An Opera in Real-Time
Premiere. Performance in English and Spanish, French subtitles.
“We’re also very much aware that it’s you who brought democracy to Chile” said Lady Thatcher when she invited the senator Augusto Pinochet to tea in London in 1999, sparing not the slightest compliment for the man who would soon have to stand trial for his crimes. Following the example of Nixon in China by John Adams, the opera Aliados inspired by political history, in this case by the Falklands War in 1982 and the improbable alliance of the Iron Lady, champion of liberalism, with the Chilian general during the Cold War.
Augusto Pinochet et Margaret Thatcher en 1990. © Jones, L.R.C., SipaThe failing memories of the two aged leaders retired from roles of power, revealing archives, and collective history are at the heart of this project by Sebastian Rivas and Esteban Buch, two Argentineans looking back at a decisive event for their generation and their identity. On the theater stage, designed by Antoine Gindt to look like the set of a television program, reality strikes through visual manipulation and stylized singing. An opera in real-time in every sense of the word; historical time and computer time.
Distribution
Music Sebastian Rivas, commissioned by the French governement | Libretto Esteban Buch | Director Antoine Gindt | Live Production Philippe Béziat | Conductor Léo Warynski
Artistic Collaboration and Assistant Director Élodie Brémaud | Stage Design Élise Capdenat | Lighting Daniel Lévy | Costumes Fanny Brouste | IRCAM Computer Music Design Robin Meier
Nora Petrocenko Lady Margaret Thatcher
Lionel Peintre Général Augusto Pinochet
Mélanie Boisvert The nurse
Thill Mantero The aide-de-camp
Richard Dubelski The conscript
Ensemble Multilatérale | Antoine Maisonhaute violin | Kobe Van Cauwenberghe electric guitar | Benoît Savin bass clarinet | Mathieu Adam trombone
Lise Baudouin piano | Hélène Colombotti percussion
A T&M-Paris, IRCAM-Centre Pompidou, Réseau Varèse coproduction. With the support of the SACD/Fonds de création lyrique, the Théâtre de Gennevilliers/CDNCC and the Théâtre de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines/Scène Nationale.