FOCUS
Orgia, opera by Hèctor Parra - which was premiered last June 24th in Bilbao by the EIC conducted by Pierre Bleuse - was a veritable moment of grace.
In 1968, Pasolini published his "Manifesto for a New Theatre", defined by his total opposition to the “Theatre of Chatter" and the "Theatre of Gesture and Sry". The first one would be a kind of mirror of the bourgeoisie that listens to itself, while the second one, in which a certain avant-garde could be placed, creates scandal with the aim of satisfying false anti-bourgeois pretensions within the bourgeoisie itself. The "Theatre of the Word", on the other hand, aims to "redeem language and the oppression it conveys by speaking through the body and its truth".
He fully applied this principle in Orgia, the only play Pasolini ever staged in Turin in 1968. In six episodes of an icy, chilling sadomasochistic ritual with death as the only way out, a bleak picture of a decadent, mortifying society is revealed.
This monstrous closed-session has been a constant companion for Catalan composer Hèctor Parra for several years now ; he has already devoted his fourth string quartet to it in 2020. He has also chosen it for this new chamber opera, conceived during his residency at the Villa Medici in Rome, in which the composer explores the "limits of the sung voice, where almost opposing vocalities cohabit", in order to get closer to the Pasolinian ideal.
This project is part of a series of opera commissions ; the next creation – Justice, based on a libretto by Fiston Mwanza Mujila and a script by Milo Rau – will be taking place at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in January 2024.
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JULY CALENDAR 2023
Allain Gaussin - Ogive
for clarinet & piano
Performance : July 12th, 2023 - Chapelle de la Trinité, Château de Fontainebleau (France)
Jean-Marc Fessard, clarinet
Ya-Fei Chuang, piano
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Benjamin Attahir / Claudio Monteverdi - Nigra sum
for voice & ensemble
World Premiere : July 15th, 2023 - Monastère Royal de Brou (Bourg-en-Bresse, France)
Orchestra, soloists & choir from Nouveaux Caractères
Marik Froidefond, libretto
Caroline Mutel, staging & dramaturgy
Sébastien d'Hérin, conductor
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Eric Montalbetti - Quartettsatz
for string quartet
Performance : July 20th, 2023 - Le Corum, Salle Pasteur (Montpellier, France)
Quatuor Mona
Elina Buksha, violin
Charlotte Chahuneau, violin
Arianna Smith, viola
Annie Jacobs Perkins, cello
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AUGUST CALENDAR 2023
Georges Aperghis - Die Erdfabrik
musical theater for one voice, trumpet, two percussionist & double bass
World Premiere : August 11th to 20th, 2023 - Ruhrtriennale - Festival Der Künste (Germany)
Donatienne Michel-Dansac, soprano
Marco Blaauw, trumpet
Dirk Rothbrust & Christian Dierstein, percussion
Sophie Lücke, double bass
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Philippe Manoury - Fanfare
for brass & percussion ensemble
World Premiere : August 19th, 2023 - Grafenegg Festival (Austria)
Tonkunstler Orchestra
Yutaka Sado, conductor
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Philippe Manoury - Anticipations
for large spatialized orchestra
Austrian Premiere : August 26th, 2023 - Grafenegg Festival (Austria)
Tonkunstler Orchestra
Brad Lubman, conductor
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DIGITAL BROADCAST
Sasha J. Blondeau - Cortèges
for dancer/singer, electronics & large orchestra
Grande salle Pierre Boulez - Philarmonie de Paris (France)
Orchestre de Paris
François Chaignaud, dancer/singer
Sasha Blondeau et Serge Lemouton, IRCAM electronics
Alain Altinoglu, conductor
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Claude Debussy - Proses Lyriques
for voice & piano
Ted Black, tenor
Dylan Perez, piano
Photos
Hèctor Parra © Amandine Lauriol
Eric Montalbetti © Amandine Lauriol
Allain Gaussin © Chevilly Larue
Philippe Manoury © Tomoko Hidaki
Georges Aperghis © Kai Bienert