Following the success of The Woman Who Walked into Doors, Kris Defoort and Guy Cassiers have written a second opera together. The starting point for House of the Sleeping Beauties is a novella by Japanese writer Yasunari Kawabata, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. The novella tells of the visits of the old Eguchi to a tender and strange brothel, where elderly men go to spend the night lying next to the warm bodies of young sedated girls. It is a story of memories, melancholy and decline. The voice as an instrument is primordial in the opera by Kris Defoort. In the bedroom, lyricism and song reign supreme, whereas outside, the singers are confined to spoken dialogue. Song inside and spoken dialogue outside: two universes with contrasting colours, intensity and emotions.
Libretto ¦ Livret Kris Defoort & Guy Cassiers
Naar de roman De schone slaapsters ¦ D’après le roman Les belles endormies van ¦ de Yasunari Kawabata
OPEN OPERA !
EUROPEAN OPERA DAYS– 9.5.2009
On this occasion, the projectors will ignite the world premiere of Kris Defoort’s House of the Sleeping Beauties at La Monnaie. This new opera is based on the novella by the same name by Japanese author and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate Yasunari Kawabata. The doors of our theatre will be wide open, offering you a range of interesting activities free of charge, so that you may discover a surprising dialogue between the universe of Japan and opera. Voice, dance and writing workshops, original guided tours, encounters, readings of excerpts from Kawabata’s story, tea ceremonies, workshops for children: an exciting programme for everyone!
'A Stage with a View' is a new series of literary events gathering intellectuals, philosophers and artists to discuss topics related to works or productions on the programme at la Monnaie.
Parallel to our production of House of the Sleeping Beauties, art galery Fifty One Fine Art Photography in Antwerp is organizing an exhibition on the same theme by Japanese photographer Masao Yamamoto.
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