La Passion de Simone by Saariaho with new live video
Jean-Baptiste Barriere filmed the dancer Gabrielle Lamb, choreographed by Italian director Luca Veggetti, in what is left of the ruins of the gigantic industrial complex of Renault (in which Simone Weil worked), on ile Seguin, on the river Seine, in the west suburb of Paris. He edited and processed these materials, together with archived documents and synthetic images, working, as usual in his visual works, very closely with the structure of the musical score by Saariaho.
In the performance situation, the prepared materials are modified according to the live computer analysis of the concert interpretation of the score, in order to link various musical and visual parameters (for instance vocal and orchestral timbres and colours), in complex relations evolving all over the time span of the piece.
Amin Maalouf Librettist
Dawn Upshaw Soprano
Dominique Blanc Narrator
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen Conductor
Tapiola Chamber Choir
Hannu Norjanen Conductor
Jean-Baptiste Barriere NEW Visual Part Conception & Direction
Choreography: Luca Veggett
Dancer: Gabrielle Lamb
Cameras: Isabelle Barriere, J.B. Barriere, Alex Barriere
Computer Images realisation: J.B. Barriere & Francois Galard with the help of LE CUBE for studio filming (thanks to Carine Le Malet) & CITU for cameras.
KAIJA SAARIAHO
La Passion de Simone (2006) 75 mins
Soprano; SATB chorus; 3(afl,pic)2.2.2(cbn)/4221/timp+3perc/hp.cel/str
‘La Passion de Simone is a magical union of words, music and theatre: a creation of great beauty and drama…’
Anna Picard, The Independent on Sunday, 15/07/2007