Les Éclairs (The Lightning Flashes) is an opera in four acts to a libretto by Jean Echenoz with music by Philippe Hersant. It was premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 2 November 2021.[1]

Based on a novel in verse by Echenoz, the opera is a fantasised biography of the inventor Nikola Tesla as the main character, Gregor. It depicts his arrival in America in 1884, a stormy relationship with Thomas Edison, Gregor's adoption by the (fictional) entrepreneur Parker and the support he receives from the (also fictional) philanthropist couple Ethel and Norman (the former of whom falls in love with Gregor). He is also supported by the journalist Betty. As with the real-life Tesla, Gregor becomes progressively obsessed with impractical projects and imagined extra-terrestrial contacts.

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 2 November 2021[2]
Conductor: Ariane Matiakh
Gregor baritone Jean-Christophe Lanièce
Ethel mezzo-soprano Marie-Andrée Bouchard-Lesieur
Norman tenor François Rougier
Betty soprano Elsa Benoit
Edison baritone André Heyboer
Parker baritone Jérôme Boutillier

References

  1. ↑ Les Éclairs, Opéra-Comique website, accessed 26 December 2021
  2. ↑ Les Éclairs, Operabase, accessed 26 December 2021
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