Théâtre du Capitole gives a wide survey of opera, from the baroque era (Rameau) to the contemporary (Mitterer), with 8 operas composed in the last 100 years !

Received this Monday morning

This Monday morning, I have received the following articles in the mail :

- June-July 2014 leaflet from the Stadttheater Giessen (Germany) ;
- 2014-2015 season program book from the Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse.
- 2014-2015 season program book from the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden.

Today : World première of Philippe Hurel's opera in Toulouse

The first opera of French composer Philippe Hurel, Les Pigeons d'argile, will receive its world premiere performance today in Toulouse. The libretist Tanguy Viel has been inspired by the abduction of American Patricia Campbell Hearst, known as Patty Hearst by an urban guerrilla group in 1975. Victim of the Stockholm Syndrom, she will join her kidnappers.

The cast is the following :

Gaëlle Arquez : Charlie
Aimery Lefèvre : Toni
Vincent Le Texier : Bernard Baer
Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo : La Chef de la Police
Gilles Ragon : Pietro

Chœur et Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse
conductor : Tito Ceccherini
director : Mariame Clément