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Dramatic fragrances
I wrote four works whose length, the presence of a libretto, and therefore a cast of singers, bring them closer to opera. They were also written with a view to being represented as such in dedicated concert halls. In this case at the Opera. However I must admit that it was really necessary to be of a delirious idealism to embark on such an enterprise when one does not come from the seraglio given the economic realities and my refusal to see them face to face. Knowing that I have put back the cover four times, this highlights in me a constancy in the naivety, the blindness or an indifference to the scenic representation of my works.
I haven't decided yet.
I have a thought for the fifty or so singers who have joined these projects, often graciously. Out of curiosity or to give me their support, as was the case with Odile Faniard, for whom I will keep a particular affection.
Following are excerpts from a program of twelve arias for string orchestra, horns and soloists: The Elements.
Also in video on the dedicated page.
Clicking on the note at the far right of the audio keypad gives access to the texts (with the exception of The Infinite Color).
Dominique Dupray, artiste
opéra lyrique
Infinite color
(Original title : L'Infinie Couleur)
Duration 2:30 with spoken dialogues.
This first lyrical drama written in 1985-1987 features a painter destroyed by his feeling of failure. In particular that of not having been able to realize his masterpiece, The Infinite Color. A kind of representation of the engines of creation that are feelings. A charm will teleport him on a blank canvas where the work so fantasized will take shape. He will then have to face all his inner struggles.
First lyrical project but also first project since I came straight from rock music where I played bass, I was rather beginner to start writing such a story. The Infinite Color was furthermore a truly epic undertaking in more ways than one since the entirety, part orchestra, chorus and soloists were recorded in an eight-track analog studio. Professionals will appreciate it. I really had to be nuts. However, the result seems miraculous to me today with regard to all these parameters. It was an extremely formative job for me both in terms of endurance and learning and which would initiate (or consolidate) a vocation around which I would build my life. For this alone the Infinite Color had its legitimacy.
Cast (incomplete): Jean Bourbon, Gérard Quenez, Axelle Akeland, Agnès Robert, Josianne Hue, Evelyne Creux, Vincent Pellier, Brigitte Dunski, Dominique Servais, Richard Finel, Jean-François Dinacaroupin ... and the Vocal Solo Tutti ensemble.
Here are five streaming extracts from The Infinity Color:
The last words of a thought
(Original title : Les derniers mots d'une pensée).
Duration 3 hours. Written in 1992. Recorded in 1996.
Initially called the Opéra of the lunatics (Opéra des Fous), this composition is a social drama set in a rather caricatured bourgeois family. The theme of the libretto is based on an authentic story from the family of one of my singers. In this case an apparently embarrasing distant cousin had been interned in a mental asylum after an arrangement between the family and the family doctor. This gave me the idea of a cycle of melodies called The Last Words of a Thought and then of a lyric drama called L'Opéra des Fous to distinguish from the cycle. So I recently renamed it its rightful title.
Cast: Dominique Dupray (two roles), Odile Faniard (two roles), Dominique Ploteau, Michel Courché (two roles), Loïc Mignon (three roles), Joëlle Balestier (two roles), Dominique Lepeudry, Jean-François Fabe (two roles ), Christian Noury, Olivier Charmet (two roles), Vincent Peloux, Frédéric Taillandier.
Here are six streaming extracts. Click on the musical note on the far right of the audio pad to access the english lyrics following those in french.
The Flowers and the Mud
(Original title : Les Fleurs et la boue))
Composed in 1995. Duration 2h30.
The action takes place in a soon-occupied fantasy land at war. More precisely in a whorehouse where the notables meet to prepare for the collaboration. A tax inspector indulges in sado-masochistic practices while a wounded allied aviator takes refuge in these places. The tenant, disgusted by the cowardice of the notables will prepare the flight of the aviator by trying to trap the tax inspector.
It's a sordid story set in a sordid time with sordid people. There are only the Flowers of the whorehouse to raise the level. The Flowers being the prostitutes we understood it. The most successful of my lyrical dramas.
Cast: Odile Faniard, Dominique Dupray (two roles), Florence Jouars-Brousse, John Paval, Catherine Hureau, Martina Niernhaussen, Laurent Grauer, Loïc Mignon, Béatrice Biraben, Caroline Duliège, Anne Giraud, Odile Krief, Valentine Kitaine, Sandrine Roussel.
Here are eight streaming extracts. Click on the musical note on the far right of the audio pad to access the english lyrics following those in french.
Meet Chevalier Gagoudet
(Original title : A la rencontre de Chevalier Gagoudet).
Composed in 2003. Duration 2 hours.
Philosophical satyr on the theme of individuality "At the meeting of Knight Gagoudet brings the most blessed freshness, embodied by Jean-Marc Jean-Jacques Zezette-Marcel, and his opposite, a sage. Who will try to impose on the one who wanted to look like everyone else so many other mental patterns. He will succeed beyond all hope.
Cast: Joachim Knipper, Dominique Dupray, Béatrice Biraben (two roles), Robert Jezierski (two roles), Gilles Tagliarino, Bertrand Dubois (two roles), Tristan Poirier, Florence Jouars-Brousse (two roles), René Finel (two roles) , Roxanne Lebrun, Gilles-Anthonie Thuillier, Hervé Huyghues (two roles), Martina Niernhaussen.
Here are five streaming extracts. Click on the musical note on the far right of the audio pad to access the english lyrics following those in french.
Jesus and the devil
(Le Jésus et la diablesse)
(Registration to come)
Lyrical fantasy for three stringed instruments and two solo singers.
Acknowledgments from Dominique Dupray
Odile Faniard, Dominique Ploteau, Michel Courché, Loïc Mignon, Joëlle Balestier, Dominique Lepeudry, Christian Noury, Olivier Charmet, Vincent Peloux, Frédéric Taillandier, Florence Jouars-Brousse, Garance Castanié, Ruben Aguayo, Akiko Toda, John Paval, Catherine Hureau, Martina Niernhaussen, Loïc Mignon, Béatrice Biraben, Caroline Duliège, Hubert Humeau, Aurélie Loilier, Jacques L'Oiseleur des Longchamps, Sophia Castiello, Anne Giraud, Odile Krief, Valentine Kitaine, Richard Finel, Philippe Pellier, Dominique Servais-Champagne, Agnès Robert , Gilles-Anthonie Thuillier, Hervé Huyghes, Joachim Knitter, Robert Jezierski, Gilles Tagliarino, Bertrand Dubois, Tristan Poirier, Brigitte Dunski, Josyane hue, Gérard Quenez, Axelle Akeland, Pascale Petitjean, Jean Bourbon, Pierre Quirin, René Finel, Sandrine and Gilles Rougeron for their logistical assistance, Jonathan Charpentier and Joël Alain Dervaux for their photos, Serge Breleur, the orchestra of the new Europe, The Mattwins company for the enre video recordings of concerts.
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