(c) Opéra National de Paris Mirror of our sorrows: Paris Opera
Paris, Palais Garnier
About the Event
This world premiere, commissioned by the Paris Opera, is directed by Mariame Clément, who provides this rich, choral work with a realistic setting that mirrors our own present day.
What connects Louise, the young waitress at “La Petite Bohème”, Raoul, an unscrupulous deserter, Gabriel, an upright mathematics teacher, and the mysterious Désiré, by turns spokesperson for the Ministry of Information, street singer and priest? The “phoney war” and the debacle of 1940 are experienced in different ways by each of these children of catastrophe. As their epic journey along the roads of the exodus unfolds, the past of Louise’s mother comes to light, revealing unexpected links between the characters.
Composer Hèctor Parra takes Pierre Lemaitre’s best‐selling novel, Mirror of Our Sorrows, and delivers a lyrical score that blends drama and comedy. His composition draws equally on French opera of the 20th and 21st century and on the realist chanson of the 1930s, whose echoes can still be heard in today’s urban music.
Cast / Production
Hèctor Parra
Music (1976)
Jean‐Luc Vincent
Libretto
Ingo Metzmacher
Conductor
Mariame Clément
Director
Étienne Pluss
Set design
Bianca Deigner
Costume design
Fabrice Kebour
Lighting design
Ching‐Lien Wu
Chorus master
Cast
Vannina Santoni
Louise
Léo Vermot‐Desroches
Désiré
Leigh Melrose
Raoul
Laurent Naouri
Monsieur Jules
Jérôme Boutillier
Fernand
Marie‐Andrée Bouchard‐Lesieur
Alice
Bastien Rimondi
Gabriel
Eugénie Joneau
Soeur Cécile
Julie Boulianne
Henriette Thirion
Yann Beuron
Monsieur de Varambon, Howsler
The Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus
A commission by the Paris Opera
Address
Palais Garnier, 8, rue du Scribe, Paris, France — Google Maps
