Tagged with 'Strasbourg'

George Gershwin is a popular name on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day programs. Excerpts from his stage works are often played, such as Porgy and Bess, A Symphonic Picture. These days, for example, it can be heard in France in concerts by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg with conductor Wayne Marshall and in Denmark with Copenhagen Phil under the direction of Joel Sandelson. 

After a somewhat rocky start, Thierry Pécou’s latest opera Until the Lions will receive its premiere on September 25th 2022, having been originally planned for March 21st 2020. French conductor Marie Jacquot is leading the Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse, alongside British director and choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh.

On 21 March, the world premiere of Thierry Pécou’s most recent opera Until the Lions would have been given in Strasbourg at the Opéra National du Rhin. Even though the rehearsals have now been stopped and the premiere been postponed until one of the following seasons due to the COVID-19 crisis, we would nevertheless like to introduce the piece: Marie Jacquot conducts the Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse in a production directed and choreographed by Shobana Jeyasingh.



Until the Lions was adapted from the eponymous novel by Karthika Naïr. The title comes from a well-known African proverb: Until the lions can write their own story, only the hunters will become famous. Exploring themes of the great Hindu Mahabharata epic poem, the Indian writer gives voice in her book to women who suffer the male abuses of power and war.

Thierry Pécou – Until the Lions: Echoes from the Mahabharata

This opera is focussed on the story of Princess Amba who, having been humiliated by the invincible Bhishma, was reborn as a male warrior with the help of Shiva in order to seek revenge. The opera shows the insanity of war leading to utter destruction. Pécou’s work makes some references to music from India and Indonesian gamelan.

Even though the Mahabharata is a fundamental Hindu text, its beauty and profound understanding of human beings are universal and would not necessarily need to be contextualized in India. But as I am myself a globetrotter and because I had some thrilling experiences with North Indian musicians, I felt that I wanted to bring some Indian elements and elements of Indonesian gamelan into the music. – Thierry Pécou

Until the Lions runs at Opéra National du Rhin until 7 April. On 17 April, Pécou’s own Ensemble Variances will perform his chamber opera Nahasdzáán in the Glittering World in Grenoble, France.

• Thierry Pécou – Profile


• Until the Lions –  Details and score preview


• Opéra National du Rhin

On 20 May 2018, the Opéra national du Rhin and Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse will premiere David Pountney’s new production of Kurt Weill’s ballet chanté The Seven Deadly Sins in Strasbourg. Roland Kluttig will conduct, with choreography by Beate Vollack and stage design by Marie-Jeanne Lecca.

Weill composed The Seven Deadly Sins in 1933 after fleeing from Nazi Germany to Paris. The work was commissioned by Edward James, a wealthy Englishman and patron to the Parisian company “Les Ballets 1933”, which had been newly founded by choreographer George Balanchine.  Weill accepted the commission on the condition that he could compose a ballet with singing - a ballet chanté (sung ballet).

Weill originally intended the libretto to be written by writer Jean Cocteau, but under time pressure he turned to his long-time collaborator Bertolt Brecht, whom he had worked with on Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera (1928) and Weill’s own Mahagonny Songspiel (1927) among others. They completed The Seven Deadly Sins in just two weeks, and on 7 June 1933 it was premiered at the Théâtre des Champs- Élysées. Although reviews of the premiere were mixed, the ballet went on to become one of Weill’s best known works.

Kurt Weill - The Seven Deadly Sins: one divided being

The Seven Deadly Sins tells the story of Anna, who is sent on a seven year journey through North America by her family to earn money for a small house on the Mississippi. The character of Anna is split into two roles: Anna I who is more sensible and pragmatic, and the more emotional Anna II. In each city the Annas face the temptations of the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth, until eventually they give up their dreams and return disillusioned to their family in Louisiana. Musically Weill incorporates popular American musical styles of the 1920s such as the tango, foxtrot and polka to enhance the comedy of Brecht’s text, and create a satire of the moral double standards of any society willing to sacrifice its values for prosperity.

“It’s the usual mess. A small party has formed among the followers of traditional Russian ballet, who of course consider our ballet as containing too little “ballet” or “pure choreography”. As a result, there have been great disruptions in the last few days […] but Balanchine stands between the parties. He has done an excellent job and found a style of representation that is very dance-like, but nevertheless very real.”
- Kurt Weill reporting on rehearsals to Bertolt Brecht

The Seven Deadly Sins will run until 28 May in Strasbourg, after which further performances include the Théâtre municipal de Colmar on 5 June, the Théatre de la Sinne Mulhouse on 13 & 15 June and the Staatstheater Braunschweig on 22 June.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbZXBogKaPI[/embed]

• Kurt Weill – profil


• The Seven Deadly Sins – work details


• Opéra national du Rhin

 

Photo : Staatstheater Braunschweig / Thomas M. Jauk