Lilies education guide by Edmonton Opera

Special thanks to our education community partners

Contents Activity guide overview A brief history of opera Vocal spotlight Characters in Lilies Lilies overview Synopsis Composer biography : Kevin March Spotlight on librettist Michel Marc Bouchard Message from the composer A powerful new opera The Playâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Thing The importance of St. Sebastian Gender bending in Lilies Activity: Creative concept Activity: Poster design Activity: Character reflections Activity: Design a playbill Links for further study Nothing beats the excitement of live opera! For more information on how your class can attend a dress rehearsal at special student pricing, contact us by email at education@edmontonopera.com or visit us online at edmontonopera.com/discover/education

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Photo by Yves Renaud

Education Guide materials partially sourced & adapted from Pacific Opera Victoria Study Guide for Les Feluettes, April 2017.

Education and Activity Guide Overview

Opera 101 Opera is the art form of all art forms — it combines theatre, orchestral music, unamplified live singing, visual design, and much more. Going to the opera is not only a beautiful artistic experience, it can also be a very educational trip. Opera gives students the opportunity to engage with a variety of historical movements in literature, art, and politics. Each opera sheds light on the era it was composed in and contains themes relevant to today’s world. To make the most of your opera experience, please read the following pointers on opera etiquette before attending the dress rehearsal. Arrive early! Your tickets will be available at the auditorium 45 minutes prior to show time. Please allow enough time to seat your group — we suggest 20 minutes. The dress rehearsal for Lilies will begin promptly at 7 p.m., so allot extra time for ticket pickup, seating, etc. It is also best to have students use the washroom prior to locating your seats within the theatre.

This education and activity guide is designed for teachers, students, and those who are interested in engaging with various aspects of the opera both before and after attending the performance. The first part of this guide is more reading-based, with a detailed overview, synopsis, and conceptual discussion of Edmonton Opera’s Lilies (Les Feluettes). This is essential learning before you proceed to the activities because it places the production within a specific framework. Teachers may distribute the content for students to read as-is, or choose to go over the material with the entire class. This guide is intended for all grades attending the performance; there are some suggested ways to adapt the content based on difficulty level, but teachers are encouraged to modify activities to suit the needs of their class. Please contact us with any questions about this guide at education@edmontonopera.com. We can provide resources for further discussion, suggestions on how to tailor activities and content for your class, and more.

Applause is welcome! Opera is spectacle. Your presence in the audience is essential to complete the whole experience. Enjoy the performance and respond to what you see. Unlike television or film, every live performance is unique: only you and the performers will share the experience you have in the theatre. Your warmth and good humour are important to them, so when you like something, tell them with your applause.

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Applaud after the arias as well as after the performance; you can shout “Bravo!” for a man, “Brava!” for a woman, and “Bravi!” for more than one person, or the whole performance.

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No cameras or recording devices. The artists’ images and performances belong to them and we ask you to respect that by refraining from recording their work in any way.

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Other pointers: •

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Please do not leave the theatre unless there is an emergency. No food, gum, or drinks of any kind (except water) in the theatre. Students are welcome to bring packed food items, but these must not be eaten in the theatre. Food may only be consumed out in the lobby. Bottled water is allowed in the theatre. Acoustics are very good in the Jubilee auditorium, so any sounds of food being unwrapped, bottles being crushed, etc. will be heard throughout.

The performance of Lilies (Les Feluettes) is approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes with one 20-minute intermission. Turn off your cell phones and all electronic devices. Keep movement and voices down to a minimum, as this is a live dress rehearsal performance. Please stay seated. Once in the theatre it is courteous to remain seated until the end of each act.

Use the bathrooms before the rehearsal begins. Be silent if the performance has to stop for a few moments (this is a performance, but also a working rehearsal so it may be necessary to stop at times). If you must use the washroom during the performance, please be accompanied by an adult supervisor. The ushers might let you in again when there is an appropriate pause in the action.

Countess Marie-Laure de Tilly — Dominique Côté (baritone) Vallier’s mother, was abandoned by her husband two years ago Lydie-Anne de Rozier — Daniel Cabena (countertenor) A beautiful Parisian woman who arrives in a hot air balloon, falls in love with Simon Timothée Doucet — Claude Grenier (bass) Simon’s father Father Saint-Michel — Normand Richard (bassbaritone) Teacher at Simon & Vallier’s school who is directing the play Martyrdom of St. Sebastian Baron de Hüe — Patrick Mallette (baritone) A doctor who is visiting Roberval

