LA CITADELLE DE VERRE 

(The Glass Citadel) 

Opera 

Music by Louis Crelier / Libretto by Pierre Christin. 

Lyrics by Pierre Christin and Valérie Letellier. 

Stage design and costumes Enki Bilal, conductor Nicolas Farine, 

stage direction Benjamin Knobil, artistic direction Valérie Letellier. 

Cast: Sacha Michon, baritone (Carcaval), Annina Haug, mezzo (Jenny), Clara Meloni, soprano (Anna), Francesco Biamonte, bass (the Tramp), Davide Autieri, baritone (Mirko), Stuart Patterson, tenor (Tsakhour), Sibyl Zanganelli, mezzo et Jérémie Brocard, baritone (the mundane couple). 

Orchestra of the Georgian State Opera, Tbilisi (49 musicians), and the Choir of the Citadel (30 singers) in association with Avant-Scène Opéra, Neuchâtel. 

New production Opéra en Scène in creation in2018 on Saturday April 21 (7pm) & April 22 (5pm), at the Temple du Bas, in Neuchâtel (Switzerland). 

Thematics 

The setting: The fragility of the social world in which urban space is at all times vulnerable to becoming the arena of political demands that could lead to terrorist acts. It is thus pervaded by a mood of anxiety, building up to a finale of doom where we witness the destruction of civilization and the triumph of totalitarianism. Steeped in his knowledge of the former communist bloc and its atrocities, the librettist Pierre Christin depicts a society constantly in upheaval, permanently threatened by destruction of its humanist values. Inspired by Enki Bilal's masterful scenographic atmosphere, the work reveals a universe whose darkness nevertheless bears underlying hope, embodied by a few women and men of good will, which gives the opera its timeless nature. 

Contact for hosting and coproduction : opera.en.scene@gmail.com 

Donors to the creation : Loterie Romande / City and State of Neuchâtel / Fondation BCN / Suisa Fondation for Music / SIS / Casino Neuchâtel / Swisstrain.ch. In partnership with Avant-Scène Opéra and Lyrique en Scène. 

The writing and composition of the work have been financially supported by the City and the State of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), the Fondation pour le Rayonnement de Neuchâtel, the Loterie Romande (Neuchâtel commission), the SSA, Swiss Authors Society and Crelier Music Publishing. 

© 2018 Crelier Music Publishing (Suisa/SSA)