Perelà, Uomo di fumo (The man of smoke) by Pascal Dusapin

Pascal

DUSAPIN PERELÀ Uomo di fumo (The man of smoke) Commissioned by Opéra National de Paris/Bastille First performance: 24.02.2003 Opéra National de Paris/Bastille Scenario: Peter Mussbach Conductor: James Conlon

5, rue du Helder - 75009 Paris Téléphone : +33-(0)1 53 24 80 01 www.durand-salabert-eschig.com

N O T I C E Pascal DUSAPIN Perelà The Work of a Consummate Artist

1. In Romeo & Juliette (1989) it was the libretto, by Olivier Cadiot, that threw the very genre into question; Medeamaterial (1992) pitched the genre against the idea of the myth revisited using techniques borrowed from baroque opera; while To Be Sung (1994) questioned the performance with the American artist James Turrell.

Other works, although not destined for the stage, also display undeniable dramatic traits, such as Niobé (1983) and La Melancholia (1992).

It is now obvious with Pascal Dusapin’s fourth opera Perelà, Homme de fumée, which will be premiered in Paris in February 2003, that here is a composer able to tackle opera head-on, thus adding a promising new work to the stage repertoire. Following the first three passionate stage works written in an original and very personal operatic vein during his formative years, Perelà matches up to the maturity of the musician and the large format required by the genre, taking a more prosaic stance as a work directly inspired by its subject matter.1 Dusapin points out that he began writing it after reading Aldo Palazzeschi’s book Il Codice di Perelà [Perelà’s Code] which had a profound effect on him. This fabulous novel – fabulous in the sense that it is fable that directs its development – provided the composer with unusual literary and philosophical material via the tale told by a character who is initially totally foreign to the world but then suddenly becomes closely bound up with it, adulated and then discarded. Palazzeschi’s Man of Smoke is a Christ-like figure, a true operatic hero, in that all roles tend towards him. He is also a hero at the bottom of an abyss since although his word is taken, it also furnishes a pretext for all other words.

The book was published in 1911, and having taken the important decision to retain the language (the opera is sung in Italian), its grammar and sentence structure, all of which form an integral part of Palazzeschi’s style, Dusapin himself undertook its adaptation.

This adaptation is therefore more of a reduction, “an excision”, to use the composer’s words, than a rewriting. The style is the substance, encompassing the theatrical qualities of the novel, since by far the majority of the chapters are in the form of scenes with dialogue, so that an extravagant number of characters are assembled around the Man of Smoke. Of the sixteen chapters of the original book therefore the composer retained ten, which structure the novel and organise the dramatic content around the Man of Smoke, from the arrival at court, the tea, God and the ball through to Perelà’s trial and finally to the famous Code. 2 These situations, which are almost always of a surrealist nature, blend outrageous anachronisms into an atmosphere of decadent monarchy, assembling numerous singular and eccentric characters.

This naturally leads to a rich use of the voices.

2

. All references are to the French translation used by Pascal Dusapin, published by Éditions Allia, Paris © 1993.

First of all, the chorus takes on a multiple role, supplying the numerous crowd effects – sung, spoken or chanted (the chorus can also be reinforced by extras should the producer so decide) – as -2-

N O T I C E Pascal DUSAPIN Perelà The Work of a Consummate Artist

well as highly differentiated minor roles. In the first chapter, for example, seven singers represent a group of photographers, while in the Tea Scene (in the second chapter), fourteen female singers from the chorus play parts central to the development. So both in stage and voice terms the chorus occupies a fundamental role throughout the opera, destined to represent the effects of movement, proliferation, density and collective fervour or astonishment. Pascal Dusapin’s music makes use of a wide palette of expression, matching the vocal technique within the scope of European operatic choruses.

The solo voices are organised in three levels: the title role, principal roles and secondary roles.

The six secondary roles, first of all, divide into two, with some roles being sung and others spoken or silent.