Cast and Characters

Old Simon — Gino Quilico (baritone) In his 50s, has been imprisoned for forty years Young Simon — Zachary Read (baritone) A handsome young man who is in love with Vallier Bishop Bilodeau — Gordon Gietz (tenor) In his 50s, arrives at the prison to hear Old Simon’s confession Young Bilodeau — James McLennan (tenor) Simon’s classmate, does not approve of Simon & Vallier’s relationship Count Vallier de Tilly — Jean-Michel Richer (tenor) Simon & Bilodeau’s classmate, is in love with Simon

Feluettes was translated into numerous languages and has seen performances all over the world. It was also adapted into a Genie Award-winning film in 1996. In 2016, Les Feluettes (Lilies) received its worldwide premiere as an opera, composed by Australian Kevin March and with a libretto by Bouchard himself. After being in development for years, this co-commission between Opéra de Montréal and Pacific Opera Victoria was welcomed by critics and audiences with extensive acclaim. Lilies has already left a mark on audiences in Montreal and Victoria, and is now coming to Edmonton audiences for its third run.

Overview

“Feluette” is a Quebec expression derived from the word “fluet” (slender, thin, and frail in appearance) meaning a weak man, effeminate, fragile, or overly sensitive. Over the last 30 years, Michel Marc Bouchard’s play Les Feluettes (Lilies) has become a revered classic of Canadian theatre. For many in Quebec, Bouchard is a household name and Les Feluettes is his most widely produced work.

This play-within-a-play explores a gay love story in early 1900s Quebec, complete with lots of drama, romance, and even some comedy. After its initial premiere in 1987, Les

Photos by Yves Renaud

Detailed synopsis (courtesy of Pacific Opera Victoria):

Synopsis

Prologue. 1952. A Prison. When Bishop Bilodeau arrives to hear the confession of his old classmate Simon, who has been an inmate for 40 years, Simon and his fellow prisoners instead force him to watch a performance depicting the events that led to Simon’s incarceration.

The plot of Les Feluettes (Lilies) in a minute: Throughout the opera, two narratives are staged together: at a prison in the present (1952) and a re-enactment of the past (1912) by prisoners. 1952: Bishop Bilodeau visits a prison to supposedly hear the confession of his old classmate Simon, who has been an inmate there for 40 years. When the Bishop arrives, however, Simon and his fellow prisoners have something else in store — they put on a play depicting the events leading up to Simon's incarceration and force the Bishop to watch. Why? Because the Bishop's younger self was solely responsible for Simon's arrest. 1912: Simon is in love with a handsome young man named Vallier and the two are almost inseparable, which drives Bilodeau mad with jealousy. He is secretly in love with Simon but struggles between his faith and feelings. Simon and Vallier's love story is complicated because being openly gay isn't really possible in their society, so Simon finds a woman to marry. He eventually admits he can't live without Vallier, but also realizes that they could only ever be together in death. As Simon starts a fire and prepares to die with Vallier by his side, Bilodeau arrives and rescues Simon, leaving Vallier to die alone.

Episode 1. Collège de Roberval, 1912, school theatre. Father Saint-Michel is directing a rehearsal of D’Annunzio’s play, The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. Simon plays Sebastian, who has been sentenced to be executed by his own archers, one of whom is Sanaé, played by Vallier. Sebastian assures Sanaé that he must die before he can be reborn. Left alone, Vallier and Simon continue to rehearse; their acting grows more real and ardent, until they kiss. The bishop is horrified. Young Bilodeau interrupts, threatening to expose the boys, and adds that when Simon sets a fire he does it out of love for Vallier, whom Bilodeau has nicknamed Feluette (Lily White). Furious, Simon violently kisses Bilodeau. Vallier’s mother, the Countess, enters and applauds, thinking she has just witnessed a scene from the play. Simon and Bilodeau run off. The Countess tells Vallier that she has marvellous news: a young Parisienne, Lydie-Anne de Rozier, has just arrived by balloon. Simon’s father Timothée enters and tells Vallier

that Lydie-Anne has met the Count in Paris and that he will soon bring the Countess and Vallier back to France. As Father Saint-Michel returns, the Countess praises the kissing scene between Simon and Bilodeau. Although Vallier tries to downplay what happened, Timothée sets off in a fury to find Simon. Bilodeau tells him to look in the college attic.

Lydie-Anne flirts with Simon. When he takes his shirt off, she asks why he was beaten. He explains that it was because of a kiss. As she asks to whom he gave it, Simon kisses her. The Bishop is outraged. Episode 3. The Countess and Vallier’s home, some weeks later. As the convent across the street burns, the Countess imagines herself waltzing with her absent husband. Vallier comes home, exhausted, and tells her he has taken a job to make ends meet. Furious that he would so lower himself, she blurts out that he is a coward like his father. Vallier declares angrily that his father is indeed a coward for abandoning his family. The Countess says she has read the letter Vallier tore up, believing it to be a loving letter for his father; she has glued it together and given it to Lydie-Anne to take to the Count in France. She quotes from the letter, as Vallier softly repeats the words. He then tells her that the fire across the street is a sign that Lydie-Anne has given Simon the letter. He admits he is in love with Simon. His mother already knows, and insists that Vallier must go to Simon and Lydie-Anne’s engagement party.

