5 July 2018, 7.30 P.M. / Palace of Arts (Budapest, Hungary)
Ben Johnston - Gavin Bryars - Michael Ondaatje:
CALAMITY / BILLY – A two –part paradise lost
By Théâtre de la Croix-Rousse (Lyon, France), Théâtre de la Renaissance (Oullins, France), Muziektheater Transparant (Antwerpen, Belgium)
Director:Jean Lacornerie
Musical director:Gérard Lecointe
With: Les Percussions Claviers de Lyon
There is a touching story behind the fate of gunslingers and outlaws Calamity Jane and Billy, the Kid, deeply characteristic of the human condition. Thisone of a kindFrench musicaltheatre coproductiontakes us back to the American Old West, whose heroes may be long gone, but their legacy lives on to intrigue our imagination.
Still, CALAMITY/BILLY’s soundscape could not be further removed from the musical aesthetics of Western movies.Itsmeditative universe unfolds slowly and gradually from the delicate gestures, passionate scenes and story fragments presented in the shimmering lamplight, as the audience is overcome with nostalgia for a bygone world of freedom.
Jane’s role in Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems is performed by young Belgian soprano Sarah Defrise, the finalist of Armel Opera Competition 2017.
Having been presented this spring-summer in multiple French cities, Geneva (Switzerland), Bruges (Belgium) and Rotterdam, this single Budapest performance is presented by Armel Opera Festival at Mupa.
