La nuit transfigurée

La nuit transfigurée – Philippe Saire – Recorded 7 February 2014 at the Centre national de la danse in Pantin

Premiere at Opéra de Lausanne November 2nd, 2012

The night’s delicate subtleties are followed by the crushing state of  dawn. When Philippe Saire throws himself into Schönberg’s musical  score, he transcends all notions of space and time, and it’s a great  success. Nathalie Yokel, La Terrasse

For its autumn 2012 reopening, the Opéra de Lausanne commissioned  Philippe Saire to produce Transfigured Night, a powerful and stirring  piece about truth and forgiveness, shadows and lights, set in a  marvellous décor of real animal antlers.
Philippe Saire worked with the Camerata de Lausanne, with Pierre Amoyal  at the helm, to create a stirring work of choreography based on Arnold  Schönberg’s romantic work, Transfigured Night. The pair then chose to  contrast it with Antonio Vivaldi’s vibrant Concerto for two violins in A  minor – the latter offering a lighter contrapuntal note to the more  dramatic tones of the former.
Although several choreographers had already interpreted Schönberg’s work  in the past, Philippe Saire tackled the project head on and delivered a  sensual and intense version, which he set in the context of a hunt.
Both then worked to ensure that the romanticism of the music would not  overwhelm the choreography, creating moments of silence and others  dedicated to the music itself. This original approach led them to find a  delicate balance between rejection and acceptance of the music.
Over 1 700 people attended the first performances at the Opéra de  Lausanne and the Théâtre Sévelin 36, ensuring a successful start to the  creation.

One piece, two versions
Transfigured Night is played to a recording of Schönberg and Vivaldi’s  works. A symphonic version can also be considered, according to the  theatre’s programme and configuration.

Coproduction Opéra de Lausanne

Source: website of Compagnie Philippe Saire