Interlude. The inmates remove their belts and violently beat the ground. An image of the train station in flames. Vallier writes a love letter to Simon. Episode 2. The terrace at Hôtel Roberval, a week later. Everyone marvels as Lydie-Anne arrives in her hot air balloon. The visiting doctor, Baron de Hüe, gives Simon salve for his wounds and asks what happened. Simon awkwardly explains that he fell from his horse onto some barbed wire. Lydie-Anne tells him he needs to become a better liar. She adds that she obtained her balloon with just a couple of lies. Vallier arrives, wondering where Simon has been the last few days. Lydie-Anne recounts that when she met the Countess she lied about meeting the Count in Paris. Simon tells her the Countess is a local laughingstock.

Intermission

When they are alone together, Simon shows Vallier the scars from the whipping he received because of the Countess’s gossiping. He tells Vallier everything is over between them; he will think about girls from now on. Tearing up his letter to Simon, Vallier leaves.

Episode 4. The ballroom at Hôtel Roberval. At the engagement party, Lydie-Anne mocks the Countess, and Simon reprimands her. When she reminds him that he has become increasingly inattentive to her, he reassures her that he is all hers, and they look forward to flying off together in her balloon.

Suddenly, Vallier enters, dressed as Emperor Caesar, and invites Simon to perform a scene from The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. After some hesitation, Simon plays his part. Timothée demands that Vallier leave, and the party descends into chaos. Disheartened, Lydie-Anne tells the Countess that indeed she met the Count in Paris, but that he has remarried and is the father of two girls.

her. Simon wakes, sees the Countess dead, takes Vallier in his arms. As Vallier struggles in the grip of despair, Simon calms him. They exit. Bilodeau, who has seen everything, spits on the Countess’s body, then blesses her hand. Episode 7. Collège de Roberval, school theatre. Vallier wakes in Simon’s arms. Bilodeau joins them, having arranged horses and provisions so they can all flee. Bilodeau gives Simon his journal and asks for a kiss, like that of the saint to his friend. Crying Never! Simon pushes Bilodeau out. As Bilodeau hammers on the doors, Simon embraces Vallier, and sets the place on fire.

In anguish, knowing that he and Lydie-Anne are to leave in the morning and that he will never see Vallier again, Simon curses Vallier and his own mad passion. Bilodeau, alone, reviles God for abandoning him and prays for Simon to stay. He then sets fire to Lydie-Anne’s hot-air balloon.

Epilogue. Prison. Bishop Bilodeau recounts the rest of the story: he finally opened the doors. Everything was in flames, Simon and Vallier entwined on the floor. Bilodeau separated them and dragged Simon out. He went back for Vallier, but then abandoned him. Bilodeau explains that he let Simon live to force him to think of him, to be always obsessed with him. Old Simon and the inmates surround the bishop, knives in hand. He begs Simon to kill him, to free him. Simon says, “never” and throws his knife on the ground. All exit, leaving the bishop alone.

The bishop protests that Simon has no way of knowing any of this. Simon produces the bishop’s old journal. Episodes 5 and 6. The forest, the next day. The Countess’ birthday gift to Vallier is a bathtub. As Vallier sits in the bath, Simon comes to wish him a happy birthday and to say goodbye. He admits that he doesn’t love Lydie-Anne as he should and finally confesses his love for Vallier. When Vallier responds in kind, they embrace and again recite the text of St. Sebastian.

The Countess tells Vallier she must leave him, and he is the only one she can ask to help her. He resists, but she quotes St. Sebastian: I am going to be reborn. But for that, I must die. Vallier covers his mother with earth and then strangles

Sonate, written for PLEXUS, was broadcast on ABC Classic FM and a performance of Ouvre-moi la Porte, commissioned for Neal Perez de Costa and Daniel Yeadon, was broadcast on ABC Classic FM’s Sunday Live. In 2011, Kevin was one of three composers featured in the ABC national documentary Modern Muses: The Greeks and New Music, which included excerpts from his song cycle Mythweaver, based on the poetry of Sappho.

Composer Biography— Kevin March Kevin March is an award-winning, Melbourne-based composer whose works have been performed internationally by ensembles including the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, PLEXUS, Ironwood Ensemble, Halcyon, The Arcko Ensemble, the ASTRA Chamber Music Society, Chronology Arts, Brave New Works, and The New York City Opera.

Songs from Mythweaver are soon to be published in Voices of Australia II, a second volume of Australian art song published by Wirripang.

