Musical theatre for one actress and orchestra Idea, music and direction : Roland Auzet Libretto : Fabrice Melquiot Scenography : Paul Andreu Actress : Kristin Scott Thomas Lighting : Bernard Revel Conductor : Steven Schick for the Premiere Around 75 minutes Contact : Laure Mercatello Head of Production Grand Théâtre de Provence 380 avenue Max Juvénal 13100 Aix-en-Provence Tél : +33 4 42 91 69 78 lauremercatello@legrandtheatre.net Co-producers : the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, The Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra. S.W. D É C O U V R E. E M P O R T E. A I M E. R E N O N C E. D I S C O V E R. S W E E P A W A Y. L O V E. G I V E U P.
A B O U T S I M O N E W E I L, F R O M R O L A N D A U Z E T I have no authority to speak about Simone Weil, no title to defend other than the overwhelming experience I had when reading her thoughts and of her very being. There is something paradoxical in wanting to represent someone who is an observer for the most part, and to build a thought process from their world vision. Simone Weil took the idea of the human condition to such heights that she seems, at times, to escape it. She is one of the exceptional beings that bears witness to their species without fully belong to it Simone Weil is a liberator, always running ahead. Regardless of the subject, her work always tells us : Do not be afraid of your thoughts. Do not be afraid of yourself, and that is what booms like a clap of thunder, could it be the last warning for our era, an era that is searching for a madness that threatens to engulf us? Simone Weil has the bravery of the impossible, the rapture of reason, the experience of a life of work and thought, through a philosophy of the absolute, a violent wisdom and grace. Her work rallies, creating a meeting point on an imaginary map, like the image of a society that is undergoing a fundamental transformation, linked to the collapse of the old order, the explosion of sectarianism that has notably lead to a debate about Europe, an example of today s state of mind. Initials SW is a theatrical and musical expedition to the source of her conscience and her identity. The idea of the show is not to produce a portrait but to describe a world through which we will examine our era as if through the eyes of Simone Weil, like a precise and critical needle, sparkling with humour. We will approach Weil s radicalism immerged in a non-linear timeframe in the theatre, the ideal place, shot through with musical, social and spiritual energies. Some say that our humanity is suffering from fatigue. Simone Weil proposes a broader, radically new, suprahuman version, and from the depths of a fertile despair she calls on us to overcome. The writings, letters, ideas, beliefs, temperaments, moods will extend an invisible yet unbreakable thread: the freedom to think. We will work with this thread and through a dramaturgy of jumps, we will develop a theatrical and musical narrative that depicts the examination of this freedom. R O L A N D A U Z E T Page 1
T H E P R O J E C T Roland Auzet has created a musical piece based on the writings of Simone Weil, for an orchestra of 75/80 musicians and electronic music, that converses with an actress, Kristin Scott Thomas, using scenography that links the public and the stage by a footbridge designed by the architect Paul Andreu. This piece was created to be played in auditoriums in order to open such venues up to musical theatre and scenography. The footbridge will be adaptable to the different venues. The project is initiated by the Grand Théâtre de Provence in Aix-en-Provence. The following orchestras are co-producers: the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, The Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra. A Chamber Orchestra version will be written (around 18 musicians). O R C H E S T R A I N S T R U M E N T S F O R T H E S Y M P H O N I C V E R S I O N 2 flutes (1 of which is a piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets Bb, 1 bass clarinet, 2 bassoons (1 of which is a contrabassoon), 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, timbals, Piano/celesta, harp. 3 percussions (instrumentation in progress based on the following) : Percussion 1 : 3 cymbals, symphonic bass drum, Xylophone, 3 blocks of wood Percussion 2 : Tom-tom (big), 3 skins (medium, high-pitched), Vibraphone Percussion 3 : Snare drum, Marimba, Triangle, Glockenspiel, crash cymbals, 3 metals Strings: 12/10/8/6/4 Electronic (played and switched on out of the orchestra by a musical assistant). P E R F O R M A N C E S S C H E D U L E A T T H I S S T A G E July 21st 2018, The Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra, Salle Pau Casals, Grec Festival, Barcelona, March 13th 2019, Orchestre national de Lille, Auditorium du Nouveau Siècle, Lille, March 16th 2019, Orchestre national de Lille, Le Phénix, Valenciennes, March 28th 2019, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Salle Philharmonique, Liège, April 3rd 2019, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Studio 104 de Radio France, Paris, April 6th 2019, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Grand Théâtre de Provence, Aix-en-Provence. T H E S C H E D U L E Setup starts three days out 3 days out : 3 setups 2 days out : 2 rehearsals (reading orchestra) and 1 technical setup 1 day out : 2 rehearsals Day of performance : dress rehearsal and performance Page 2
B I O G R A P H I E S R O L A N D A U Z E T Composer, Stage director, Musician Emmanuelle Murbach Roland Auzet was born in1964, is a composer, stage director who defines himself as a stage author. Laureate of the Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet foundation for vocation, graduated from several national and international conservatories, its activities revolve around the creation, direction, production or accompaniment of artistic projects, developed in partnership with various theaters and festivals in France and abroad: Network of national scenes and national drama centers, Avignon, Aix en Provence festivals, Radio France Montpellier, Les Nuits de Fourrière, the Maison de la Danse in Lyon, Opera de Lyon, Juilliard School New York, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Comédie Française, Vidy-Lausanne Theater, De Singel - Antwerp, National Theater in Taipei, Théâtre des Amandiers Nanterre, Théâtre du Châtelet... At the same time, he shares an institutional reflection with several structures in Europe, in order to bring a current perspective on the evolution of artistic professions within European multidisciplinary cultural networks. In 2016, Roland Auzet was decorated with the title of Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Ministry of Culture and Communication. Page 3
