Available in book stores, many shops and at la Caserne for $14.95 plus tax
]]>Robert Lepage describes his use of innovative projections and other technology to tell the timeless Faust story in Berlioz’s magnificent operatic version.
At the New York Metropolitan Opera starting November 7 until December 4, 2008.
]]>Created at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto and presented on many stages around the world, this project will be presented in Quebec City at the Grand Théâtre from October 18 until October 25, 2008.
Bluebeard’s Castle The scene reveals two singers, one narrator and three non-speaking parts. This tale is about the confrontation between Bluebeard and his fourth wife Judith, but the topic leads our imagination to various interpretations.
Erwartung 4 different scenes set in 4 different spaces that are link to the journey of one character. A woman who wonders in the forest at night in search of the man she loves. This 30- minute play has the power of the greatest operas.
]]>On November 22, 2008, opera lovers will have the chance to see and hear Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust, directed by Robert Lepage, in selected cinemas across Québec.
Ex Machina’s version of La Damnation de Faust was presented in Japan in 1999 and in Paris in 2001, 2004 and 2006. For the 2008 revival at the MET, Robert Lepage and his team have taken this opportunity to revamp the projections by integrating interactive images generated by the artists’ movements and the signers’ voice.
There will be a second chance to see this presentation on Saturday, January 17, 2009.
Tickets are available on line at www.cineplex.com or directly at participating cinemas.
]]>“We have invented a mill that transforms, brings to life, puts on stage, and pays tribute to the people who built Quebec City. The images used are almost entirely archival, transporting us in time as far back as 400 years ago to the days when Samuel de Champlain first began tracing the city’s history.” Robert Lepage
Preface by Robert Lepage.
Available in many bookstores, at la Caserne (109 Dalhousie Québec), gift shops in the Old Port of Quebec as well as at the 400th Anniversary Boutiques.
Published at Robert Lepage Inc. and Ex Machina. 90 pages, 75 photographs, 24,95$
For more info: 418-692-5323
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International Message by Robert Lepage:
There are a number of hypotheses on the origins of theatre but the one I find the most thought-provoking takes the form of a fable:
One night, at the dawn of time, a group of men were gathered together in a quarry to warm themselves around a fire and tell stories. All of a sudden, one of them had the idea to stand up and use his shadow to illustrate his tale. Using the light from the flames he made characters appear, larger than life, on the walls of the quarry. Amazed, the others recognized in turn the strong and the weak, the oppressor and the oppressed, the god and the mortal.
Nowadays, the light of projectors has replaced the original bonfire, and stage machinery, the walls of the quarry. And with all due deference to certain purists, this fable reminds us that technology is at the very beginnings of theatre and that it should not be perceived as a threat but as a uniting element.
The survival of the art of theatre depends on its capacity to reinvent itself by embracing new tools and new languages. For how could the theatre continue to bear witness to the great issues of its epoch and promote understanding between peoples without having, itself, a spirit of openness? How could it pride itself on offering solutions to the problems of intolerance, exclusion and racism if, in its own practice, it resisted any fusion and integration?
In order to represent the world in all its complexity, the artist must bring forth new forms and ideas, and trust in the intelligence of the spectator, who is capable of distinguishing the silhouette of humanity within this perpetual play of light and shadow.
It is true that by playing too much with fire, we take a risk, but we also take a chance: we might get burned, but we might also amaze and enlighten.
Robert Lepage
Quebec, 17th February 2008
(Translated from the original French)
Spanish
Russian
Arabic
Chinese
German
DVD Opus Arte OA 0991D (distr. Naxos)