He has received grants and commissions from Arts Victoria, Ars Musica Australis, and The Sydney Conservatorium of Music as well as several ensembles. He is the recipient of the Dorian La Gallienne Prize for Ophélie, and received first prize in the 3MBS National Composer Awards for his orchestral work Kambarang. His works have been featured in the Metropolis New Music Festival and the 7th Sydney Biennale.

Kevin holds a Master’s and Doctorate from the University of Michigan where his principal composition instructors were William Bolcom, William Albright, Michael Daugherty, and Curtis Curtis-Smith. In Australia, he has been mentored by or has studied under notable Australian composers Richard Mills, Gerard Brophy, Maria Grenfel, and Paul Stanhope. In addition to composing, he currently teaches composition and music theory at The University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

Numerous performances of his works have been broadcast on ABC and 3MBS radio. Most recently, a performance of Une Petite

The themes of Bouchard’s plays are varied, but are often immersed in myth and allegory, with inherent lyricism and larger-than-life characters. Many of his works explore queer identity against the backdrop of strict socio-cultural norms, as is the case in Les Feluettes. Arguably one of the biggest names in Canadian theatre today, playwright Michel Marc Bouchard has written over When asked what interests 25 plays that have been him in opera, Bouchard translated into several replies it is “the sheer languages, performed magnitude of the internationally, and have emotions, which – through even seen award-winning singing and music – cinematic adaptations. touches the most intimate aspects of our being” A recipient of the Order of (Opéra de Montréal Canada and Order of program, 2016). This Quebec, Bouchard has also grandeur of storytelling is been recognized with a intrinsic to Bouchard’s National Arts Centre play Les Feluettes, lending Award, Chalmers Award, itself quite naturally to his Vancouver’s Jessie first operatic commission Richardson Awards and by Opéra de Montréal and Toronto’s Dora Mavor Pacific Opera Victoria. Moore Awards. Some of his notable works are Les © Damián Siqueiros Les Feluettes received Feluettes (1987), The widespread acclaim at its Montreal premiere in 2016, Orphan Muses (1988), and more recently Tom at the Farm validating Bouchard’s highly anticipated foray into opera. (2011), which was turned into a film by Canadian directing He is already working on his next project, a commission of prodigy Xavier Dolan. Christine, la reine-garçon (The Girl King) by the Canadian Opera Company with composer Ana Sokolovic.

Spotlight on librettist Michel Marc Bouchard

in Montréal. The meeting, though brief, was a delight. Michel Marc is a brilliant writer and a joy to work with, someone with a deeply trustworthy artistic intuition.

Les Feluettes, and the lessons learnt

In March of 2011 Michel Beaulac, the Artistic Director of the Opéra de Montréal, met with Michel Marc to discuss a dream project. He wanted to commission an opera based on one of Michel Marc's plays - the play he wanted to adapt was Les Feluettes. As Michel Marc related to me in an email, 'It was a rather spectacular moment when I presented to him [the work we'd already done]. He couldn't believe his eyes…' Not long thereafter, Michel Beaulac was discussing the project with colleagues from Pacific Opera Victoria. To his amazement, they, too, had been discussing amongst themselves the possibility of commissioning an opera, also based on the same play.

— by Kevin March All you need is to be in the right place at the right time with a good idea. (William Albright) March 2002. I was in the right place at the right time, an art house cinema in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where I was living while doing my doctorate at the University of Michigan. Less than five minutes into the film Lilies, it occurred to me that what I was watching was not really a film but an opera. As I watched the film, I could hear every line being sung. The words were lyrical, poetic, the characters had depth, and it was easy to imagine the settings staged. By the time the film had finished I was already making plans to adapt the film into an opera. I soon learned it wasn't a film I sought to adapt but, rather, a play by the renowned Quebec playwright Michel Marc Bouchard. By the end of the year he and I were discussing the adaptation.

Pacific Opera Victoria became Opéra de Montréal's cocommissioning and co-production partner. After a few more test scenes were written, the contracts were signed in 2012, and the project that Michel Marc and I had been working on in between other projects became the project. I'd never before experienced that kind of serendipity before and may not again, but it was astonishing nonetheless that I and so many others all essentially had the same idea independent of one another.

From 2003 to 2011, Michel Marc and I worked on the opera via email in between other projects. We produced a working libretto, composed test scenes, and were looking for workshops, development programs, anything that might bring us a step closer to the stage. It wasn't until January 2006, almost four years after we began corresponding, that Michel Marc and I actually met for the first time face-to-face

One of the fundamental challenges of Les Feluettes, and of any opera really, was determining what the opera would sound like. Because the play takes place in a men's prison and because all of the actors in Simon's re-enactment are male prisoners, all roles, including the female characters, are performed by men. It's a crucial element of both the story and the sound of the opera. Ultimately we settled on voice types that portrayed the characters' hearts rather than their sex.

