Called “miraculous” by Opera Newsthe production of Turandot by Puccini by Quebecers Barbe and Doucet may go up in smoke in a few days. The director Renaud Doucet learned of the fatal intentions of the main producer, the Minnesota Opera, at the beginning of October. This example illustrates a larger problem that could be solved in a fairly simple way.
“We learned in the first week of October that the Turandot that we have in the United States, which was a huge success, would be destroyed at the end of October. »
The reason ? “With the movement wokeoperas of the type Turandot, Butterfly, otellooperettas Mikado Where The land of smiles, everything that has the slightest risk of being attacked, because considered racist or sexist by some, is ostracized. »
When we contacted Renaud Doucet, who is in Toulouse to mount Bohemianwe had no idea of the existence of the “case Turandot “. The appointment had been made for more than a month to talk about the untimely destruction of one of the favorite creations of the tandem he formed with his partner and accomplice, the decorator and costume designer André Barbe: Hoffmann’s Tales by Offenbach created in 2015 in Bonn, Germany.
We had seen during the summer that the destruction of the sets and costumes of these Tales, which made the rich hours of the Volksoper in Vienna from 2016, had greatly affected the creators. ” HoffmanI have never made my mourning”, admits Renaud Doucet.
And here he is, on the other side of the Atlantic, engaged in another race against time.
Normals and Abnormalities
The cycle of creation and destruction is part of the normal life of theater and opera. “Obviously, a production that hasn’t been played for a certain number of years and that doesn’t find a buyer must be destroyed or dispersed. It is important that new productions are made; you can’t recycle ad infinitum,” says Renaud Doucet, who is also ready to sign assignments of rights for donations to schools and universities.
In terms of the logical life cycle of a production, Renaud Doucet cites as an example Thais by Massenet from the Opéra de Montréal (2003), co-produced with the Opéra de Saint-Louis. “After 2003, Thais toured in nine or ten other companies. When the Opéra de Montréal told us: “We are not going to reschedule Thaiswhat do you want us to do with it? Thais, we are very satisfied with it, but it does not correspond more to the artistic level than what we would do today. You got your money back through renting, you can destroy it.” Admittedly, after destruction, a company in the United States asked me for it, but after a while, it no longer makes sense to keep everything. »
Turandot, presented in Vancouver before COVID, stored at chief producer Minnesota Opera, is owned by five companies. Cincinnati, co-producer of Turandot, told us: “It was one of the biggest successes of the company. But we can’t do it again because times have changed. » Renaud Doucet wonders about the strategic plan, knowing the reputation of the opera which contains the famous « Nessun slept “: “I am surprised by the American response, because even if there is the movement woke, in five years, it may calm down and it’s still a bit crazy to stick a match in it. He also notes that it will be the Puccini centenary in 2024 and the centenary of the creation of Turandot in 2026.
The director therefore seeks to bring Turandot in Europe. “Lucca, the city of Puccini, wants to resume production by rebuilding a stage for it, since the theater is too small. They can’t believe it’s been destroyed because they know what it costs. »
Renaud Doucet has other leads: “Once on European soil, it’s a production that would be seen in perhaps ten theatres. Two are interested, but between being interested and writing a check before the end of October, there is a margin, and if Minnesota walks the talk in early November, everything goes up in smoke. »
A production grant
The allotted time is therefore the basic problem. “Don’t tell creators ‘in three weeks, we’ll burn everything down!’ exclaims Renaud Doucet, who understands that companies need to make space in their warehouses.
“If we said: ‘In a year, we are thinking of getting rid of such production because we need space’, that would change everything”, believes Renaud Doucet, who pushes the reasoning further.
“To save the productions, it would be necessary to create a ‘production exchange’, within Opera America or Opera Europa, which would gather the following information: “In one year, we would like to get rid of such a production. Is anyone interested?” People could then talk to each other in a marketplace where they would meet once a year. Anyone could watch videos, find theaters, similar stage sizes. The word “recycling” is everywhere: it’s exactly the spirit! When we talk about paying attention to the waste of energy, that we throw away a production worth a million dollars, it sticks in my throat. »
The one-year time frame is important to Renaud Doucet. It’s not three weeks, it’s not more than three months. For instance, Hoffmann’s Tales could he have ended up with Jean-François Lapointe at the Quebec Opera Festival? “It’s a good example. It was importable and doable, but three months is not enough to turn around. It takes a year, because you have to go into a financial year. When companies do their budget, they have their budget for the year, but they don’t have a purchase budget because everyone is down to the nearest cent. A company, on the other hand, can say, with accounting entries, I can pass this purchase on the following season, even if it is for in two or three years. »
As such, productions can make the transatlantic trip and sometimes bring in money: “In general, a production is resold for the price of a rental. But it happened to me to resell productions for a symbolic euro. In this case, the buyer pays for the loading of the sets, the transport, the insurance, the customs, and “clears” in good and due form a cluttered theater.
” For Hoffmann’s Talesthat could have been the deal. As a company director, I would have even paid to have that, even $40,000 or $50,000. Because if it is a production in which I believe, I judge that there is a possibility of renting it again. So I can invest and then make money with it. »
This is how Barbe and Doucet made money for the Opéra de Montréal with Cinderella by Massenet, bought in Strasbourg “at one-tenth the cost of production” then rented in New York and Marseille, before being resold in Cincinnati, where the sets, costumes and accessories sleep, because after purchase, the board of directors judged the opera not commercial enough and never programmed it.
It remains to be hoped that this miraculous spectacle will not be destroyed on the sly. Because that too happens. ” We have two Tales of Hoffmann destroyed. Before Bonn we had a Hoffman American, shown in four or five companies and of which Saint Louis was the producer. When Opera Australia wanted to show it, we learned that it had been burned without being told. »
Barbe and Doucet were thus destroyed by the Cologne Opera three operas at once: arabella by Strauss, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein of Offenbach and The Secret Marriage by Cimarosa. “The Cimarosa, the Capitole de Toulouse had seen it in Innsbruck and wanted to show it during the pandemic, because there are only six soloists. I said, “Call Cologne, they have everything.” They called me back saying, “There’s nothing left.” »
It was there that Renaud Doucet learned about the other two, including ” arabella, a sublime production with costumes painted by André”. According to the director, a bickering with the director of the place on a question of television rights for The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein in 2019 would have earned the duo the burning of all of their creations.
Renaud Doucet is now wondering about the fate of his favorite naiad. ” Our Rusalka, who played I don’t know how long in Vienna, does it still exist? I do not even know. “Sad suspense.