Louis Dufort, music | Alexis Nouss, libretto | Pauline Vaillancourt, concept and stage direction |Alain Pelletier, visual artist | Pascal Dufaux, scenography/installation | François Roupinian, lighting | Jacques-Lee Pelletier, make-up | Liz Vandal, costumes
Jean Maheux, actor | Fides Krucker, mezzo-soprano | Émilie Laforest, soprano | Frédéricka Petit-Homme, mezzo-soprano
World premiere
April 28, 29, 30, May 5, 6, 7, 2005, Station C, Montreal,
May 12, 13, 14, 2005, Festival Elektra, Montréal
Reprise
April 9, 10, 11, 12, 2008, Espace Dell’Arte, Montreal
(Paul Savoie, actor)
With L’archange, Chants Libres took up the ambitious challenge of putting evil on trial.
Radio-Canada – 11 mai, 2005 – Cultur’A
The Oper’installation L’Archange explores the trial of the Archangel of Evil. Placed inside three fabulous video installations, three new victims testify about their misfortunes before a judge who becomes progressively more agitated. Walking through the space, sometimes even bumping into audience members, the judge finally suspends the trial, which has no beginning and no end.
To judge evil in order to condemn it. To judge it according to ethical norms in order to not behave in such a way. A trial.
Evil — by which we mean absolute evil (the evil of genocides, nuclear bombs, terrorism) — eludes reason, history or even description. In fact, it can only be embodied by an archangel. Moreover, rhetorical speech — articulated, argumentative, analytical — cannot be used because evil eludes any sense. In fact, that is what defines it. However, by using the excessive aesthetic of opera, enough space is created to at least approach the subject, if not to give it a thorough examination.