In creating the sound of Les Feluettes, it seemed necessary that all of these musical references be respected and represented. The result is an eclectic musical fabric containing quotes from or stylistic allusions to Debussy's incidental music to Le Martyre de St. Sebastien, American ragtime, French Belle Epoch-style cabaret, traditional Québécoise folk music, and even a 19th century Napoleonic anthem. Anything goes (as long as it adds meaning). Beyond these concrete musical elements, perhaps one of the biggest musical influences happens also to be one of the most overlooked aspects of the original play, the subtitle: La Répétition d'un drame romantique - the Revival of a Romantic Drama. In French, the word répétition can mean both 'rehearsal' as in the rehearsal of a play (which is the first scene of the opera) or 'revival' as in to produce something again or bring something back. In the story the memories and events of 1912 are being brought back, revived, and part of that story involves the central characters' rehearsal of Le Martyre de St. Sebastien. Les Feluettes revisits the grand, tragic romantic drama in the tradition of a Tosca or a Romeo and Juliet or a La Traviata, and the music seeks to capture and portray those fragile, powerful sentiments of love, loss, desire, determination, and obsession.

The play on which the opera is based is rich with musical references and implications. Vallier and Simon's love is framed by Gabriel D'Annunzio's infamous play Le Martyre de St. Sebastien for which Claude Debussy was commissioned to write incidental music. Michel Marc's stage directions in the first scene of Les Feluettes even call specifically for Debussy's incidental music to be used. The events which Simon re-enacts for the Bishop are all set in 1912 when the music of the Belle Epoch and the exoticism of American ragtime would have appealed to a segment of Quebec society keen to demonstrate its sophistication. La musique traditionnelle québécoise (traditional folk music of Quebec) would also have been commonly heard, and it's even possible that a Quebec convict in 1952 might have been able to play one of the instruments common to the genre, a fiddle or wooden spoons. Québécoise folk music is itself an eclectic product of the Irish and French settlers (Irish fiddle mixed with French accordion and accompanied rhythmically by wooden spoons).

Les Feluettes has been the most amazing, rewarding, rigorous, demanding project I've worked on to date and I wouldn't hesitate to do it all again.

gay men, it is clear that Les Feluettes did, indeed, become universal. Excerpts from Robert Holliston’s reflections on his first Composer Kevin March has explained his eclectic musical experience of Lilies in Montreal choices: the score contains quotes from or stylistic allusions to Debussy's incidental music to Le Martyre de St. Sebastien, First and foremost – to me, at least – Les Feluettes is a story – this is actually a crucial plot point – American ragtime, about gay male love at a time when – and in a place where – French belle-époque-style cabaret, traditional Québecoise it was met with revulsion and hostility. True, there have folk music, and even a 19thbeen other forbidden loves, and century Napoleonic anthem. Each many of them have been treated of these choices illuminates dramatically in plays, novels, something about the time and musicals, and operas, but each of place of the story, and even the these resonates within society in personalities and thoughts of the its own way; the love between characters. Simon Doucet and Count Vallier de Tilly is very definitely between And of course they are individual two men and does not need to dramatic elements in March's stand in for or "symbolize" richly imaginative score, which is anything else. beautiful, evocative, and dramatically apt at every turn. Start with specifics, advised critic And rich also in colour: the Photo by David Cooper John Simon, with the personal composer's orchestration always and the intimate. If this is well enough imagined and felt, you seems to find exactly the right colour for what is being can trust it to become universal by itself. Both composer and sung, thought of, felt by the characters. librettist have paid astute attention to detail, to specifics, to the personal and the intimate, throughout Les Feluettes. Les Feluettes left me tearful and emotionally shattered, but Thus we connect with the characters as people, believe eager to experience it again. That night I walked many readily in their dramatic situation, and care deeply what blocks in the wrong direction, all the while aware that this happens to them. Assuming (safely, I think) that the is what theatre can do! majority of the audience that night in Montreal were not

