"A Rigoletto" according to Verdi, when the opera becomes participatory
Audio 03:27
“A Rigoletto” after Verdi, directed by Manuel Renga at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
© Marion Kerno
By: Carmen Lunsman
3 mins
Singing opera without being part of the pro casting is possible for more than 15,000 children in the Paris region.
They are welcomed during twelve out of fifteen school performances at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées for a participatory show intended for young or uninitiated audiences.
On the bill of this third edition of interactive opera: a “Rigoletto” after Verdi.
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The atmosphere is at its peak this afternoon at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.
At the helm, the young French conductor Victor Jacob.
“
It's gone.
Are you going to attend an opera today
?!
– Yeaaaah
!
– Much better, except one
!
What are you going to do today
?
– Sing
!!!!
»
Its mission: to tune some 1,500 children into theaters to put them in tune with opera singers on stage.
“
It's true that the balance is delicate because school performances are often more noisy and agitated.
But what I admire is that these children react instantly, to the dialogue, to the music, that they dare to sing Verdi tunes without restraint.
»
A modernized masterpiece
Guiseppe Verdi, indisputable master of 19th century Italian opera with no less than 25 examples of the genre, is at the top of his game when he composes “Rigoletto”.
Inspired by Victor Hugo's play,
Le Roi s'amuse
, a virulent criticism of the nobility, Verdi's opera tells the cruel story of a jester who loses his daughter in a world where violence and licentiousness reign.
"
This drama, instead of presenting it as such in this nonetheless tragic ending where Gilda dies under the eyes of her father, is a theater group that travels from town to town to play their Rigoletto by translating it into French, by modernizing it in the text and in the story slightly and it is 1h10 instead of the initial 2h30.
»
This theater within the theater, imagined by the Italian director Manuel Renga, is accompanied by puppets, acrobats and wind and storm effect machines.
Everything is done to create magic and soften the darkness of the work.
“
It was funny and a bit sad at the same time.
– The songs were old, but it was nice.
»
Workshops to learn about theater
Before singing these opera arias, young people are introduced to the different stages of creation through singing workshops, including for children with mental disabilities, up to "
costume touch
" sessions for the visually impaired and blind.
To then take part in the live story.
“
It's more like being at a Beyoncé concert or a match, maybe not football – there is still a lot of respect – but tennis for example.
We have the impression of finding ourselves several centuries back when we booed, we applauded for everything and anything.
And this life in the room is something very precious that we would sometimes like to have more often.
»
►
"Un Rigoletto" after Verdi
, in the staging of the Italian Manuel Renga, can be discovered at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées this Saturday February 12 in sign language and Sunday February 13 in audio description.
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