The 7 Last Words of Christ on the Cross

Transcription

1 communiqué de presse dossier de présentation Fiche technique revue de presse dossier de production Budget & plan de Financement The 7 Last Words of Christ on the Cross Clarac & Deloeuil > le lab 10, cours Pasteur Bordeaux - T. 33 (0) production@clarac-deloeuil.fr -

2 The 7 Last Words of Christ on the Cross Joseph Haydn, 1787 Coproduction: Clarac-Deloeuil > le lab / Fundaçao Gulbenkian, Lisbon Premiered: March 5 & Fundaçao Gulbenkian, Lisbon November 7, Casa da Musica, Porto

3 Musical Ensemble and Narrator: PRODUCTION Each Presenter is free to present the production in the: Original Orchestra version (1786), String Quartet version (1787), Oratorio version (Orchestra, Chorus, 6 Soloists) (1796). The production is presented without supertitles. Chosen by the Presenter, in collaboration with C&D > le lab, the Narrator delivers his text in the official language of the country. Production: Clarac-Deloeuil > le lab / Fundaçao Gulbenkian, Lisbon Production team: Installation and Videos, Jean-Philippe Clarac & Olivier Deloeuil Lighting, Christophe Pitoiset Cinematography, Julien Roques Editing, Jean-François Hautin Literary consultant, Luc Bourrousse Duration: 90 minutes, without intermission.

4 STAGING INTENTIONS Each sonata, or each text, is expressed by purely instrumental music in such a fashion that it produces the deepest impression in the soul of even the most uninstructed listener." (Haydn, letter to his publisher Forster, April 1787) Premiered in Cadiz in 1787, the Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross were originally intended to provide a musical accompaniment to an highly theatrical ritual for Good Friday : The walls, windows and pillars of the church were hung with black cloth, and only one large lamp hanging from the ceiling broke the solemn darkness. Seven musical sequences accompanied the meditation of the audience, after the officiant glossed from the pulpit each of the seven utterances of Christ on the Cross. Combining orchestral music, videos and theater, our Installation reinvents this very specific atmosphere, by giving a theatrical twist to the usual concert presentation of Haydn s masterpiece : Standing on an impressive scaffolding, the Narrator faces the audience. He delivers his lines like a bishop standing on a stylized pulpit. Our texts consist in 7 collages, combining various literary sources (Holy Scriptures, poetry, but also excerpts of well-known classics by famous philosophers and novelists). All these texts meditate on the resonance in the 7 Words of the secular questions of our time : abandonment and violence, birth, genealogy and kinship. Simultaneously, 7 short-films are projected on the scenery, like video images presented on a stylized Altarpiece. They take the audience to Jerusalem : 7 inhabitants of the Holy city are filmed, while listening to Haydn music, for the very first time of their life. At the same time, the audience gathered in solemn darkness listen to the exact same musical sequences. All of them are thus constantly connected by Haydn s music. 7 «living characters», 7 inhabitants of Jerusalem, 7 anonymous faces who listen to Haydn s music, peacefully staring at the camera. The genuine simplicity of their listening to the music, visible on their silent faces while they stare at us, in real time. By capturing the ritualistic feel of the original, our multi-disciplinary presentation proposes a new kind of dramatic ritual, both theatrical and meditative : The live combination of orchestral music, poetry and silent images of Jerusalem s inhabitants gaze. The kind of gaze that refers you back to an interrogation, back to your own gaze.

5 SYNOPSIS 7 Words, 10 Sequences, 1 Story Sequence #1 : Entrance in the hall Our theatrical ritual captures the spirit of the original 1787 ritual in Cadiz : The spectators enter a deliberately darkened hall. Ushers welcome them and walk them to their seats. The atmosphere is peaceful and deeply meditative. Sequence #2 : Introduction When the musical Introduction begins, a first short-film takes us to Jerusalem : On the video, we follow a group of Pilgrims on the famous Via Dolorosa. We explore lively souks and marketplaces, all packed with the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as tourists and pilgrims of various religious communities. At the same time, the lighting reveals the Narrator, already seated among the musicians. The Narrator frequently stares at the video, as if he was discovering Jerusalem. Sequence #3 : Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. In the silence immediately following the Introduction, the Narrator delivers a brief text, a collage combining the Holy Scripture with poetry and excerpts of well-known classics by famous philosophers and novelists. When the first «Word» is over, the Narrator fades out into darkness. The orchestra plays the first Sonata.

