Schedule of events - Opéra de Lille

Soprano Agathe Peyrat and accordionist Pierre Cussac delight in journeying across musical horizons, from the grand stages of opera houses to the vibrant worlds of jazz festivals. At the hour of siesta, they summon the night—along with its stars, its dreams, and its mysteries.

From the divine tenderness of Henry Purcell to the melancholy introspection of Paolo Conte, the night casts its light on the most contrasting inner landscapes. It becomes a lover’s reverie in Claude Debussy’s Beau soir, a danse macabre in Camille Saint-Saëns, or a disenchanted wandering in the words of Boris Vian. It stirs the sensual memories of a pearl fisherman in Georges Bizet, reveals the gentle lyricism of Maurice Yvain, and awakens the radiant fantasy of Charles Trenet.

Thus unfolds a concert shaped like a constellation of eras and styles. Take your seat beneath the sky of the Grand Foyer, and let yourself be enveloped by fifty shades of night…

Opera arias by
Henry Purcell, Jean-Philippe Rameau,
Léo Delibes, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Puccini

Songs by
Frederic Weatherly, Maurice Yvain,
Charles Trenet, Boris Vian, Paolo Conte, etc.

Agathe Peyrat – voice & ukulele
Pierre Cussac – accordion & voice

DURATION: 45mn

From the Carpathians to the Danube, the music of Béla Bartók, George Enescu, and Paul Constantinescu draws on the folklore of Central and Eastern Europe. At the beginning of the 20th century, the three composers shared the same fascination for folk melodies—Romanian in particular—which were in danger of disappearing in a rapidly changing world.

A tireless collector of peasant songs, Bartók transformed the very essence of traditional music into works of new vitality. Enescu sought the same connection with folklore, following a personal path influenced by French tradition and imbued with elegant, nostalgic poetry. Constantinescu, for his part, integrated the boldness of modern language into the musical roots of his country.

Under the fingers of Dana Ciocarlie, a native of Bucharest trained in the Romanian piano school, the “local color” of this repertoire becomes living matter, transfigured by perfect technique and an infallible sense of rhythm.

Béla Bartók
Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm, excerpts from Mikrokosmos

George Enescu
Piano Suite No. 2, Op. 10: Pavane

Paul Constantinescu
Three Pieces for piano solo inspired by Romanian Folk music

Béla Bartók
Romanian Christmas Carols

George Enescu
Carillon nocturne, Op. 27 No 2

Béla Bartók
Two Romanian Dances

With
Dana Ciocarlie, piano

DURATION: 45 min.

This concert serves as a prelude to three of the operas featured in our opera season program. In a four-handed recital, Dennis Russell Davies, who will conduct The Makropulos Case in February, will be joined by Maki Namekawa, the favorite pianist of Philip Glass, composer of Les Enfants Terribles.

It all begins with Mozart and some of the most beautiful passages from The Magic Flute, arranged by Alexander von Zemlinsky. The Czech capital is the setting for Leoš Janáček's The Makropulos Case, but it is one of his compatriots that we follow in Bohemia: Bedřich Smetana. His masterpiece, My Country, is a true homage to his homeland and an emblem of Czech national music. The American Philip Glass concludes this overview with his Three Pieces for Four Hands. 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Magic Flute, arr. for piano four hands by Alexander von Zemlinsky (excerpts): Overture – Papageno's Aria – Pamina's Aria – Queen of the Night's Aria – Finale of Act II

Bedřich Smetana
My Fatherland, arr. for piano four hands by Dennis Russell Davies (excerpts): The Moldau – From Bohemia's Woods and Fields

Philip Glass
Three Pieces for Four Hands, arr. for piano four hands by Dennis Russell Davies and Maki Namekawa: Interlude from the opera Orpheus – Stokes – Interlude from the opera The Voyage

With
Dennis Russell Davies and Maki Namekawa, piano

DURATION: 1h

In Leoš Janáček's The Makropulos Case, the singer Emilia Marty is 337 years old when the story begins in 1920s Prague. Born Elina Makropulos in Crete at the end of the 16th century, she was the guinea pig for a longevity elixir developed by her father for Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor. Since then, she has traveled throughout Europe and lived through many different identities. What better partner than the Les Siècles orchestra to guide us in the footsteps of this enigmatic diva?

Part 1 - A Czech Life: Janáček and His Contemporaries

Antonín Dvořák
Piano Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 23

Leoš Janáček
Pohádka (Fairy Tale), for cello and piano

Vítězslava Kaprálová
Elegy for violin and piano

Leoš Janáček
Pieces for piano and voice

With
Soloists from Les Siècles
Marianne Croux, soprano
Thibaut Maudry, violin
Hélène Desaint, viola
Alexis Derouin, cello
Alexis Gournel, piano
Josèphe Cottet, baroque violin
Samuel Hengebaert, baroque viola
Julie Dessaint, viola da gamba
Eloy Orzaiz, positive organ

DURATION: 1 hour 15 minutes

The evening consists of three consecutive concerts (9:00 p.m., 10:45 p.m., 12:30 a.m.). You can reserve your seats for the entire evening or for one or two concerts only.

