Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007)
Dienstag aus Licht (1977-1991) [Tuesday from Light]
Dienstags-Gruss | Tuesday’s Greeting
Both music and ideology are the grounds for the battle waged between the two ensembles portraying Lucifer and Michael. In center stage, the soprano who is Eve weeps over their conflict, begging them to settle their differences.
Act 1 : Jahreslauf | Course of the Year
Lucifer invites Michael to run the “Course of the Year,” a challenge where Lucifer will halt the passage of time and Michael will endeavor to restore the movement of time. On four occasions Lucifer will cause time to come to a standstill, doing so by means of “temptations” (luscious food, a voluptuous woman or a storm), and on all four occasions Michael will cause time to turn again by means of “incentives” (the promise that the winner will be paid a large number of marks, or a monkey in a sports car will roar onto the stage). Lucifer, with a certain irony, declares Michael to be the winner and urges him to prepare for a much fiercer battle.
Act II : Invasion-Explosion mit Abschied | Invasion – Explosion with Farewell
Dienstag turns away from comedy and moves towards tragedy. On stage and off stage, the entire concert auditorium is turned into a battlefield. The groups of instruments form regiments of artillery pitted one against the other. One of the trumpeters is hit and collapses. A Red Cross nurse holds him in her arms and they perform a poignant duo.
Fighting resumes, and Michael’s troops struggle and finally retreat, so Lucifer’s fighters attempt to take control of their shelter. The fighters disappear, and a new world is revealed, bathed in white light.
Enter an exuberant, euphoric musician named Synthi-Fou, rigged out with synthesizers and speakers. Reaching ever-increasing levels of ecstasy, he plays a spectacular, futuristic solo, as colors and lights surround him. The warring parties cease their battle and gaze in fascination at him before facing into nowhere. A final countdown, from thirteen to one, marks the end of Dienstag aus Licht.
Tuesday’s Greeting
20mn
1 solo soprano
9 trumpets
9 trombones
2 synthesizers
1 choir
1 conductor & assistant
Act I : Course of the year
57mn
1 tenor
1 bass
4 performers
1 actor-singer
3 actors
1 little girl
1 ‘beautiful woman’
1 ‘european orchestra’ : 3 harmoniums, 3 flutes, 3 soprano saxophones, 1 electric guitar, 1 harpsichord, 3 percussionnists.
1 sound projectionist
Act II | Invasion – Explosion avec Adieu| Invasion – Explosion with Farewell
1h15
1 soprano
1 tenor
1 bass
3 solo trumpets (1st trumpet plays the solo flugelhorn)
3 trombones
2 synthesizer players
2 percussionists
6 tutti trumpets
6 tutti trombones
1 choir
1 conductor (invisible)
The totality of Dienstag features sound projection and electronic music. Unlike other LICHT operas, the Greeting and the Farewell are played inside the concert hall.
Premiere of the opera
28 mai 1993, Leipzig Opera, Germany.
