The new production of Tango Boréal was presented this Sunday at the Théâtre de la ville de Longueuil as part of the vocal program of the Festival Classica, the Nouvel Opéra Métropolitain. After Les lettres de Chopin, Denis Plante, known for his tango repertoire and his bandoneon, brings us La Fille aux cheveux de lin, set to pieces by French impressionists Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy.
The story is about a painter who has his sister’s unconditional help to succeed, and she gives him her undivided attention, until a mysterious flaxen-haired girl appears in the studio. Drawing freely on Charles Baudelaire’s work for the libretto, Plante explains at the outset that the two protagonists are a reflection of Baudelaire, who himself wanted to be a painter but had no gift for it.
Written for mezzo-soprano and string quartet, the 75-minute work is magnificent. Although the music is already written, it had to be arranged and lyrics added, and this is the tour de force Denis Plante and his brother Antoine have achieved. The segues between excerpts flow naturally, and the lyrics fit together well, as if they had been part of Ravel and Debussy’s pieces. What’s more, the contrasts, colors and characters of the pieces had to be carefully placed in a very precise order in order to superimpose a mise en scène, and this too is very successful. It’s simple, but just right; just a few props, an armchair, an easel and a heater are enough to plunge us into an artist’s studio at the turn of the 19th century.
In the lead role, Amelia Keenan is an excellent performer. Standing alone on stage most of the time, she understands that it doesn’t have to be showy, and that it’s just as, if not more, important for the audience to understand the text, especially without surtitles. In this respect, the French diction is perfect. Every word, every intention, every emotion is clear, both vocally and on stage.
Ms. Keenan was accompanied by a string quartet featuring Marie and Dominique Bégin on violin, Elvira Misbakhova on viola and Stéphane Tétrault on cello. Marie Bégin played very well in the excerpt from Ravel’s perilous Tzigane.
