Jean de la Lune – musical tale children voices & small orchestra (french, german, english)
opéra pour voix d’enfants et sept instruments, livret du compositeur d’après le livre de Tomi Ungerer
durée environ 30′
flûte(s) à bec; violon baroque; viole de gambe; sacqueboute; théorbe; clavecin; percussions.
version pour instruments modernes (flûte traversière; violon moderne; violoncelle; trombone; guitare ou harpe; piano; percussions.
versions disponibles: german, english
résumé:
Jean de la Lune habite… la Lune. De son croissant argenté, il envie les terriens qui dansent et qui s’amusent à la nuit tombée. Un jour, Jean de la Lune s’accroche à la queue d’une comète et atterrit sur Terre mais il n’est pas très bien accueilli. Après bien des mésaventures, il ne pense plus qu’à une seule chose : retourner chez lui… Mais comment faire ?
A paraître aux Editions de la Sinfonie d’Orphée
Description
Download the voice & piano score
Download the libretto in french & german
Download the libretto in english
Opera for children’s voices and seven instruments, libretto by the composer based on the book by Tomi Ungerer.
Duration: approximately 30 minutes.
Recorder(s); Baroque violin; viola da gamba; sackbut; theorbo; harpsichord; percussion.
Version for modern instruments (transverse flute; modern violin; cello; trombone; guitar or harp; piano; percussion).
Summary:
John of the Moon lives… on the Moon. With his silvery crescent, he envies the earthlings who dance and have fun after dark. One day, John of the Moon clings to the tail of a comet and lands on Earth, but he is not very well received. After many misadventures, he thinks of only one thing: returning home… But how?
Jean lives on the moon. From up there, he sees Earthlings: he longs to join them and make friends, but once on Earth, the lawyer decides to put this stranger in chains. Jean finds himself alongside prisoners, but with a moonbeam, he can slip through the bars. At a masked ball where he’s having a great time, the lawyer reappears. Jean must flee again. He reaches an observatory, the guards knock on the door, and quickly, he must take off: destination moon! In the rocket, Jean hears the song of the cosmos. Back in his house on the moon, words rise to him: it’s his neighbors from planet Earth who have launched themselves into the sky. « I’ll wait for you, for an eternity, if necessary, » Jean shouts to them from the moon. The chorus replies, « Having a friend is a joy worthy of infinity. »
Knowing that the orchestra would be made up of period instruments, we looked for a story that would lend itself to their particular timbres: the softness of the flute and strings, the shimmer of the harpsichord… that’s why we turned to this book by Tomi Ungerer, whose hero is a « Lunian, » knowing that the story had to be developed into a mini-opera.
SCENE 1
Jean lives on the moon. From up there, he sees Earthlings: he really wants to join them and make friends!
SCENE 2
The comet heard his wish and drags him back to Earth, warning him: « I don’t know if you’ll be able to come back. »
SCENE 3
They both encounter stars with their roaring laughter. The landing is a bit bumpy!
SCENE 4
The comet has vanished. The curious earthlings wonder what happened, but the lawyer decides to put this stranger in chains.
SCENE 5
A little scared, Jean finds himself alongside prisoners for whom time no longer matters and sympathizes with Pierre, who comes from the sun. He wants to free them all, but it’s impossible!
SCENE 6
Jean realizes that, like the moon, he is shrinking and can slip out of the prison.
SCENE 7
It’s nighttime, and a poetic encounter with flowers leads him to… surprise!
SCENE 8
A masked ball where he is congratulated on his costume, where all languages are heard. But, attracted by the noise, the lawyer reappears, and Jean must flee again.
SCENE 9
In the forest, the flowers mislead his pursuers, and Jean runs faster than time. SCENE 10
In his mad dash, he bumps into the door of an observatory where he’s welcomed by a mischievous old scientist who has developed (well, almost) a rocket. The guards knock on the door; too bad for the final calculations, they must quickly take off: destination: moon!
SCENE 11
In the rocket, after the jolts of departure, Jean hears the song of the cosmos.
FINAL
Back in his house on the moon, words rise to him: it’s his neighbors from planet Earth who have launched themselves into the sky. « I’ll wait for you, an eternity, if necessary, » Jean of the moon shouts to them.
The chorus replies, « Having a friend is a joy worthy of infinity. »
L’heureux aboutissement du projet « Jean de la Lune » appelle deux séries de remarques.
Derrière cette réalisation artistique et pédagogique de haut niveau, il est évident que « Jean de la Lune » aura marqué profondément tout un groupe d’enfants et de jeunes de milieux défavorisés dans les domaines de la capacité de concentration, de discernement, de réflexion, de discipline collective, de solidarité, d’affirmation de soi et d’expression sensible dans le cadre d’une ouverture artistique majeure.
A la fois acteurs et bénéficiaires de cette action, ces enfants pourront devenir une force d’entraînement pour leur entourage, leur famille, leurs connaissances, leur quartier…
