John Oliver, music | Genni Gunn, libretto | Pauline Vaillancourt, stage direction | Pascal Dufaux, stage design | Jean Gervais, lighting | Liz Vandal, Joanna Berzowska, costumes | Jean Décarie, visual design/interactivity | Jacques-Lee Pelletier, make-up | Lina Cruz, choreography
Rinde Eckert, tenor | Jacinthe Thibault, soprano | Patrick Mallette, baritone | Éthel Guéret, coloratura soprano | Ghislaine Deschambault, mezzo-soprano | Claudine Ledoux, mezzo-soprano | Jean-François Daignault, countertenor
Bradyworks | Cristian Germán Gort, conductor
Co-production with Laboratoire DEII, in partnership with Hexagram and in collaboration with Bradyworks, Usine C and CIAM.
May 1, 2007, Usine C, Montreal, world premiere
May 2, 3, 4, 5, 2007, Usine C, Montreal
Si Chants Libres m’était conté takes a look back at an opera that was to prove groundbreaking in terms of both its theme and its approach.
In an environment where various musical styles, virtual and real universes, robotics and intelligent fabrics are the norm… what happens to physical human relationships?
Valerie and Richard develop a romantic relationship over the internet and decide to meet at a high-tech bar. The bar is also the soundstage for the filming of Alternate Visions, a reality TV series where couples come together or break up in front of a live audience. Overcome by fear at the last moment, they ask their respective best friends to go in their place…the misunderstandings multiply endlessly, raising questions about fidelity, the perception of reality and the culture of identity.
Human love and the universe created by the use of new communication technologies constitute the true protagonists of the action, and it’s from the confrontation between these two that the drama is created. The characters try to navigate this minefield as they are tossed around by forces they can’t control.
Composed by the Canadian John Oliver based on a libretto by the writer Genni Gunn and directed by Pauline Vaillancourt, the music of the augmented opera Alternate Visions threads together an original score combining so-called scholarly music with styles that are more working-class.
