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GILLES
TREMBLAY
Lucie Renaud
Some say the fairytale opera L’eau qui
danse, la pomme qui chante et l’oiseau
qui dit la vérité will be the height of
Gilles Tremblay’s creative output.
Pauline Vaillancourt, an orchestra conductor
and artistic director of Chants libres, is
well acquainted with the composer’s work; she
has been involved in productions of Oralléluiants,
DZEÏ Voies de feu, and Vêpres de la Vierge. She
remembers Vêpres as one of the most significant
experiences in her career. From as early as 1995,
she was determined to convince Tremblay to
write an opera. In 2002, the opera was commissioned.
Thus began the lengthy journey leading
up to the premiere of this two hour-long lyric
work on November 19.
Permeated by a strong poetic strain, L’eau qui
danse, la pomme qui chante et l’oiseau qui dit la
vérité is the product of a collaboration between
Tremblay and poet/novelist Pierre Morency (signing
his debut libretto), two men united by a
shared affinity with nature.“They speak the same
language,” explained Pauline Vaillancourt. Pierre
Morency, for his part, described the collaboration
as a “very special meeting, a coming together
that made the birth of this work possible.” The
partners’ first step was to research the folklore
archives of Laval University to trace the original
tale that had inspired Madame D’Aulnoy and
seduced Tremblay. Before proposing a first draft
that would impart their common vision, Morency
dedicated himself to an in-depth study of several
operas, giving particular attention to the libretti.
Innumerable discussions ensued: on the characteristics
of the plot’s heroes, and even on every
line of the lyrics. This all enabled the writer to
refine his rereading of the original tale. “Every
word was re-examined, discussed, and made to
conform with the music it would support,”
explained Morency. “A libretto not only tells a
story, but provides a base from which the composer
can launch into his music.”
The work eventually took concrete form in July
2008 with a sight-reading accompanied by piano.
During the following year, the final choices for the
cast were made and the copyist undertook the
arduous task of producing separate scores for the 12
singers (including actor-singer Jean Maheu) and 26
instrumentalists (eight violins, one cello, three double
basses, woodwinds, three percussion instruments,
and piano). On September 3, 2009, the whole
FROM DREAM to REALITY
PAULINE VAILLANCOURT (DIRECTRICE DE CHANTS LIBRES), ROBERT
BELLEFEUILLE (METTEURE EN SCÈNE), PIERRE MORENCY (LIVRET) ET JEAN
BARD (SCÉNOGRAPHIE)
team met for an introductory overview and runthrough.
Pierre Morency describes the experience as
three hours of wonderment: “After hearing the
work, I was suffused with it for days. I would wish
this kind of revelation for everyone.” He also recalls
how Tremblay was astounded by the professionalism
of the performers; everyone was already
steeped in his or her role.“Everyone is adding a little
pebble, but the result will be a magnificent edifice,”
confidently affirmed Vaillancourt, who last recorded
Tremblay’s monodrama À quelle heure commence le
temps? with the Nouvel Ensemble Musical in 2005.
“From their very first contact with the opera, the
singers and musicians adored the work. Each character
has its own colour, rhythm, and tone; it’s simply
a question of transmitting them.”
Hundreds of hours of rehearsal were scheduled
in the prelude to the first public performance.
The greatest musical challenge remaining
is to succeed in conveying the coherence of the
work and extracting different layers from it,
whether these are the unaccompanied solos with
their rhythmic prosody, or the director’s appropriation
of the textures, shades, and details (which
are never gratuitous) integrated by Tremblay into
moments of “disciplined freedom.”
Every creation has its unique palette, and it is
essential to find a theatrical director who can
understand the unity between the music and the
acting. Impressed by Robert de Bellefeuille’s
directing for La dame aux camélias, Vaillancourt
proposed that he be in charge of the theatrical
direction of the opera. De Bellefeuille admits to
having felt an inner vertigo when considering
this new challenge. Before accepting, he wanted
MANUEL CODINA, GASPACHO FILMS
to meet with the composer to better
understand the work’s genesis.
He said of Tremblay: “The man
vibrates, he’s a veritable river of
words. I already saw myself becoming
the master’s apprentice. I
explained to him I would take what
he had imagined and merge my
sensitivity with it. I delved into the
text, into the words, working like an
archaeologist. It was essential to
give centre stage to the music and
the story, to cross the frontier
between dream and reality.”
Initially leaving the score aside, de
Bellefeuille began by working with
the singers on the relationships
among the characters, analyzing the
text with them to capture the most intricate subtleties
of the narrative thread:“I may be the captain,
but we’re all on the same ship and we’ve got to tell
the same story.” Jean Bard’s set design and Nicolas
Descoteaux’s lighting, both inspired by imagery of
the Northern Lights, were quite naturally drafted. In
de Bellefeuille’s view: “What we see derives from
what we hear; we have to determine the share of
the music, the words, the visual aspect, and never
look without listening. We must hear the visual
component and see the music, feel the opposition
between consonance and dissonance. The music is
very evocative emotionally and so full of new
departures that it was imperative to lean on the
side of purity, to provide a receptacle for the music.”
Morency added: “This requires daring, courage,
both in the music and in the possibility of the audience
being able to appreciate a work like this.”
As occurs all too often, a cruel twist of fate
intervened, and Tremblay could not be present at
the rehearsals: he is convalescing from a CVA.
Fired up with enthusiasm, de Bellefeuille concluded:
“We have the very delicate responsibility
of bringing this work into the world. It traverses
our whole bodies; we are investing a part of ourselves
in it, unreservedly, uncompromisingly. The
work will only be complete on the evening of the
premiere; it is up to us to bring it forward without
imposing it, in such a way that the audience will
embrace it and be transported by it.” ■
[Translation: Darcy Dunton]
Monument National, November 19, 20, and 21, 2009.
The production will be broadcast by Radio-Canada
(Espace musique) on December 5, 2009, at 1:00 p.m.
Novembre 2009 November 21