First performance of the production
October 24th, 2020
Total duration
2h30mn + 1 intermission
Artistic direction, Maxime Pascal, Nieto, Damien Bigourdan
Musical direction, Maxime Pascal et Richard Wilberforce (Gruss)
Stage direction, Damien Bigourdan
Video creation, Nieto
Soloists :
Élise Chauvin, soprano, Eve (Gruss)
Léa Trommenschlager, soprano, Eve (Pietà)
Hubert Mayer, tenor, Michaël (Jahreslauf),
général des troupes de Michaël (Invasion – Explosion)
Damien Pass, bass, Lucifer (Jahreslauf),
général des troupes de Lucifer (Invasion – Explosion)
Henri Deléger, trumpet, flugelhorn, Premier combattant des troupes de Michaël (Invasion – Explosion), Michaël (Pietà)
Mathieu Adam, trombone, Premier combattant des troupes
de Lucifer (Invasion – Explosion)
Sarah Kim, synthétiseurs, Synthi-Fou
Rodrigo Ferreira, coureur du millénaire (Jahreslauf)
Agathe Cemin, coureuse des siècles (Jahreslauf)
Emmanuelle Grach, coureuse des décennies (Jahreslauf), Michaël (Pietà)
Hacen Hafdhi, coureur des années (Jahreslauf)
Actors :
Thibaut Thezan, referee
Charles Ségard-Noirclère, mime lion, assistant arbitre, porteur de fleurs
Charlotte Lupinski, petite fille, assistante arbitre et cuisinier
Samuel Yagoubi, mime cuisinier, singer, assistant arbitre, porteur de fleurs
Laurine Ristroph, femme nue, porteuse de fleurs
Scénographie, Myrtille Debièvre
Projection sonore, Florent Derex
Assistante projection sonore, Léna Jallon
Réalisation informatique musicale, Augustin Muller
Assistant réalisation informatique musicale, Étienne Démoulin
Costumes, Pascale Lavandier
Lumières, Catherine Verheyde
Accessoires, Marguerite Lantz
Régie vidéo, Jérôme Tuncer
Assistante à la mise en scène, Agathe Cemin
Régie générale Le Balcon, Cédric Joder
Char et costume Synthi-Fou, Nieto, Marcel Flores, Claire Pédot
Avec la collaboration des équipes techniques de la Philharmonie de Paris
Le Balcon
Élèves du Conservatoire National Supérieur de musique de Paris
Le Jeune chœur de Paris (chef de chœur Richard Wilberforce)
Sopranos : Valentine Bacquet, Lisa Bensimhon, Clothilde Culeux,
Emmanuelle Demuyter, Rebecca Haeri, Anna Hatterman, Clelia Horvat, Juliette Nouailhetas, Céleste Pinel, Chimène Smith, Lina-Jeanne Serrai, Louise Vandenhole
Altos : Tess Blanchemain, Aliénor Bontoux, Anaïs Carde,
Chiara Ceccarelli, Rebecca Delas, Gisèle Delgoulet, Clarisse Fauchet, Zoé Fouray, Céleste Ingrand, Justine Maucurier, Léontine Zimmerlin
Ténors : Baudoin Aube, Dario Borel, Ambroise Divaret, Paul Germanaz, Yannis Miadi, Jean-Gloire Nzola Ntima, Félix Orthmann-Reichenbach, Malo Pelo y-Huet, Antoine Radzikowski, Vladislav Romankov, Yann Salaün
Basses : Jean-Baptiste Alcouffe*, Igor Babinchuk Outerlo, Bertrand Bontoux*, Arthur Dougha, Angelo Heck, Matthieu Heim*, Max Latarjet, Yoann Marchesse, Félix Merle, Ulysse Timoteo, Elie Valdenaire, Raphaël Willenbrock
* chanteurs d’accentus
Trompettes solo : Henri Deléger, Jérôme Lacquet, Matthias Champon
Trompettes tutti : Jérémy Lecomte, Antoine Saintes*, Florent Cardon, Andrea Jaeger*, Siméon Vinour*, Pierre Favennec
Trombones solo : Mathieu Adam, Benoit Coutris, Guillaume Millière
Trombones tutti : Jean-Charles Dupuis, Nestor Welmane*,
Maxime Morel, Louise Ognois*, Laurent Bordarier*, Vincent Radix
Synthétiseurs : Corentin Billette, Suzanne Saint-Cast
Harmoniums : Sarah Kim, Alain Muller, Marin Yamanaka.
Flûtes : Julie Brunet-Jailly, Samuel Bricault, Yua Souverbie
Saxophones soprano : Lucas Gaudin, Yuka Nojima, Juliette Herbet
Clavecin : Anastasie Jeanne.
Guitare : Thomas Csaba
Percussions : François-Xavier Plancqueel, Corentin Aubry, Cyprien Noisette.
Synthétiseurs mobiles : Arthur Lavandier, Haga Ratovo
Percussions mobiles : Othman Louati, Stanislas Delannoy
* élèves du Conservatoire National Supérieur de musique de Paris