4 minute read
Director’s Notes
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, his extraordinary life, impact, and art, his influence on many incredible historical figures, and his incredible success despite the prejudice he faced throughout his life has been the core inspiration for this concept.
Bologne’s life was simply remarkable. While The Anonymous Lover has gallant charm, romance, and lighthearted themes of love typical of French culture, I cannot help but see him through each note and I wonder how much of himself is present through the opera (he himself was forbidden to marry, etc.). This fascination for the composer is highly influential in this presentation.
Another intriguing character is the playwright herself, Stéphanie Félicité de Genlis. Of course, she exquisitely portrays “la danse amoureuse,” the chase and the “waiting to be chased” of the amorous game we can all relate to. Still, it is not the beauty of the music nor the joyful and witty story that intrigues me most, but the source of their creation — these two fascinating historical characters.
Our enthusiastic team, Costume Designer Ari Fulton, Set Designer Stephan Moravski, Lighting Designer Mary Shabatura, and I hope to offer an opportunity to celebrate Joseph Bologne’s life and origins by presenting an island very much inspired by 18th-century paintings of Guadalupe, the composer’s birthplace. We invite the audience to travel not only to the composer’s time, but beyond his life as a Frenchman and to the land of his origins. Dramaturg Harrison Rivers joined our team to provide modern relevance to the text while respecting the original libretto.
This concept offers an opportunity for bright colors and Caribbean-inspired choreography alongside influence and accents of 18th-century France. We believe that abundance, joy, colors, love, and escape to other times and lands will be healing and important, especially in the times we are all living. Most importantly, we realized this work offers us an opportunity to invite a diverse cast. Like with the musical Hamilton, we believe that the question of diversity is enhanced when in period costumes. In this 18th-century island setting, diversity on stage would not be anachronistic, as people from all ethnic backgrounds were present and it is reported that many had successful businesses as well. We want to show that despite the prejudice that existed, people from diverse origins were thriving.
As another homage to Joseph Bologne’s fame and acclaim: we hope audiences smile at the short fencing sequence in the first duet of the opera and added violin cadenza in the overture. Bologne was known as a remarkable technical fencer and virtuoso violinist, among other talents. We are also starting the opera with the traditional French trois coups. In theatre, les trois coups (the three blows) are hit on the floor of the stage with a rod called brigadier, at the start of a performance in order to get the attention of the public and crew. There are, in total, 12 blows representing the 12 apostles, 9 rapid blows, and 3 final, slower blows representing the queen, the king, and the audience.
Our vision for the sets and costumes borrows the silhouettes of the fashion seen in Guadeloupe at that time, with bits of anachronism and modernity, aiding in the relatability of the work. The opera and its timeless love story could be set in any time period, but because we are so highly inspired by Joseph Bologne Chevalier de SaintGeorges, we opted for 18th-century flair.
We convey through the black details on Léontine’s costume that she is exiting a period of mourning and give Léontine awareness of Valcour’s “secret” from the start of the opera, where she witnesses the first duet between Valcour and Ophémon (who we dressed with fabrics from diverse part of the world… a little wink to the fascination this time period had for esoterism, new sciences and travels). This tweak is a step away from the original French text. Allowing her to know his efforts changes the playfulness between the characters, offers equality (she is not manipulated by a man, he is equally manipulated), and offers another stake for humor and humanity. It also offers the possibility for another level of sarcasm, intrigue, and “Frenchness,” while allowing the characters to be very sincere at moments and vulnerable at others. We also tweak the importance of the character of Dorothée and Ophémon who now are also “maitres d’oeuvres” a bit like the Despina/Alfonso duo in Così fan tutte by Mozart.
Another unique decision made for this production was to add two songs and an additional line in a trio in the second act for the character of Dorothée. Bologne originally wrote this character as a spoken one for his patron, Madame de Montesson, who welcomed the creation of the opera at her “hotel particulier.” Stéphanie Félicitée de Genlis, the author of the play, was the niece of Madame de Montesson and a dear friend of Bologne, but not the librettist as François-Georges Fouques Deshayes, Desfontaines was. These three creatives involved in l’Amant Anonyme are on stage.
We are rectifying finally what should have been rectified a long time ago by creating equal opportunities for all. In our quest for justice, we are also reminded that in some times and places, those from diverse backgrounds did enjoy some measure of success. Despite pervasive limitations we can see through works such as The Anonymous Lover an example of great resilience and true excellence. Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges is one of these examples.