In Leoš Janáček's The Makropulos Case, the singer Emilia Marty is 337 years old when the story begins in 1920s Prague. Born Elina Makropulos in Crete at the end of the 16th century, she was the guinea pig for a longevity elixir developed by her father for Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor. Since then, she has traveled throughout Europe and lived through many different identities. What better partner than the Les Siècles orchestra to guide us in the footsteps of this enigmatic diva?

Part 2 - The Darkness of Immortality: The Sorrowful Mysteries

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber
Rosary Sonatas

Gottfried Finger
Sonata in D major and Sonata in G major for viola da gamba and continuo

Jan Dismas Zelenka
Motet for voices and continuo

With
Soloists from Les Siècles
Marianne Croux, soprano
Thibaut Maudry, violin
Hélène Desaint, viola
Alexis Derouin, cello
Alexis Gournel, piano
Josèphe Cottet, baroque violin
Samuel Hengebaert, baroque viola
Julie Dessaint, viola da gamba
Eloy Orzaiz, positive organ

DURATION: 1 hour 15 minutes

The evening consists of three consecutive concerts (9:00 p.m., 10:45 p.m., 12:30 a.m.). You can reserve your seats for the entire evening or for one or two concerts only.

In Leoš Janáček's The Makropulos Case, the singer Emilia Marty is 337 years old when the story begins in 1920s Prague. What better partner than the Les Siècles orchestra to guide us in the footsteps of this enigmatic diva?

Part 3 - In the footsteps of Elina Makropoulos: a European adventure

Elisabeth Maconchy
Sonata for viola and piano: Allegro

Leoš Janáček
Pieces for piano and cello

Georges Aperghis
Recitations for solo voice

Bohuslav Martinů
Three madrigals for violin and viola

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber
Balletto for several instruments

Nikos Skalkottas
Duo for violin and viola

Antonio Soler
Fandango in D minor

Enrique Granados
Quejas ó la maja y el ruiseñor, excerpt from the piano suite Goyescas

With
Soloists from Les Siècles
Marianne Croux, soprano
Thibaut Maudry, violin
Hélène Desaint, viola
Alexis Derouin, cello
Alexis Gournel, piano
Josèphe Cottet, baroque violin
Samuel Hengebaert, baroque viola
Julie Dessaint, viola da gamba
Eloy Orzaiz, positive organ

DURATION: 1 hour 15 minutes

The evening consists of three consecutive concerts (9:00 p.m., 10:45 p.m., 12:30 a.m.). You can reserve your seats for the entire evening or for one or two concerts only.

Absinthe, rose, lilac: in its 2018 album Balsam, Zefiro Torna celebrates the mysterious power of plants. Every era and every culture has imagined healing balms, enchanting potions, and elixirs that provoke love or promise eternity. It is this universal story between science and magic that the six musicians of the Belgian ensemble, admirable for their alchemy and versatility, tell us.

From the mystical work of Hildegarde von Bingen to the original compositions of Jowan Merckx and Philippe Laloy, via traditional tunes from Greece, Norway, and Iceland, the music celebrates a nature that is as fascinating as it is unfathomable. A spellbinding concert, like the scent of jasmine.

Vocal and instrumental works by Hildegarde von Bingen, Guillaume du Fay, Jowan Merckx, Philippe Laloy, Els Van Laethem, Bert Van Laethem, traditional tunes from Portugal, Greece, Norway, and Iceland

With
Ensemble Zefiro Torna
Elly Aerden, vocals, chatkan
Philippe Laloy, transverse flutes, soprano saxophone
Jowan Merckx, recorders, French bagpipes, flugelhorn, percussion, ukulele, vocals
Raphaël De Cock, uilleann pipes, chatkan, kaval, Hardanger fiddle, harmonic flutes, Jew's harp, duduk, vocals
Jean-Philippe Poncin, bass clarinet
Jurgen De Bruyn, lute, baroque guitar, chitarrone, vocals, artistic direction

DURATION: 1 hour

Pianists Oleh Kopeliuk and Ihor Sediuk are from Kharkiv. Ukraine's second city—twinned with Lille for many years—is a major cultural center, having been a cradle of literary romanticism in the 19th century. Since Russia's invasion of their country, the two musicians have been giving numerous concerts showcasing Ukrainian music.

The duo reveals some of the most important composers of the 19th and 20th centuries in Ukraine. If they are unfamiliar to us, it is because the upheavals of history have often rendered them invisible outside their regional borders. The program also features composers from Kharkiv or representing the current generation.

Claude Debussy
Petite suite

Mykola Lyssenko
Barcarolle, Op. 15

Sergei Bortkiewicz
Ballade, Op. 42

Theodore Akimenko
Two Pieces for Piano, Op. 72

Volodymyr Ptushkin
Ostinato

Ivan Karabits
Prelude and Toccata

Olena Shevchenko-Mikhalovska
Three Pieces in the Theatrical Style

Myroslav Skoryk
Melody

Ruslan Kashyrtsev
Spring Rain Ragtime

Volodymyr Ptushkin
The Merry Wives of Windsor

With
Oleh Kopeliuk and Ihor Sediuk, piano

DURATION: 45 min.