• three characters with varying functions: the King, a silent role, to be played by an actor; the Parrot, which can be taken by a singer from the chorus or an actor; and the Young Girl, an entirely new invention on the composer’s part, which has nothing to do with the action, to be played by a flautist with acting ability. As is so often the case with Pascal Dusapin, this last role builds a bridge between the musical and the dramatic situations.3 • the three other roles are sung by more classical voices, representing three characters, namely, the roles of the banker Rodella and the philosopher Pilone (two baritones with a flexible range but somewhat anonymous), and the part of the Archbishop, sung by a falsetto voice, as if to emphasise the caricatural side to the role.

Next, the principal roles concern eleven different characters, and the score is so arranged that they can be sung by a minimum of four singers. The producer may, if preferred, assign each part to a different singer, or distribute the roles to a different number of performers, resulting in a certain ambiguity giving rise on occasion to a specific dramaturgical effect (for example, a new meaning can be adduced from the transformation of the Poor Old Lady into the Marchioness di Bellonda). The four singers must therefore include two female voices of opposing character, and two men’s voices also selected for their variety. On the mature side, we have the warm, generous voice of the confident woman (the contralto playing the Marchioness Olivia di Bellonda who, in the first chapter, takes the -3-

N O T I C E Pascal DUSAPIN Perelà The Work of a Consummate Artist

part of the Old Lady), contrasting with an immoderately hysterical, grand operatic coloratura (the Queen and, in chapter 6, Alloro’s Daughter). The two baritone-basses may take on the roles of the two King’s Guards, the Chamberlain, the Minister, the Valet, Alloro and the President of the Tribunal.

Finally the title role should be played by a high tenor who should also have a good lower register. The “asexual” voice, as suggested by the enigmatic character whose voice has no prior constructs, and with a wide tessitura bereft of any specific facets, provides the dramatic key to the work.

The wide-ranging choice of voices in Perelà, Homme de fumée is further matched in the orchestra. In the pit there are three sets of percussion instruments and a piano, all of them instruments that Pascal Dusapin has not, until now, used in his operas. The contrabass clarinet, the double bassoon and numerous mutes for the trumpets and trombones are other unusual features contributing to the particular colour of this sizeable orchestra (ninety players). On stage meanwhile, there is a positive organ associated with the Archbishop and, in the second part of the work, a group of ten musicians in the style of a brass band (including the piccolo, saxophones, cornets, bass drum and side drum).

3

. In Romeo & Juliette, the action is “organised” by an on-stage clarinettist and an actor-narrator; in Medeamaterial Médée’s voice is subdivided from time to time into a vocal quartet; while in To Be Sung, an announcer, played by an actor, represents space and rhythm during the performance.

Pascal Dusapin further says that it was not so much his desire to work on the form as the humanist dimension of Palazzeschi’s novel that inspired him to compose Perelà. This dimension alone would not suffice to produce such a work, however, evolving over a period of over two hours, if the composer had not already acquired a genuine understanding of the musical and vocal means, the casting and the architecture of the work. By responding quite precisely to the usual means employed in opera, and by wiping out all traces of the form, this fourth work in the genre by Pascal Dusapin makes room for inspiration, creating music that is both free and definitively operatic.

Antoine Gindt translated by Mary Criswick

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to the memory of Rolf Liebermann

Pascal

DUSAPIN Perelà

Uomo di Fumo Opera

Commissioned by Opéra National de Paris/Bastille

(after the novel “Il Codice di Perelà”, by Aldo Palazzeschi, adapted by Pascal Dusapin)

Principal roles (5 singers, 12 characters)*

1 / Perelà . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ténor (high)

2 / A poor old Lady / La Marchesa Olivia di Bellonda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Contralto

3 / 1st guard of the King / The Chamberlain / The Minister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bass

4 / 2nd guard of the King / The Valet / Alloro / The President of the Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bass

5 / The Queen / The daughter of Alloro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . coloratura Soprano

Minor roles The Banker Rodella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bass Barytone

The Philosopher Pilone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bass Barytone

The Archbishop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Falsettist

The Young Girl playing the flute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Role for an actress musician A variation could be envisaged if the person chosen is not a flautist. In this latter case, give the musical line to the Piccolo in the Orchestra. Whichever solution is adopted, this young girl must appear to be playing the flute.

