November 11, 2007

Mozart’s cherished operatic repertoire resonated in the Karachi Arts Council auditorium last week as the French ensemble Champs/Chants de Garonne dramatised Don Giovanni, depicted comic opera The Wedding of Figaro satirising aristocracy, and discarded irrational-diabolic obscurantism in The Magic Flute.

For three consecutive evenings buoyant youth as well as weakened (even visually impaired) octogenarian karachiites were entertained by insight into Mozart’s integration of accelerating complexity, symmetrical resolution, clarity, balance, transparency, fury and passion.

Three pieces were rendered at the Arts Council where ivory keys ceded to the artful touch of pianist Fabien Prou. Fabulous oscillation coupled the marvelous vocalisation of sopranos Veronique Guin, Agnes Dutourne, Aurelie Fargues; mezzo-soprano Francine Sehabiague; baritones David Ortega, Emmanuel Gardeil, Jean-Francois Gardeil and tenor Arnaud Penet. The castings of the roles were done in unison with voices of different ability levels and actual range of the part. The Karachi Vocal Ensemble also played a significant part by contributing to the chorus.

The curiosity of the audience was appeased by The Wedding of Figaro famous for its overture. In hindsight, the stage play Le Marriage de Figaro by Frenchman Pierre Beaumarchais was at first banned in Vienna because of its satirisation of the aristocracy. In contrast, the opera with Italian libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte became one of Mozart’s most successful works wherein brisk activities taking place in Seville (Spain) recount a single day in the palace of Count Almaviva, (performed by baritone Jean-François Gardeil).

The finale was The Magic Flute, a two-act singspiel that was composed by Mozart in 1791 (also the year he died at the age of 36) to a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The Magic Flute, that Haydn said he had heard in his dreams, allegorised the enlightenment philosophy employing fusion of singing and spoken dialogue. Pianist and soloists translocated the audience members to a distant land where a handsome prince named Tamino (Arnaud Panet) is saved from a serpent by attendants of the queen. The theatrical presentation prevented spectators from bewildering with regard to the simplistic staging that could have obscured the mighty power of masterpieces.

Similarly, The Marriage of Figaro incipiently scored on flutes, oboes, clarinets, horns, trumpets, timpan and strings was executed here with a sole piano. But making up for the minimal instrumentation and inadequacy of realistic sets, Chants de Garonne dramatised the libretto, blending bridled pitch of voices and energetic body language that had to be restrained due to local sensitivity.Baritone Jean-François Gardeil, who delineated Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro and Leporello in Don Giovanni, had assembled the ensemble 17 years ago. Since then the troupe has visited Asia (Pakistan) twice and performed in 30 countries of Europe, South and North America.

Baritone Jean-François Gardeil is a member of the Geneva Conservatory Jury and a winner of the prestigious Charles Academy Award (Grand Prix de l’Academie Charles Gros). Informing that his native Gascogne was famous for its baked goods, he disclosed that his family had been in bread and biscuit manufacturing business for the last three centuries. His deviation in the direction of music was a result of the enlightenment he acquired from some exceptional music teachers. Later, he went on to constitute the ensemble and named it after Garonne, a river that flows through Gascogne. The Champs de Garonne (fields at the banks of Garonne) can also be discerned as Chants (songs).

Senior Gardeil was accompanied by 25-year old son Emmanuel. After his initial schooling majoring in literature, Emmanuel opted to become a baritone eight years ago. He resolutely contradicted the impression that youth in Europe was not interested in classical music. However, he affirmed that opera singing was difficult to take up as a career for the reason that only few prominent singers made it big.

Other members of the troupe also agreed that universally modern music was more popular. They maintained that there were not more then a few hundred classical opera singers in France who were well off. They apprised that since opera was a very expensive art form there was a small number of opera houses in France, featuring limited shows to full houses. The troupe has also been experimenting with contemporary and modern work.

The directress of the troupe, soprano Veronique Guin, judiciously portrayed Suzanna (Figaro’s future wife in service under the countess), Zerline (Don Giovanni) and Papagena (The Magic Flute). Expressing her opinion on the paucity of instruments at the Karachi Arts Council performances, she contended that sole piano well suited the soloists.

Interestingly, Veronique who is an advocate by profession specialising in corporate cases, is presently the president of the Gascogne Bar Association. Inspired by her mother, who sings in choir, she learned singing as Jean-Francois Gardeil’s pupil and joined the ensemble five years ago. Her husband plays the accordion, son plays the saxophone and daughter, the clarinet.

Pianist Fabien Prou, who now composes chamber music, studied at Lyon in the National Conservatoire of Superior Music. “I try to make my compositions funny to develop a taste for classical music in youth who seem to be getting away due to its somberness,” he said. Fabien, who also teaches music, held that due to bitter competition it was not viable to sustain merely on performances.

The assemblage drew strength from the fact that event initiator and Consul-General of France, Monsieur Pierre Seillan, managed to raise Rs3.5 million in the course for the Al-Mehrab Tibbi Imdad, a shelter for terminally ill destitute cancer patients in Karachi. Since 1999, the successive French Consul-Generals have mustered some Rs20 million through music for the 25-bed hospice.