A powerful new opera

bishop to watch as they put on a theatrical performance depicting the events that led to Simon's incarceration. The play within the play begins with a flashback to Roberval College, Quebec, in 1912, as young Simon and Vallier de Tilly rehearse a school production of The — by Maureen Woodall Martyrdom of St. Sebastian. Simon plays Sebastian, who has been sentenced by the Roman Emperor Diocletian to be Les Feluettes, the opera that blew audiences away at its executed by his own archers, one of whom is Sanaé, played Spring 2017 world première in Montreal, is a romantic by Vallier. Sebastian urges Sanaé to prove his love – to go drama set in a prison, where inmates dramatize a decadesahead and kill him so that he may be reborn. As they old tragedy to draw out the truth of a devastating love rehearse the ardent words, the boys' acting becomes more triangle. real, and they kiss. They are interrupted by young Bilodeau who accuses them of depravity. In the ensuing quarrel, Like the play on which it is based, Les Feluettes embodies Simon forces a kiss on Bilodeau just as Vallier's mother the power of theatre – as an art form that can mesmerize enters and applauds, thinking she has witnessed a daringly and thrill an audience; as a litmus test for truth; and as a well-acted scene from the play. way to express the inexpressible, to re-create That kiss has devastating memory, to be at once artificial consequences. Simon receives and startlingly real. a severe beating from his father, after which he plunges The story opens in 1952 with into a more "suitable" the arrival of Bishop relationship with Lydie-Anne Photo by David Cooper Bilodeau to hear the de Rozier, a wealthy French confession of his old woman on holiday. Even as classmate Simon Doucet, who Simon and Vallier find their has been an inmate for 40 way back to one another, years. Instead, Simon and his reiterating the words of fellow prisoners force the Sebastian and Sanaé to express

The Play’s the Thing: Les Feluettes and the Power of Theatre

their love, Bilodeau's jealous, unadmitted longing for Simon sets in motion the inevitable tragedy. The opera is based on Michel Marc Bouchard's dazzling 1987 play Les Feluettes: La Répétition d'un drame romantique. The English – Lilies, or The Revival of a Romantic Drama – like many translations, both adds and subtracts meaning. Feluettes is a specifically Quebecois term indicating frail or delicate things. As the play's translator Linda Gaboriau explains: 'Feluette' is a word someone of an older generation might use, a Quebec distortion of the word 'fluet' or 'fluette' which means frail or delicate. A mother might say it about a consumptive child, but it could mean effeminate or effete. lt isn't necessarily pejorative. ... I went back to the play ... and saw how many Biblical allusions there were. I began thinking of lilies of the field, the 'fleur de lys', and lilies as the flower of royalty ... The play has a lot of the flamboyance of Oscar Wilde, who created a cult for lilies. Artists ... have drawn sexual imagery from lilies. It seemed to capture the same kind of allusive meaning as 'feluette'. In both play and opera, Feluette is the nickname given to Vallier by Bilodeau; it is translated as Lily-white (and, in the play, lily-livered sissy). Yet Vallier is arguably the character with the most inner strength: he works himself to

exhaustion to support his mother and himself and he is clear, always, about his own feelings for Simon. The subtitle of the play hints at its hall-of-mirrors structure. Répétition can refer to the reiteration of an experience; the revival of a theatrical production (the play within the play that dramatizes the events of 1912); and the rehearsal of a play (Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, the inner play within the play within the play). These nested dramas create a mise en abyme that draws the characters into an abyss of discovery and memory. The play within the play, the inmates' re-enactment of the past, recalls Hamlet's use of theatre to reveal Claudius' guilt (The play's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king). Simon's dramatic re-enactment is intended to elicit confession, mete out justice, and unearth truth. The innermost play, The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian, becomes a recursive theme, its text a counterpoint weaving through the opera, giving Simon and Vallier the words to uncover and express their love.

eventually found out, he reproached Sebastian for his ingratitude and had him shot by archers. Miraculously, Sebastian survived. But rather than play it safe, he proceeded to harangue Diocletian for his persecution of Christians. Not surprisingly, Diocletian didn't take this well. Sebastian was martyred a second time, this time by being beaten to death. Sebastian is the patron saint of soldiers and athletes, long beloved by artists: he found his way into paintings by Botticelli, Rubens, El Greco, Titian, Dali, and many others. Sebastian was one of the few religiously acceptable subjects for depiction of the male nude; he provided opportunities for pious homoeroticism and has long been a gay icon – this despite the fact that the real Sebastian is more likely to have been a burly, middle-aged bruiser. The earliest images of him – mosaics dating from the 6th and 7th centuries (long after his death, c. 288) – show him fully dressed, with a grey beard, and nary an arrow in sight. The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian Le Martyre de St. Sébastien is a neoromantic play by the Italian Gabriele D'Annunzio, with incidental music by Claude Debussy. The play, which premiered in Paris in 1911, was a multimedia extravaganza with chorus, orchestra, ballet, mime, recitation, singing, and elaborate sets and costumes. It was Wagnerian in length, going on for some five hours of fevered, overwrought poetry, not unlike

The importance of St. Sebastian — by Maureen Woodall

St. Sebastian is one of the more picturesque early Christian saints, instantly recognizable in art as a beautiful youth palely loitering against a tree or pillar, pierced with arrows. Legend has it that he was a member of the elite Praetorian Guard in the late 3rd Century, a secret Christian who used his position as a Roman soldier to help Christians and to convert more to the cause. When the Emperor Diocletian

