Opera of the Week: You want croissants? We got Éclairs
NewsTonight, Slippedisc, courtesy of OperaVision brings a new opera from Opéra Comique Paris called Les Éclairs by Philippe Hersant.
Inspired by the life story of engineer Nikola Tesla as fictionalised by novelist Jean Echenoz, the third opera by composer Philippe Hersant is performed by the Opéra Comique. Conducting the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Chœur Aedès, Ariane Matiakh draws out the poetry from this scientific adventure alongside director Clément Hervieu-Léger. It is a co-production with Greek National Opera. Singers include Jean-Christophe Lanièce as Gregor, Marie-Andrée Bouchard-Lesieur as Ethel, François Rougier as Norman and Elsa Benoit as Betty.
The Plot: Gregor is an idealist who wants to develop the uses of electricity in a revolutionary way. While he himself is not interested in profit, he is surrounded by shameless industrialists who steal and exploit his inventions. Adored and ultimately mistreated by his fellow man, the philanthropic genius will only find solace in the company of birds.
The opera is sung in French. Subtitles are available in English and French
Here is a preview of the opera:
And here is the link to the complete opera available tonight Friday 3 December 2021 19.00 CET, 18.00 London and 13.00 NY
The music sounds like Philipp Glass.
according to the plot it should be called “Le Cornichon” then 😉
PS I do appreciate what Monsieur Tesla did for humanity , of course