‘No animal was harmed in the making of this opera’

‘No animal was harmed in the making of this opera’

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norman lebrecht

October 22, 2015

The Opéra de Paris has move fast to placate animal rights activists who might have been stirred by the sight of a live bull on the stage of Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron last night.

The Opéra has issued the following notice:

Le taureau, Easy Rider, a été choisi au mois de mai pour être présent dans cette nouvelle production. Depuis le mois de juin, il vit en Sologne où il est quotidiennement préparé à être au contact proche de l’homme. Il est habitué en douceur aux éclairages et à la musique. Hébergé à l’Ecole vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort, pendant son séjour parisien, il n’est présent à l’Opéra national de Paris qu’une heure avant le début de chaque représentation et apparaît deux fois 15 minutes sur scène. A la fin des représentations il retournera dans sa maison en Sologne.

The bull, Easy Rider, was cast in May for the role in this new production. Since June, he has been living in close proximity to humans and has been slowly habituated to lights and music. During his working visit to Paris he is being hosted at l’Ecole vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort. He attends the Opéra no earlier than one hour before his performance and spends 15 minutes on stage. When the production ends, he will return home to Sologne.

 

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Bring back the golden calf…

Comments

  • John Borstlap says:

    The bull should be aware of the dangers of Regietheater…. he may unexpectedly end-up in quite violent situations. Also the disorienting effect of the dodecaphonic tone system on life stock should not be underestimated; Schoenberg’s cats suffered from paranoia and gall bladder problems during the periods in which Moses und Aaron was composed.

  • Gonout Backson says:

    In somma delle somme: BS.

  • Max Grimm says:

    And here we were, arguing that French opera houses did not hire local talent anymore…
    Sarcasm aside, this reminds me of a scene with Birgit Nilsson, during the recording of Götterdämerung with the Wiener Philharmoniker & Solti.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxyXRuZEu7E

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