Does the opera reflect the major issues of the world ? Ukraine, Black Lives Matter, Taiwan, China, Israël, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela and many others… From Massada to Monségur, from Giordano Bruno to Spinoza, people always try to resist to violence and oppression. We must sing of their struggle and their hopes.
Although the story is clearly inspired by the massacre of the Monks of Tibhirine in 1996, the subject is treated without any precise reference (time, place, religion). The discourse focuses on the eternal oppositions: forced submission/consented submission, love/hate, death and resurrection.
In an isolated monastery, monks watch and pray. Scenes 2-5 show three of the major characters responding to each other without actually meeting. The maid reports disturbing events that seem to be approaching, announcing a tragic outcome. The novice comments on this unexplained rise in violence, moving from despondency to disbelief, then from supplication to revolt. The prior wonders what decision to make.
At the invitation of the prior, 3 monks recount the events that led them to choose monastic life (scenes 6, 8 and 9). Example and admiration for the first, metamorphosis of earthly love into mystical love for the second, redemption for the third. Scenes 7 and 10 amplify tension between an increasingly threatening exterior and an interior seeking a way out. The first act ends with painful confessions. Hesitation for the prior, resignation for the novice.
Three women (Parcae? Norns? Angels?) comment on the situation, repeating almost word for word the proclamations of scene 1. Their intervention suspends the evolution of time. The feverishness of the first act gives way to a stretching of durations, carried by the musical treatment. The monks decide to face their destiny without fear, faithful to their vows. This fidelity leads them from servitude to freedom, following in the footsteps of a thousand-year-old Fraternity.
The novice pronounces his vows, he is transfigured by the example of his brothers' courage. Their sacrifice will not be in vain, one of them will bear the seed of a new world.
The profound message is that proclaimed by all those who refuse to submit to arbitrariness. Many cases can be mentioned: the struggle of minorities for the respect of their rights, the struggle of peoples for their freedom, the struggle of citizens for democracy, etc.
In the end, Love, in the sense of the Agapé of the Ancient Greeks, will triumph over negative forces.
The last words are those of the last verse of Dante’s Divine Comedy "l'Amor che move il sol e l'altre stelle ». (Love that moves the sun and the other stars)
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Le Soleil et les autres étoiles (Demo)
They're talking about...
Sylvie Nicephor, Soprano, Pianist, Musicologist
This opera is to be listened to... and listened to again. The chosen subject touches so many of our contemporaries directly. We were touched by the fate of the monks of Tibhirine...
The libretto is perfect in terms of the beauty and meaning of the texts, the layout and the right length. The succession of scenes plunges us into the unfolding drama and the questions raised, without losing interest or attention.
I must congratulate you on your musical writing, with colourful harmonies that underline the moods. The orchestration is successful, effective and transparent, with no attempt at superfluous effect (a common failing).
As a soprano, I can tell you that your vocal writing is very well mastered, letting the listener hear the texts whose rhythm and prosody you marry very well, respecting the voices and enhancing them through attractive melodies.
While the opera gives pride of place to the soloists (in keeping with the libretto), the very fine choruses are a real eye-catcher, especially the one in Scene 13.
While the opera gives pride of place to the soloists (in keeping with the libretto), the very fine choruses hold our attention, especially the one in Scene 13.
Given its size and duration, this opera, which is well conceived for the current context (it does not require exceptional resources), has a good chance of being programmed, but of course, everything depends on the tastes and orientations of theatre directors...
It remains very ‘French’ in its language, of course, but also in its transparency, balance and refined writing, which immerse us in a monastic atmosphere (simplicity, meditation, interiority) that remains permanent despite the cruel fate that awaits these monks (a state of grace?).
I remain convinced of the role and impact that sacred music and music with themes linked to the sacred can have in contemporary life.
Natalia Di Bartolo, Musicologist, critic
I'm really delighted. It's a magnificent work. Very French, but absolutely original: it has very solid roots. First of all, I'm very impressed by the coherence of the opera, which has no rough edges, but is conceived as a single poetic and musical product. As author of the libretto, Eric Breton handles the music brilliantly, because it perfectly expresses what he wants to say in the words.
So French singing has a special charm for me. I was fascinated by the beauty of the melodic line, accompanied by astonishing and highly refined harmonisation, the beautiful voices and the transcendent inspiration that transpires from every note and every word.
I have to say that it doesn't just seem to take place in an a-temporal atmosphere, it also seems a-dimensional: it doesn't seem to take place in one place, but in another dimension.
Eric Breton has managed to transcend the dimension of reality, by creating a parallel dimension, itself parallel to the spiritual dimension. This makes this work unique, absolutely out of the ordinary and very close to sacred music, perhaps closer to sacred music than to theatre.
I think that, if one of those bureaucrats who run the theatres manages to understand what I'm saying, the staging will have to be extremely refined, entrusted to a brilliant director, with lighting effects rather than scenes. And, on stage, characters that, when I listen to them, I don't identify as ‘monks’ or ‘maids’ or ‘villagers’, but as figures who are themselves ethereal, not of this world. What's more, the mother, the young girl, the three women and the choir all belong to a third dimension: the Divine is very close to them.
What more is there to say? Compliments would be rhetorical. This is a jewel: it must be entrusted to safe hands. With the imbeciles and ignoramuses who run the theatres and the directors who circulate these days, it must not be misrepresented or weighed down: this opera would run the risk of not being understood.
I hope it finds someone who, for once, decides not to bend to the tastes of an audience that understands almost nothing because it has been trained to do so by those at the top of the opera houses, in order to fill the theatre. I hope he finds someone with the courage to stage or perform as an oratorio an opera like this, which is absolutely niche for connoisseurs.