Au moons

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Opera dates
Title: Au moons
Shape: Opera in 20 scenes
Original language: French
Music: Philippe Boesmans
Libretto : Joël Pommerat
Literary source: Play by Joël Pommerat
Premiere: March 30, 2014
Place of premiere: Brussels Opera House La Monnaie / De Munt
Playing time: about 2 hours
Place and time of the action: In the house of a manufacturer
people

Au monde is an opera in 20 scenes by Philippe Boesmans (music) with a libretto by Joël Pommerat . The world premiere took place on March 30, 2014 at the Brussels Opera House La Monnaie / De Munt .

action

His family gathers in the house of a wealthy arms manufacturer. The occasion seems to be the birthday of the youngest daughter, but the apparently seriously ill manufacturer also wants to clarify his successor in the company. Apart from this, the protagonists are his three daughters, two sons, a son-in-law and a strange wife who the latter brings into the house. Each person has their own problems and secrets, which are symbolically hinted at in the course of the plot, but never fully revealed. Issues such as murder, disease, or incest can be heard. Apart from the youngest son Ori, no person is introduced by name.

Scene 1. The family gathers in the manufacturer's house. The return of the youngest son Ori, who has given up his career in the army after five years, is also imminent. In addition to the father, the room also contains his eldest son, the husband of the eldest daughter and the middle daughter, who has made a career as a television star.

Scene 2. The youngest daughter, who was adopted to replace a missing girl, feels unloved and insecure in the family. Her middle sister tries to comfort her. The oldest sister is also present. The eldest son and brother-in-law peek in briefly. They wonder why Ori hasn't arrived yet.

Scene 3. Ori finally arrives. The father asks him why he left the army and what plans he has for the future. Ori doesn't give a straight answer.

Scene 4. The youngest daughter turns on the television. The second is indignant about it and switches him off again. Ori admits that he wrote a book - a "little fantasy" - that he hands around. Everyone looks at the cover, but nobody looks inside. Suddenly a strange woman bursts into society. The brother-in-law explains that he hired her to support his wife during her pregnancy. The two withdraw into an adjoining room to talk about their duties.

Scene 5. In a scene that could possibly be interpreted as the dream of the second daughter, the strange woman moves her lips in the playback process in sync with the song My Way sung by a man .

Scene 6. The youngest daughter is still desperate because she does not feel accepted in the family. Her two sisters try to comfort her.

Scene 7. Ori meets the eldest daughter in her bedroom. The second daughter comes to talk to them about the problems and nightmares of the youngest. After she leaves, the older sister Ori tells about her childhood experiences. The two kiss.

Scene 8. The youngest daughter confesses to her brother-in-law that she prefers older men. However, he does not believe her and gives her a lecture on truth and lies. She turns on the television, causing the second daughter to have a fit of rage and forcing her to turn it off again.

Scene 9. In another possible dream scene of the middle daughter, the strange woman caresses the youngest daughter.

Scene 10. The second daughter was woken up by calls from the strange woman and is talking to her, who answers in a strange language. Her older brother and father join them briefly. When they have left, the second daughter realizes that her brother-in-law has been listening to everything in a dark corner of the room. Ori announces that he wants to go outside for some fresh air.

Scene 11. In the presence of her sleeping father, the second sister tells of three women murdered that night. She is afraid. Only the thought of protection from men like her father reassures her. Ori returns from his walk distraught. He has not yet found the peace he longed for and is withdrawing. The second daughter notices that Ori has problems with his eyes. The strange wife and brother-in-law join them. Everyone looks spellbound at the television - at first enthusiastically, then with increasing horror. The eldest sister finally turns off the television, but the youngest is so exhausted that she collapses. In a possible dream scene of the second sister, the strange woman sings again in the playback My Way.

Scene 12. The two older sisters are concerned about Oris' health. The father, who is now seriously ill, has called everyone together for the family council. Ori is late. The father informs him that he has chosen him to take over the management of the company. The distraught Ori, however, hesitates to agree. He leaves the room and walks like blind against a wall. When the sisters are alone again, the youngest one again complains of her own worries. The middle sister notes that the eldest apparently avoids talking about her pregnancy.

Scene 13. The middle sister confides in the older one that she dreamed of the strange woman. A week has passed since the family council, but Ori admits in an interview with the second sister that he has not yet been able to bring himself to a decision. She thinks she can see blood on his face.

Scene 14. At the next family meeting, the father impatiently awaits Oris' decision. He's again too late and confesses to the others that he is indecisive.

Scene 15. The youngest daughter reveals to her father that she loves older men and admits that she has a crush on him.

Scene 16. In the following possible dream scene of the second daughter, Ori confronts the strange woman: He claims to know her identity and not to be afraid of her. Then he murders her.

Scene 17. Another dream scene - the strange woman "sings" My Way again . This time she is undressed.

