The Dreamers of the Moon at the Opéra Grand Avignon – News
The Opéra Grand Avignon presents a participatory opera “Les Rêveurs de la lune” (“Sung by children for adults” in the words of British composer Howard Moody) in a production by Sandra Pocceschi and Giacomo Strada under the direction of Federico Santi :
L’Opera Grand Avignon and its director Frederic Roels thus continues the tradition of participatory opera and this season dedicated to the lunar star, with this opus initially planned for 2020 but whose creation had to be postponed to 2022 at the Opéra National du Rhin. The text written by Anna Moodydaughter of the composer, has all the appearance of a simple story and for children, but contains a political message, in the words of the director Sandra Pocceschi and as confirmed by the themes evoked: exploitation of resources, forced migrations, imperialism. In this animal fable inspired by The bird conference by medieval Persian poet Farid al-Din Attar, the stork fishes up the dreams of dreamers from the lake where the moon is reflected, to send them up into the sky with the stars, but this ecosystem is invaded by other birds that build a city and s I tear.
The show was certainly created in Strasbourg (in the homeland of the stork) but in English, while it is presented here, in Avignon, in French (translation by Benoît de Leersnyde), thus allowing the public to participate. The conductor turns to the audience at these key moments, the text of the surtitles turns red and everyone can then sing the pieces prepared at home or in the participatory workshops. Rare are the voices who dare to perform this time, also because of the richness of this music. The score composed by Howard Moody is indeed full of contrasts: very animated, a little dissonant at times, very emotional and valiant during the climaxes of the story, with some jazzy sounds no less surprising for the audience. The music is also very suggestive, the instruments notably imitating different birds.
The staging, sets and costumes of Sandra Pocceschi and Giacomo Streetassisted byAurelie Barre, are simple. Dreamy children are dressed in pajamas. The soloists wear bird masks and the color of their clothing refers to their bird, which makes it easy to distinguish them. The set design is made up of black blocks that serve multiple purposes. In a horizontal position, they represent the lake (with a projection of the moon’s reflection on this “water”). The blocks reconfigure themselves after the arrival of the other birds, in a vertical position for the old reliefs of the city built by these invasives. Aerial elements are also very present on stage, with transparent balloons representing dreams and stars, but also a large white balloon that the Stork inflates with a pump installed on the edge of the stage: the Moon.
The mezzo-soprano Alexia Macbeth gives life to a maternal and elegant stork. She deploys a warm and velvety voice, a clear timbre and sustained, resonant mid-bass. Despite her few moments in front of the set (she remains silent most of the time in a cage), she contributes to the scenic action, showing herself to be close to the children and reproducing in a fictitious way the calm movements of the storks.
The Nightingale is embodied by the soprano Aurelie Jarjaye (who just presented on the spot her show Barbara as part of the Midis de l’Opéra). She interprets a birdie with a brilliant voice, a very present vibrato and well-sustained highs, full of ardor and intensity, all with expressiveness and dynamism. She also boasts a particularly colorful expression during her tune, with lovely phrasing and blossoming sensitivity in her voice. The baritone Marc Scoffoni interprets the Hoopoe of a dark tone with round and warm bass. Her confident and well-projected vocals exhibit a refined sense of nuance. He is very imposing and expressive on stage in front of dreamers. Playing the villainous Peacock, the tenor Pierre Antoine Chaumien emphasizes a clear timbre, projected and with very resonant bass, but with slightly tense highs at times. He shows himself to be very involved in his character and always held the gaze of the public thanks to the great dynamism he deploys on.
As dreamers, the students of the CHAM class (Classes with Flexible Music Schedules) of the Joseph d’Arbaud Vaison-la-Romaine College allow soft, white but in fact clear and innocent voices. They demonstrate, together with their fellow sparrows of the Master of the Opera Grand Avignon, with great energy and very good diction, with exceptionally precise and completely understandable texts. These also show more seated voices and very good musicality.
Federico Santi to manage the National Orchestra of Avignon-Provence with agility and precision. The instrumental phalanx thus manages to render a sound full of contrasts and in harmony with the action of the singers. The opera ends with an ovation from the audience that lasts several minutes and cries of satisfaction and euphoria expressed by the 55 young artists on stage (and still very audible even after the curtain has closed).