Il Etait Une Fois

Description

To the mythological marvel of the Baroque lyric stage, Romanticism substitutes the fairy-tale marvel. The fairy tale is omnipresent on the French stage, whether in spoken theatre, ballet, or opera. It is no coincidence that Cinderella or Bluebeard so captivated 19th-century musicians.
Initiated by the Palazzetto Bru Zane, this project is built like a universal “tale” inspired by Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Bluebeard, and Tom Thumb, set to music by French composers of the Romantic era. It thus brings together famous musicians (Offenbach, Massenet, Chausson, Rossini - in French - and little-known or completely unknown composers (Viardot, Silver, Serpette, De Rillé, Isouard).
Imagined by Alexandre Dratwicki and transcribed by him for a piano quartet and two singers - a soprano and a mezzo - this imaginary opera is magnificently brought to life by Jodie Devos and Caroline Meng who, at one point in the story, disguises herself and embodies both a queen and a prince. For her part, the soprano, ultimately a sprightly princess in Massenet and Offenbach, will first experience the torments of romantic uncertainty.