Oscar Wilde's more lurid outpourings in Salome (which made a decent opera). Debussy's contribution to the project was about an hour of music, and it is the work's saving grace. His contract stipulated that the play could never be performed without his music. Fortunately, the music is almost always performed without the play, either in various drastically shortened versions or in a set of Symphonic Fragments that Debussy had the foresight to extract from the score in 1912, and some of which is quoted in Les Feluettes. D'Annunzio wrote the part of St. Sebastian for the notorious Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein, who has been called the Lady Gaga of her era. She was a Russian dancer and producer, renowned for her beauty and enormous wealth and notorious for her provocative performances, her androgynous physique, and her bisexual lifestyle. After two years with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, she left to start her own ballet company. She commissioned several works, including Ravel's Boléro. Her 1910 performance in Paris as Schéhérazade with the Ballets Russes reportedly caused D'Annunzio to declare, Here are the legs of St. Sebastian, for which I have been searching in vain all these years! After the première of Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien, the writer Marcel Proust wrote to Reynaldo Hahn: I found the

legs of Mme Rubinstein ... sublime. That was about it for me. I found the piece rather boring apart from the odd moment. Martyre makes the most of the homoerotic appeal of Sebastian, conflating him with the pagan figure of Adonis, but that's not the main reason it was banned by the Church before it even opened. D'Annunzio's writing was already scandalous, but Martyre was the last straw for the Vatican. On May 8, 1911, just two weeks before the première, the Vatican placed on its Index of Prohibited Books all of D'Annunzio's plays, short stories, and novels. This was followed almost immediately by a statement from the Archbishop of Paris forbidding Catholics from attending the production, on pain of excommunication. Surprisingly, the problem wasn't so much the homoerotic and sadomasochistic elements as the fact that St. Sebastian was played by a woman – and, what was more shocking, a Jewish woman (who also happened to be bisexual). In Les Feluettes, it is noteworthy that a priest in rural 1912 Quebec has his students perform Le Martyre. Father St. Michel may live in the boonies (Roberval is 250 km north of Quebec City), but he is clearly au courant with the latest European theatrical sensation, and it is surprisingly bold of him to program this forbidden work.

Daniel Cabena, the countertenor who plays Lydie-Anne de Rozier in the production, commented on this in an interview with Catherine Doyle of Opera With Pearls: I'd say that gender fluidity is an important and beautiful feature of opera's heritage, a tradition which, after all, reflects and explores all the dimensions of human experience. I also feel that that fluidity is a gift to performers, that it provides a unique opportunity through which deeply and freely to explore themselves and the characters that they are embodying. So, that's all by way of saying two things: that cross-dressing in opera is not "a big deal," that it is entirely part of the richness of the tradition; and that – not at all conversely! – it's a very "big deal," a gift to performers and a celebration of the variety and fluidity of the human experience, which opera so beautifully celebrates. I should also say, though, for the sake of precision, that in Les Feluettes I'm not exactly playing the role of a woman but, rather, that of a male prisoner who's playing a woman in a play-within-a-play. I think that that extra layer adds a fascinating dimension to the discussion of gender roles, while at the same time rendering it moot!

Gender bending in Lilies — by Maureen Woodall While Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien created a scandal when a woman played the male saint in the play, today's opera audiences would barely raise an eyebrow at such a casting choice. Operagoers are used to mezzo-sopranos performing trouser roles, and we're growing accustomed to the strange beauty of a countertenor voice in a masculine leading role. Les Feluettes is merely a new – but intriguing – chapter in opera's long tradition of gender bending. The entire cast is male (reasonable given that the opera is set in a men's prison and a boys' college). The two female roles are taken by a countertenor and a baritone; each plays a man playing a woman, adding another labyrinthine twist to this fascinating and dramatic exploration of the intricacies of love and theatre.

Photo by David Cooper

Activity — Creative Concept! Pre-performance activity One very important facet of every production is the design of the show. Each production has a dedicated team of designers – both costume and scenery – working with the director to make their vision come to fruition. In this activity, students will create costumes and set ideas for what they think the opera should look like. They can pull inspiration from a production that they have seen, other productions, and, most importantly, their own imaginations. A Vision Board is used to show a unifying idea for a creative project. Often, directors will use a vision board to focus their vision for a production. It features specific elements such as costumes, set design, and props. Establish your setting: • •

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Set Design

What time/place does the opera take place in? What does this society look like – what are the norms of clothing, design, architecture, etc. during the period?

