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BERGEN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2017
FRICTION
Kaija Saariaho music Amin Maalouf text La Chambre aux échos concept and artistic direction Clément Mao – Takacs musical direction Aleksi Barrière stage direction Pauline Squelbut scenographer / stage manager Étienne Exbrayat lighting design Liisa Nieminen costumes Clémentine Marin production administrator
BIT20 Ensemble orchestra Sayuri Araida solo soprano k
Norwegian premiere
CORNER- TEATERET
DATE / TIME Wednesday 31 May at 20:00
DURATION 1:10
LANGUAGE Performed in French . Surtitles in English .
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DIALOGUES
Who was Simone Weil ?
CORNER- TEATERET
DATE / TIME Wednesday 31 May at 19:15 A conversation ( in English ) between director Aleksi Barrière and Christine Amadou , Assoc . Prof . at the University of Oslo , see p . 96 .
TICKET Standard : 290 Under 30 : 150 BT Fordel : 220
Festival Card : 30 % discount
La Passion de Simone
A chamber opera about a philosopher and political activist .
Philosopher and teacher Simone Weil ( 1909 – 1943 ) grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in Paris but nonetheless sympathized with the radical workers ’ movement . She joined the Spanish civil war and was a member of the French resistance during World War II .
The main character in La Passion de Simone is a modern-day figure who reflects upon Simone ’ s ideals . What might we learn from someone who , in an attempt to understand and fight violence and oppression , tried uncompromisingly to put herself in the place of its victims ?
In the course of the opera ’ s monologue , we hear Weil ’ s own voice , at a distance , mediated through an actor . A vocal quartet represents victims of and witnesses to human oppression . The ensemble members portray each tableau as
Vocal ensemble : Sandra Darcel soprano Marianne Seleskovitch mezzo-soprano Johan Viau tenor Romain Dayez bass-baritone
Isabelle Seleskovitch actress
KAIJA SAARIAHO ( 1952 –) La Passion de Simone
an inner landscape . The work does not describe the philosopher ’ s life as a series of chronological events ; instead , it indicates a way of thinking . It is an agnostic prayer for human values and collective memory .
Presented by Bergen International Festival , BIT20 Ensemble and La Chambre aux Échos .
Supported by FINNO , The Norwegian-Finnish Cultural Foundation and The Sibelius Society of Norway .
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