Moving opera
by Thierry Pécou (music), Jean-Christophe Blondel (libretto) based on a screenplay by Andrei Tarkovsky, Olga Kisseleva (visual arts)
Creation 2024
The opera's libretto borrows for the most part from the central part of Andrei Tarkovsky's screenplay, reduced and punctuated by ironically humorous philosophical inserts from the Strougatski brothers' book.
In an uchronistic present, Earth has been briefly visited by an extraterrestrial civilization. Deserted and sealed off by the military, the contact zone remains the site of deadly paranormal phenomena. It is said that a "Chamber" exists at the center of the zone, and that anyone who enters it will have their most heartfelt wish granted.
An eminent scientist and a best-selling author pay a "stalker", a sort of mystical guide and great surveyor of the Zone, to guide them to the Chamber.
Stalker is a new kind of opera, tending to free itself from the traditional form of lyric theater in favor of a more fragmented form, a search for the occupation of space and time that places the spectator in a non-strictly frontal position, wandering about, and in an immersive sound flux.
While Stalker is set in contrasting habitats alternately evoking the industrial world and nature, scenes will take place in intimate proximity, or on the contrary at a great distance, sometimes barely visible but always precisely audible thanks to a system of headphones with which each spectator will be equipped.
Some pictures
Reviews
Cast
Stage Direction
Jean-Christophe Blondel
Musical Direction
Thierry Pécou
Visual Arts
Olga Kisseleva
Stage Design*
Olga Kisseleva, Lola Sergent and Elie Barthes
Sound
Sébastien Bironneau and Christophe Sechet
Vocal Coach
Kaoli Ono
Choreography
Céline Pradeu
Costumes
Alice Touvet
Anne Warthmann Stalker
Vincent Vantyghem The professor
Sébastien Brohier The Writer
Ensemble Variances
Carjez Gerretsen clarinets
Nicolas Prost saxophones
Romuald Grimbert-Barré violin
Kaoli Ono keyboard
* Scientific Collaboration : Institut International Art&Science and Institut Pasteur, Laboratoire Mycologie translationnelle under the direction of Pr Alexandre Alanio
Artistic Collaboration : La Voie Lactée research project by Tatiana Drozd, Olga Kisseleva and Taisiya Polishchuk
Informations
Coproduced by Ensemble Variances and Divine Comédie.
With the support of Drac Normandie, Région Normandie, Département de la Seine-Maritime.
With the support of Fonds de création lyrique, Centre national de la musique, Maison de la musique contemporaine, L'Étincelle, Théâtre(s) de la Ville de Rouen, Spedidam and Adami.
As part of Normandie Impressionniste festival (for performances in Normandy in 2024) and Curieux Printemps.
