This rock instrumentation creates a contemporary rendition of the traditional madrigal, interpreting the pieces in a totally new and exciting way. The 17th century Italian Baroque repertoire particularly emphasizes the intrinsic, and maybe unusual qualities of Serge Kakudji’s voice: an exceptional vocal range, ranging from the warmth of a bass voice to the finesse of a mezzo-soprano, with a fullness which allows a very dynamic palette that can retain an introspective intimacy, but also fill the space of a large theatre.
Madrigali is juxtaposing “recitar cantando” and sung passages where the vocal line gradually unfolds into truly lyrical moments with the score creating a musical and dramatic continuity with a form of “narrativity”, alternating with, and responding to, both contemporary and baroque madrigals.
Poems by René Char – who quotes Monteverdi in his collection Lettera amorosa – are a response to those of Italian Renaissance poets, shown in a sombre scenic arrangement consisting of three “sails” made from transparent crumpled paper, as imagined by the visual artist Véronique Thiery-Grenier.
Vocally, Gualtiero Dazzi’s work offers us a dialogue with Claudio Monteverdi, the composer who has been the most successful in the “revolution” of integrating text with music, enabling music freedom to carry meaning and emotions as well as the words.