Pierrot ou les secrets de la nuit

Françaix’s last ballet is based on Michel Tournier’s modern fairy tale of the same name published in 1979, featuring the washerwoman Colombine. Colombine feels herself torn between the dreamy baker, Pierrot, and the daredevilish house painter, Arlequin – and opts, unceremoniously, for both. Françaix provides a distinctive portrait of the familiar figures in the Commedia dell’arte: Pierrot is immersed in a tender veil of wistfulness while Arlequin is showy and loud-mouthed. Columbine vacillates between the dapper motifs for Arlequin and the affectionate melodies for Pierrot. Intermittently, the elegant, light-hearted tonal language gives way to more melancholic, enigmatic moments. This work is an ideal companion piece for Françaix’s thematically-related ballet Verreries de Venise, featuring a similar cast.

These short ballets are also eminently suitable in combination with other single-act ballets by Françaix such as À la Françaix, La lutherie enchantée, Le jeu sentimental and Le jugement du fou.