The instrument required is thus a Piccolo (which sounds an octave higher than a flute). However, a folk instrument with a similar tessitura could also be used. A recorder would also be a good solution.

The Parrot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walkon or actor He must however be slightly musical in that he shouts Dio Dio in time to the music. The best solution would probably be to find a singer from the chorus who is particularly good at imitating the sound of a parrot…

The King (silent role) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walkon or actor

* I have distributed the roles for Basses 3 and 4 in this way. The conductor and director may choose to ignore this distribution. If they do, 1 or 2 more singers will be required.

Roles played by the singers in the vocal ensemble (At least 40 singers. This ensemble is marked Chorus in the score)

The 14 female soloists in the Tea scene (Chapter 2.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sopranos and 7 Altos The 2 groups of women (Sopr.&Alt.) may be split up into soloists or ensembles, as desired, (for example, the end of the Tea scene).

The 3 stupid men for the Court scene (Chapter 8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Bass Barytones The photographers from the Black Uterus scene (Chapter 1) (These are also non-singing roles and could be allotted to walkons or actors. According to the text there are 7, but there could of course be more or fewer).

Au long de la partition, quelques solistes hommes ou femmes sont extraits du groupe vocal pour de courts rôles.

(E.g., A woman or A second woman in the Tea chapter and again singers such as A man from the Chorus ot The King’s aide in the chapter The end of Alloro).

The vocal ensemble is often treated like a mass of walkons/actors who must utter shouts, interjections, and comments of all sorts.

The director should be careful to rehearse these passages himself.

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Index and approximate durations of the ten chapters of the manuscript of “Perelà, uomo di fumo” Chapter 1 / Utéro Nero (The Black Uterus)

(36’20”)

Chapter 2 / Il Thé (The Tea)

(10’40”)

Chapter 3 / Dio (God)

(10’20”)

Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6

(The tape at the end of the chapter God could last about 2 minutes. This would take the total duration to about 12’20”)

Chapter 4 / Il Ballo (The Ball)

(11’00’’)

Chapter 5 / Bellonda & Perelà

(07’ 40”)

Chapter 6 / La fine d’Alloro (The end of Alloro)

(10’00’’)

Chapter 7 / Perché? (Why?)

(13’00’’)

Chapter 8 / Il processo di Perelà (The trial of Perelà)

(15’ 25”)

Chapter 9 / Il Codice di Perelà (Perelà’s law)

(08’30”)

Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4

Scene 1 Scene 2

Scene 1 Scene 2

Chapter 10 / La sua leggerezza Perelà (His lightness Perelà) End Approximate duration:

2 h 03’

This duration will be longer if you add the time required for the tape (circa 2’) at the end of Chapter 3 (God) and the short theatrical scenes at the beginning of Chapters 7 & 8 (Why? and The trial of Perelà).

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Libretto* adapted by Pascal Dusapin from the book: “Il Codice di Perelà” (1911 version) by Aldo Palazzeschi (from the edition published by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milano copyright 1974 / copyright 1991 SE SRL.)

This libretto is presented using the French translation of the work

by Monique Baccelli, published by Éditions Allia (Dépôt légal 1993) 16, rue Charlemagne, Paris 75004 French and Italian texts have been translated in English by Peter Hicks It is also published under the title “The man of smoke” (translated by Nicolas J. Perella and Ruggero Stefanini) published by ITALICA PRESS. INC. 595 Main Street New York, 10044

* The opera is sung in Italian. Despite the fact that there was naturally an adaptation of the original book, not one single phrase, not one word written by Aldo Palazzeschi appearing in the libretto fo this opera has been changed…)

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