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Costume Design •

the opera in. What did those of lower social class wear? What would royalty wear? What accessories might each character have? How would you distinguish major and minor characters of the opera? Consider the colours that you would want most represented in the opera – what colours best reflect any relevant themes? Is it a bright, hopeful story? Or dark and bleak? Create some colour swatches to use as inspiration for your vision board. Based off your research, create some costumes for your production – pull multiple images from magazines, Internet searches, etc. to create your own costumes. Don’t just use other productions’ costumes – create your own. Draw something, use the multiple images to make a collage of what looks you want for each character, etc.

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Research what kinds of clothing people wore in the period/location that you chose to set

Research the prominent architectural styles of the period/setting that you chose. What kind of houses did people live in? Were the housing styles different between low and high social classes? Consider the main locations of the opera – how might these places look? What building materials might the people of the period have had? What should your set be made out of, or made to look like?

Activity — Poster design Pre-performance activity In this activity, you will design a poster for Edmonton Opera’s Lilies (Les Feluettes). When creating an image to represent an opera you must consider the time period, setting, themes, characters, and plot. The designer must also keep in mind our audience that we are trying to appeal to and what types of media we will use to reach them. After researching, it is important to sketch and brainstorm your ideas. It can be helpful to make a collage or mood board of different visuals and ideas that you would like to incorporate into the final image. Other important factors include the hierarchy of information (what is the most important information and how will you show that importance – size of type, colour, location, etc.), typography, colour (contrast, significance of colour), composition (placement, size and shape), and form among others. How would you illustrate Lilies? Is your image a literal or symbolic portrayal? So now that you have some of the basics, design a poster! Be sure to read the content of this guide to learn more about the opera — this will inform your poster design. Use this example of our Turandot poster for inspiration!

Activity — Character reflections Post-performance activity

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Students will try to further understand the characters of Lilies by doing an in depth character study. Guide the students through the following discussion questions to understand their character’s motivations, strengths, struggles, etc. Have students consider the characters and the role they play in the story. Divide the students into groups, and have each student choose a character to research. Students will need to create a series of journal entries that reflect conflicts present throughout the story of the opera. They can write all of their entries on one character, or write a few entries for multiple characters. SIMON | VALLIER | BILODEAU | LYDIE-ANNE | COUNTESS MARIE-LAURE | OLD SIMON | BISHOP BILODEAU •

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Foundations: o How old are you? Where are you from? Where do you live now? Do you have any family that we know of? What are your friends/family like? o What is your relationship with the other characters in the opera like? How would your friends/family describe you in three words? (Think of mental, physiological, and physical characteristics)

o What is your best quality? What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? Getting deeper: o What are your dreams and goals? What drives you to try to reach those goals? How does this affect the choices your character makes in the story? What steps in the opera do you take to achieve your objective? o What obstacles stand in your way? Are there any obstacles that are beyond your control (in Lilies, for example, a big obstacle is a hostile society that cannot accept same-sex love)? How will you overcome those challenges? What are the outcomes of your choices? o Looking back from the end-point of the opera, would you have done anything differently? Today: o Are there any characters in modern-day television, literature, movies, theatre, etc., that remind you of the character that you chose? Are there any characters with similar characteristics or traits? o If your character were alive today, how would they be more or less successful? What might they have done differently to achieve their objectives?

Activity — Design a playbill

Links for further study

Pre-performance activity

Lilies reviews:

At each performance of Lilies, Edmonton Opera distributes a playbill (also referred to as a program) that contains some useful content about the opera for audiences to read before the performance, during intermission, and even afterwards at home. In this activity, students will design their own mini-version of the Lilies playbill.

Les Feluettes a powerful tale well sung — Times Colonist New opera Les Feluettes works on many levels — Montreal Gazette Les Feluettes written in a musical language accessible to wide audience — Toronto Star Les Feluettes in Montreal: new world opera triumphs — Bachtrack All of the trappings of a great opera — La Scena Musicale

Some elements typically found in an opera playbill are: • • • • •

Composer/librettist biography Cast and production team list Synopsis Program notes (a production history, thematic evaluation of the opera, historical context, etc.) Artists’ biographies

Videos & music: Official trailer for Lilies (Les Feluettes) Musical snippet “Magnifique” Musical snippet “Cherchons la direction des vents”

A major part of building the playbill is research. Very few of these elements have to be written by students themselves, it is more a matter of researching online and compiling the required content. For example, the Edmonton Opera website contains information like a cast list, synopsis, and composer/artist biographies can be found through Google.

Interview with librettist Michel Marc Bouchard (in French with English subtitles)

You can see an electronic version of our Elektra playbill here for reference: https://issuu.com/suggitt/docs/eo_elektra

The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian by Claude Debussy

Interview with composer Kevin March Lilies (full movie 1996)

Interview with the creative team (2015)

For further questions about this education and activity guide, please contact us at: education@edmontonopera.com

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