6 During this first Sonata, we discover in the video a group of pilgrims from South America, seated at the entrante of the Holy Sepulcre. They are filmer while listening to the exact same music as we do, gathered in the Concert Hall. Their faces thus become emotional landscapes for Haydn s music. Sequences #4 to 9: This system is repeated 7 times. In relation to the 7 Last Words and the 7 Sonatas, several characters appear in the videos, one after the other. Anonymous faces, inhabitants of Jerusalem, who listen to Haydn s music for the very first time of their life. Throughout the performance, the Narrator climbs into the stylized Altarpiece, so that he delivers his last speech from the top of this stylized pulpit. Among them: - Sonata 1: A group of pilgrims at the entrance of the Holy Sepulcre. - Sonata 2: Ethiopian monk, seated on the rooftop of his church. - Sonata 3: A young Israelian army reservist, filmed in David s Citadel. - Sonata 4: A young Palestinian, at night, near the Dome of the Rock. - Sonata 5: A young woman strolling around the Jewish quarter. - Sonata 6: Teenagers in the Gethsemani garden and in the Mahane Yehouda marketplace. - Sonata 7: A taxi driver and his client, filmed on the Mount of Olives. Sequence #10: At the end of the piece, just before the Presto, the Narrator turns back to his original position, among the musicians. On the Terremoto, the translucent curtains (used as screens for the videos) dramatically fall down on the stage floor. A DVD of the show is available on demand.

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8 A detailed Technical Rider can be provided on demand. > J-3: Team arrival & scenic equipment load-in: Staff on tour (4 people) will arrive 3 days before the performance. > Set-up and video tests: 6 Calls of 4 hours each TECHNICAL ELEMENTS CALENDAR SCENERY The scenery consists in a stylized Altarpiece, made out of metallic tubes and wood. Dimensions: 8 meters long / 6,7 meters hight. White Fluorescents and some lighting equipments are part of that construction. Videos are projected on 3 screens. Projections from the video booth or lighting booth (Video projector to be provided by the presenter: ideally Lumens). All Videos are provided by C&D > le lab. Orchestra players and music stands with lighting equipments (dimmable) are placed in front of the scenery. Orchestra pit is covered. COSTUMES & PROPS Costume & props for the Narrator are provided by C&D > le lab. Narrator requires a Lavaliere microphone HF. SOUND

9 CLARAC-DELOEUIL > LE LAB Based in Bordeaux, where Jean-Philippe Clarac and Olivier Deloeuil founded it in 2009, Clarac-Deloeuil>le lab is a creative arts company that produces opera, theater and video-art installations with the most notable European companies (Opéra National de Paris, Opéra Comique, Fundaçao Gulbenkian Lisbon, Cité de la Musique, Brussels Philharmonic, Théâtre Nanterre Amandiers, Musica Festival Strasbourg, Cantiere Internazionale d Arte di Montepulciano, Casa da Musica Porto). Our productions explore the theatricality of opera and classical music, by proposing an unique experience before, during and after the performance. Each project is conceived as a site-specific proposition. The performance thus becomes part of a larger multi-disciplinary storytelling, which totally immerses the venue, the concert-hall and the audience into the spirit of the piece.

10 JEAN-PHILIPPE CLARAC & OLIVIER DELOEUIL Jean-Philippe Clarac et Olivier Deloeuil met in Bordeaux while studying political science and fine arts history. In 2001, Maestro Yves Abel invited them to stage Gluck s Pèlerins de la Mecque at the Opéra Français de New York (OFNY). They were artistic directors of OFNY from 2005 to In 2009, they founded in Bordeaux their own company: Clarac-Deloeuil > le lab. Their directing credits include: Messiaen s Harawi, Song of Love and Death (Opéra Comique, Musica Festival Strasbourg), Debussy s Martyre de St Sébastien (Cité de la Musique, Arsenal de Metz, Gulbenkian Foundation Lisbon), Poulenc s Dialogues of the Carmelites and Rossini s La Cenerentola (Opéra de Toulon), Debussy s Fall of the House of Usher (Opéra National de Paris), Dusapin s To Be Sung (OFNY), Gounod s Romeo & Juliette (Spoleto USA Festival), Gounod s Faust (Opéra National de Bordeaux), Offenbach s Contes d Hoffmann (Angers Nantes Opéra), Berlioz s Symphonie Fantastique and Lélio (Orchestre des Champs- Elysées), Auber s Manon Lescaut (Wexford Festival Opera). Jean-Philippe Clarac and Olivier Deloeuil teach the course French opera, a political art form at Sciences Po Paris Season : Stravinsky s Soldier s Tale (Cantiere Internazionale d Arte di Montepulciano / Eté Métropolitain, Bordeaux) ; Haydn s 7 Last Words of Christ on the Cross (Fundaçao Gulbenkian Lisbon).

11 Mélanie PANCZUK Administration clarac-deloeuil.fr Hugo BLAISE Production Christophe PITOISET Technical coordinator 10, Cours Pasteur Bordeaux - France T CONTACT LIST