Frédéric Chaslin
Le Bel Indifférent
Duration: 57'
Libretto von: Jean Cocteau
Solos:
female voice
Roles:
"She"
Le Bel Indifférent
Printed/Digital
Translation, reprints and more
Frédéric Chaslin
Le Bel Indifférent
Available digitally
Type: Dirigierpartitur
Language: Französisch
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Work introduction
Written for a mezzo with jazz and improvisation capability, this short opera is based on the entire and unchanged original text by Jean Cocteau. It is written in a very natural, sometime rude and crude street language, like Edith Piaf used to speak. To make the piece more lyrical, I embedded 7 poems by Cocteau that match exactly the situation, and I set them to melodies that spread litemotives all along the opera. The woman, a singer ou tour, is waiting for her lover to come back home. When he eventually does, he goes to bed with a newspaper and remains silent. This indifference makes her mad and she speaks and scream her frustration. He finally leaves for good, without a word, she ends up singing one of the poems, showing that she probably lost her mind -or found a consolation in herself, that's the performer's choice!
What is necessary to perform this work?
A female singer, preferably mezzo-soprano, with jazz and improvisation capability.
A male actor, who remains mute. The stage represents an hotel room.