Scene 18. The two older daughters have heard the younger ones screaming from the room and are standing in front of the door, worried. Her brother-in-law reports that he cannot find his father - he comes out of the youngest daughter's room. The second daughter tells the eldest of rumors that there are pictures of Ori with blood smeared on him. The strange woman appears and insults the husband of the eldest daughter in her own strange language.

Scene 19. The eldest daughter confesses to the middle one that she doesn't know who the father of her child is. The seriously ill father tells the others with difficulty that Ori has now agreed to take over the family business. The second daughter is excited about a new animal TV show that she is supposed to take over.

Scene 20. Ori is now wearing black glasses. The eldest sister assures him that she understands him. Everyone gathers in front of the television to watch the second daughter's show - but the father is confused and does not recognize her. He seriously asks her if he doesn't know her from television. The eldest son and daughter lead him out of the room. The second daughter hugs the strange woman. Finally only the three sisters are in the room and the oldest turns on the television. She and the youngest are entranced by the appearance of the middle sister and laughingly assure her how beautiful and funny she is. The second sister, however, collapses, overwhelmed by feelings.

layout

Instrumentation

The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:

music

The tonal language of the work is postmodern and largely tonal. The music is melodic. It is reminiscent of that of the late 19th century, but also contains some more modern elements. The instrumental interludes are reminiscent of the interludes from older film music. In some places the music is reminiscent of the play of light and shadow in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande . There are song-like arias with echoes of the bel canto . Elements such as the accordion , the chanson quote and a tango come from the field of light music. The primer is still somber with emphasized bass and brass.

libretto

The libretto for the opera was written by the playwright and director Joël Pommerat . It is based on his own play of the same name that premiered in 2004 at the Théâtre national de Strasbourg . Like all of his plays, Pommerat had developed Au monde in close cooperation with the intended actors and now had to entrust the characters to another author. Ruth Olaizola could only continue to play the role of the strange woman (an actress role). Their text, written by Olaizola himself, is in a language inspired by Basque .

Work history

Richard Angas (father), Werner van Mechelen (eldest son), Stéphane Degout (Ori), Charlotte Hellekant (eldest daughter), Patricia Petibon (second ) sang and played at the premiere on March 30, 2014 in the Brussels Opera House La Monnaie / De Munt Daughter), Fflur Wyn-Rogers (youngest daughter), Yann Beuron (husband of eldest daughter), Ruth Olaizola (strange woman). Patrick Davin was the musical director of the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra . Librettist Joël Pommerat directed, stage and lighting design by Eric Soyer, and the costumes by Isabelle Deffin. Pommerat took over these elements from the production of the play. The performance was broadcast on the Internet by Arte Concert and was named “Best World Premiere” by the 2015 International Opera Awards .

In February 2015, the Paris Opéra-Comique took over the production. Apart from Frode Olsen as father and Philippe Sly as Ori, the cast remained unchanged. The Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France played here , again under the direction of Patrick Davin.

The German premiere took place on December 6, 2015 in the Aachen Theater. It was a new production in a staging by Ewa Teilmans with a set by Oliver Brendel and costumes by Andreas Becker. Justus Thorau was the musical director . The actors were Randall Jakobsh (father), Pawl Lawreszuk (eldest son), Hrólfur Sæmundsson (Ori), Sanja Radisic (eldest daughter), Camille Schnoor (middle daughter), Suzanne Jerosme (youngest daughter) and Johan Weigel (husband of eldest daughter) ) and Marika Meoli (strange woman).

Recordings

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Table of contents and work background (PDF) on the website of Radio Télévision Belge Francophone, accessed on April 13, 2017.
  2. ^ A b Philippe Boesmans: “Au Monde” in Paris, performance, program books and full score in the Contemporary Opera World Archives and Research Center, accessed on April 13, 2017.
  3. ^ Frieder Reininghaus : Review of the world premiere in the Neue Musikzeitung , accessed on April 13, 2017.
  4. ↑ Christoph Schmitz: Review of the world premiere on Deutschlandfunk , accessed on April 13, 2017.
  5. ↑ Table of contents and work information (PDF, English) on the Opéra-Comique website , accessed on April 13, 2017.
  6. ↑ Production information for the world premiere on opera-online.com, accessed on April 13, 2017.
  7. ↑ a b Au Monde, an opera by Philippe Boesmans and Joël Pommerat at Arte Concert, accessed on April 13, 2017 (video no longer available).
  8. ↑ Au Monde wins Best World Premiere Award at the International Opera Awards on focusonbelgium.be, accessed on April 13, 2017.
  9. ^ Au monde at the Opera-Comique , accessed April 13, 2017.
  10. ↑ Regine Müller: Subtle Horror. In: Opernwelt from February 2016, p. 34.
  11. ↑ a b Au Monde de Philippe Boesmans at France Musique , accessed on April 13, 2017.