What is the origin of the production? In 1993, the Royaumont Foundation in France invited me to work on this score with the soprano Mishiko Hyrayama, the favoured performer of Giacinto Scelsi. She put her trust in me, offering me... Read More
How did you discover this text, La princesse blanche? By reading this wonderful novel by Rainer-Maria Rilke, The White Princess, which is built around the favourite theme of the author: the small death versus the great death. What made you... Read More
Tell us about Il suffit d’un peu d’air This was the first collaboration between Chants Libres and le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and it wasn’t the simplest. Claude Ballif’s music, which uses a lot of microtonality, made for a lot of... Read More
How did you take part in the Chants Libres adventure? Joseph Saint-Gelais : Pauline Vaillancourt, Renald Tremblay and I were friends and all passionate about creation. Pauline and I shared a deep interest in contemporary music. So it was a natural... Read More
What is the genesis of the production Il suffit d’un peu d’air? We wanted our young organization to open with a piece with real scope : 4 performers and a 15-piece orchestra, versus the solo performance we had just presented. Based... Read More
Tell us about the first Chants Libres production, Ne blâmez jamais les bédouins In the unabridged text by René-Daniel Dubois (Governor General Award, 1984), 29 characters come together in humorous, tender and beautifully crazy contexts. This unique text takes on... Read More
Interview with Alain Thibault, composer of the first Chants Libres production Ne blâmez jamais les bédouins What convinced you to be a part of the opera Ne blâmez jamais les bédouins? Alain Thibault: Having generally worked in electronics, I was interested... Read More
Interview with Renée Daniel Dubois, librettist from the first Chants Libres production Ne blâmez jamais les bédouins. Tell us about the libretto of Ne blâmez jamais les bédouins It’s a very explosive story, with lots of humour and characters with strong... Read More
Tell us about the founding of Chants Libres Myself, Pauline Vaillancourt and Joseph Saint-Gelais wanted to help bring to life current works for opera. Pauline Vaillancourt was the core around which this adventure began. What was it that convinced you... Read More