“Climate”, an ecological fresco carried by the young people of Opéra Junior in Montpellier

What could be more exciting for young amateur singers than to participate in a one-of-a-kind creation on a theme that echoes the concerns of the time? Commissioned by the Montpellier Opera Orchestra from the English composer Russell Hepplewhite, Climate is an opera created by and for young people. It will be presented on March 11 at the Opéra Comédie de Montpellier.

Take a cause on stage

On stage, it is the young artists of the Opéra Junior, ageds from 7 to 25 years, who doornt this creation end to end. Hard to find a topic more relevant to them than climate change. We are 15 years old, we imagine our future in these situations, confides the soloist Lilou Touzet.

To lend my voice to this cause is an honor.

The young girl plays Juliette, a high school student who becomes aware of the climate emergency and the blindness of some adults of which Alice, his mother, is part. A mother who opposes the positions taken by her daughter who has decided to take action punch to get things moving.

A coherent work

Climate is really a separate work because everything seems to have been thought out to form a coherent creation with the theme of the show. The opera’s libretto is signed by the author, theater, opera and film director, the AEnglish Helen Eastman. Her participation in the project seems all the more natural in that she produced a series of works related to the climate crisis: an online theater show and escape room for children, Pearl and Pip (commissioned by the Reading Fringe), the children’s musical Bicycle Boy (commissioned by the Brighton Festival/ Without Walls), or the project Hope (commissioned by the Canadian Climate Law Initiative).

The director Damien Robert and the scenographer Thibault Sinay have thought long and hard to create a set that generates as little waste as possible. Thibaut Sinay talks about “economy of means” to explain how 5 modules are used to define 17 different places in the show.

Chansign Square

Another peculiarity of the show: it incorporates the chansigne, this mode of expression based on sign language that unfolds to the rhythm of the music. On the scene, Lisa Martin and Aurora Corominas, two singers, are part of the show. For Damian Robert, their presence deploys a new theatricality, a touch of fantasy, of nostalgia which allows the work to come out of the documentary side.

To make the show even more accessible to deaf and hard of hearing people, the Opera also provides the public with vests that translate sound frequencies into vibrations.

Lyrical art for young people

It is therefore a beautiful gift that Opéra Junior gives itself to celebrate its thirty years of existence. Created in 1990 by the composer and librettist of Bulgarian origin Vladimir Kojoukharov (deceased in 2022), Opéra Junior is not a school in the classical sense of the term. Here, we offer professional coaching (singing coaches, choreographers and supervisors) to young people aged 7 to 25 to introduce them to all the disciplines required by the lyrical art: singing, theatre, dance, dramaturgy. The apprenticeship takes place partly during their school holidays and during several weekends.

Directed by Jérôme Pillement, Opéra Junior brings together nearly 200 young people divided into 3 groups according to their class and level: Petit Opéra, Classe Opéra and Jeune Opéra. Each year, they participate in lyrical productions dedicated to them as well as in several concerts or operas of the season of the Opéra Orchester national Montpellier Occitanie.

“Climat”, a Junior Opera creation presented on March 11 at 5 p.m. at the Opéra Comédie in Montpellier – duration: ± 1h10 – Prices: €16 / – 16 years old €10

Note: d Two Climate Fresco workshops will be held prior to the performance and Avenir Climatique is organizing a conference on the theme “Let’s talk about the climate with energy!”, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the Victor Hugo lounge at the Opera.