P A U L A N D R E U Architec Paul Andreu was born in Caudéran (France) on 10 July 1938. A graduate of two of France's most prestigious engineering schools, l'ecole Polytechnique and les Ponts et Chaussées, he obtained his certificate as a chartered architect (DPLG) at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 1968. Paul Andreu, in collaboration with ADPi has directed studies in more than 50 countries including Charles de Gaulle airport, Jakarta, Dar es Salaam, Cairo, Brunei, Nice Côte d'azur, Bordeaux, Pointe à Pitre and Shanghai-Pudong, among others. In addition to this extensive experience with airports, Paul Andreu has designed and realised projects of many different types: Paris' Grand Arche de la Défense (in association with J.O. Spreckelsen); the Olympic ski-jump runway at Saint-Bon Courchevel, France; the French Terminal at the entrance to the Cross-Channel tunnel, the design concept of the Avenue de France for the Seine Rive Gauche project in Paris; the Osaka Maritime Museum in Japan and the Guangzhou Gymnasium in China. He realised the Beijing's National Grand Theatre of China and the Shanghaï Oriental Art Centre, the Technology and Science Enterprising Centre in Chengdu in 2007. More recently the Archaeological Museum of Taiyuan and the Grand Theatre of Jinan in China as well as the Cité Municipale de Bordeaux have been completed. Le Havre Congress Center is being studies as this time. Paul Andreu has won numerous awards for outstanding achievements in architecture, including the Grand Prix National d'architecture, the Grand Prix de la Fondation Florence Gould, the Prix Aga Khan d'architecture and the Cristal Globe Award, from the International Academy of Architecture for his whole career. He is member of the Institut de France. He began painting and writing ten years ago, which led to the publication of seven books. Four of which are novels and three books based on reflection and inspired by his work as an architect. Page 4
F A B R I C E M E L Q U I O T Writter Fabrice Melquiot was born in 1972 in Modane. He trained as an actor with the Compagnie des mille fontaines. He began writing theatre for l Ecole des loisirs. In 2001, his work was published by Arche and he remains one of their flagship authors. His plays are aimed at a young audience : Bouli Mélo was staged by the Comédie Française but his work goes well beyond children s literature. His work has been translated all over the world and in 2008, Fabrice Melquiot was awarded with the Prix Théâtre de l Académie française for his work. In 2012, he took over the Geneva-based Am Stram Gram theatre where his Frankenstein was also the first book to be published. Melquiot s plays are often produced in France and abroad, he is also the author of two collections of poetry : Veux-tu? and Graceful. Page 5
K R I S T I N S C O T T T H O M A S Actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas is the recipient of a BAFTA Award, four Evening Standard British Film Awards, two London Critics Circle Film Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her film work, cementing her place in cinema history. A bilingual actress equally at home playing French and English-language roles, she received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for her starring role opposite Ralph Fiennes in Anthony Minghella s Best Picture Academy Award-winning THE ENGLISH PATIENT. With her fellow actors from Robert Altman s GOSFORD PARK, Kristin shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The cast was also honored with the Critics Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble, and the movie was a Best Picture Academy Award nominee, winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (Julian Fellowes). Her breakout role was in another Best Picture Oscar-nominated classic comedy, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, written by Richard Curtis and directed by Mike Newell, which brought her BAFTA and Evening Standard British Film Awards. Among her screen credits are Sam Taylor-Johnson s NOWHERE BOY, for which she was a BAFTA and BIFA (British Independent Film Award) nominee; Sydney Pollack s RANDOM HEARTS; THE HORSE WHISPERER, starring opposite director Robert Redford; Brian De Palma s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE; Irwin Winkler s LIFE AS A HOUSE, opposite Kevin Kline; Philip and Belinda Haas ANGELS AND INSECTS, for which Kristin won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress, and Up at the Villa; Richard Loncraine s Richard III; Roman Polanski s BITTER MOON; Guillaume Canet s hit TELL NO ONE; and Charles Sturridge s A HANDFUL OF DUST, for which she received her first Evening Standard British Film Award. She received her fourth Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Catherine Corsini s PARTIR [LEAVING], which also brought her a César Award (France s Oscars equivalent) nomination for Best Actress. She was previously a César nominee for Philippe CLAUDEL S IL Y A LONGTEMPS QUE JE T AIME [I VE LOVED YOU SO LONG], for which she was again a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominee. Among Kristin s recent films are THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, starring with director Ralph Fiennes; Nicolas Winding Refn s ONLY GOD FORGIVES; François Ozon s IN THE HOUSE; and Israel Horovitz s MY OLD LADY, with Kevin Kline and Dame Maggie Smith. She will next be seen starring alongside Timothy Spall, Patricia Clarkson and Cillian Murphy in THE PARTY, directed by Sally Potter. We will also see Kristin in Joe Wright s DARKEST HOUR, alongside Lily James and Gary Oldman. The plot explores Winston Churchill s initial challenges after he is appointed Prime Minister. Her theatre credits include Peter Morgan s THE AUDIENCE; and Ian Rickson s production of ELECTRA at the Old Vic, which followed her appearances in Mr. Rickson s West End productions of OLD TIMES and BETRAYAL and his acclaimed Royal Court staging of THE SEAGULL. For her portrayal of Arkadina in The Seagull, she received the Olivier Award for Best Actress, and reprised the role on Broadway. Kristin s other stage work includes starring in West End productions of AS YOU DESIRE ME and THREE SISTERS; and starring in a production of Racine s BERENICE that toured France. Her television credits include the UK miniseries BODY & SOUL, directed by Moira Armstrong; and Jack Gold s telefilm version of THE TENTH MAN, in which she starred alongside Sirs Anthony Hopkins and Derek Jacobi. Page 6