Culture Strasbourg Rhine Opera: “Imagine a day like this” Ortenau News

A variety of sounds combined with poetic expressiveness: The Strasbourg Rhine Opera is showing the contemporary work “Picture a day like this” at the start of the season

The opera only lasts an hour, but the work “Imagine a day like this” shows a complex journey through the labyrinth of human emotions and touches on existential questions about life. With this extraordinary composition by the Briton George Benjamin with a text by Martin Crimp, the Strasbourg Rhine Opera begins its program for the 2024/25 season.

It is a compressed piece that could be described as a chamber opera, with only five vocal soloists, some of whom take on two roles. There is no choir. The orchestra, with its 20 or so musicians, is not exactly a bombastic symphony orchestra, but with its line-up of strings, woodwinds, percussion, trumpet and harp, it has a broad sound spectrum.

The story centers on a nameless woman who has lost her newborn child. She learns that she can bring the baby back to life if she gets the button from a piece of clothing belonging to a truly happy person. The opera depicts the desperate mother’s search for people who meet these requirements. It is an arduous, seemingly futile search.

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The woman meets a number of people who do not have names but are characterized by a function. First she comes across a couple who are apparently living their passion. But as soon as the woman appears, the lovers get into a heated argument. Even when she meets a craftsman, a former button manufacturer, the woman does not achieve her goal. The man initially describes himself as “extremely happy.” But later it becomes clear that he is a failure and depressed.

Depressing search

The conversations with a famous composer and a lonely art collector also turned out negatively. He leads the orphaned mother into a fantasy garden, where she meets the mysterious Zabelle. She is, however, a mythical creature, not a real person. When the woman insists that Zabelle give her the button and thus share her happiness, she replies: “I am only happy because I do not exist.” In her encounters, the desperate woman encounters jealousy, alienation, vanity and loneliness. It is a predominantly depressing journey through human society.

Composer George Benjamin uses his own compositional techniques in each stage of the opera, which was first performed last year at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, thus underlining the structure of the plot. The variety of sounds and the richness of the music’s colors are striking.

The vocal parts underline the poetic expressiveness of the text. The soloists, especially mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska, proved themselves equal to this challenge. Alphonse Cemin, who is the musical director, has succeeded in turning “Picture a day like this” into a remarkable work of art.

INFO: Further performances are today, Wednesday, and Friday, September 20, both at 8 p.m., in the Strasbourg Opera House on Place Broglie. Internet: www.operanationaldurihn.eu