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Powder her face, the first opera by the gifted Thomas Adès, born in 1971, is a sensation on the stage of the Athénée in the production of the Nouvel Opéra Fribourg and the direction of Julien Chavaz.
The stage work in two acts and eight scenes (and a ghostly Epilogue) was written at the age of 24, in 1995, by the British composer Thomas Adès (also a pianist and conductor), who conducted it at its premiere. Based on a libretto by Philip Henscher, the work recounts the eventful and free-spirited life of Margaret née Whigham (1912-1993), alias Duchess of Argyll, who was the talk of the town in the 1960s. A sort of female Don Juan who kept track of her conquests (88 lovers and counting...), the nymphomaniac had the habit of photographing the sex of her lovers; images that would contribute to her downfall (second act) when they arrived in the hands of her husband, the Duke.
After an initial scene in her hotel room, the heroine recalls her sumptuous past using the cinematographic process of the flashback, unfolding an intrigue that spans fifty-six years of her existence, from 1934 to 1990.
Although there are only four singers on stage, the roles they take on are multiple: Alison Scherzer's light soprano serves as the maid, the Duchess's confidante, the Duke's mistress, etc.; likewise for the two male roles, tenor Timur and bass-baritone Graeme Danby, who embody a number of characters with multiple functions and social positions. Only the Duchess-SophieMarilley-keeps her identity, present throughout the story with the exception of scene 3, "Fancy aria", where her confidante enviously describes the luxurious lifestyle of high society.
The approach, in the text as in the music, is humorous and provocative, using parody, derision and even exaggeration to the benefit of an acerbic critique of society, carried out in a light-hearted tone and against a backdrop of scandal: not only does the duchess multiply her lovers, but she also practises masturbation and fellatio in a virtuoso manner (it should be noted that the opera is not recommended for those under sixteen!), a form of sexual act that shocks the duchess's well-meaning entourage.
A challenge for director Julien Chavaz, who does not give up showing the heroine's sexual performances on stage, resorting to subterfuges that are slightly comic - smoke coming out of the servant's fly - while the mezzo, encouraged by Adès' music, suggests the rest. Skilled in all situations, Chavaz takes advantage of the confined space of the Athénée's stage, relying on a very careful direction of the actors and on the economy of the set: a round bed that can swivel on itself and panels surrounding the space that hang the lights, those of Eloi Gianini.
We are totally overwhelmed by the music of Thomas Adès, in a first act of high tension. The virtuoso musical flow does not dry up as the dramatic situations unfold: "The orchestra is a character that laughs, suffocates or cries... it participates, shows, observes human beings with irony", the composer emphasises: acidulated woodwinds, dissonant string rubbing, perverted tonality, noisy passages, etc. The fifteen instrumentalists in the pit - the lively Orchestre de chambre fribourgeois under the firm direction of Jérôme Kuhn - take on the role of jazz big-band, music hall orchestra or tango phalanx (there is an accordion). For Adès' writing is poly-stylistic, mixing languages, styles and genres, using quotations - Carlos Gardel's tango Cuesta Abajo which closes the epilogue -, abusing references, although always discreet, handling pastiche and activating polysemy. The instrumentalists, like the singers, sometimes take on several 'roles': one of the clarinettists has to play the saxophone (there are three in the pit), the harpist is responsible for the electric bell, the accordionist for a fishing rod reel. Tasty interludes take us from one scene and era to another, as in a movie.
The score is no less profuse in terms of voices, displaying a wide variety of vocal styles, from the spoken word to the Sprechgesang, from the song - those written for Margaret - to the vocalized aria, through all sorts of eccentricities - the laughter, the falsetto voice of the baritone, etc. - when the subject turns grotesque. - when the subject matter turns grotesque and derisive. If Graeme Danby's voice sometimes 'wavers', his bravura aria at the beginning of the second act - that of the court judge - does not lack relief and spice. Alison Scherzer is a Straussian soprano, agile and brilliant, at ease in all situations. The tenor Timur confirms his vocal and stage qualities throughout the opera. As for Sophie Marilley, superb dramatic soprano and queen of the evening, she embodies as a great tragedienne this woman seemingly devoid of soul, between Lulu and Elina Macropoulos. She crosses the ages with equal elegance (and the same three-stringed pearl necklace) without ever admitting defeat. She has this terrible phrase that makes you shudder, at the threshold of her existence: "The only people who were good for me were paid for it".
To be seen at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris, until 18 June, at 7pm.
Michèle Tosi
