NO(S) DAMES I Genderless tribute to opera’s divas

Stabbed, poisoned, eviscerated, burnt alive, strangled, shot dead… In 4 centuries of male operas, heroines’ destinies are as tragic as their arias are sublime. In 2022, what if for once Drama no longer rhymed with Diva? What if we reversed the roles?
NEW ALBUM : NO(S) DAMES, redistributing for the 1st time the musical lead to women and the Ladies’ agonies to man.
By reversing the roles, the countertenor Théophile ALEXANDRE and the string quartet ZAÏDE sign both a singular and universal reinvention of divas’ arias, celebrating Carmen, Norma, Manon, Violetta… without perpetuating their gender stereotypes.
Other singularity of the disc : reuniting 23 operatic icons from 17  different composers, in a musical exquisite corps linking these arias together, and disrupting their clichés of madonnas, bitches and witches to draw the portrait of a same masculine idol : the Dame, as fantasized and imposed by men to women for centuries, beyond cultures or continents.
NO(S) DAMES : a discographic worldwide première, available the 21th of January 2022.
ON TOUR in 2022 and 2023 : Première of the Show the 18th of Jan 2022 at the Volcan du Havre.
Stage direction : Pierre-Emmanuel ROUSSEAU / Co-production : Limoges Opera & le Volcan du Havre.

YO SOY MARIA I Maria de Buenos Aires, Piazzolla

Heroine from Maria de Buenos Aires, the only opera of Astor Piazzolla, Maria lives a tragic life, from the glory in cabarets to the disgrace in a brothel, before being shot dead and cursed to haunt the streets of Buenos Aires forever.
Revisiting her emblematic aria, Théophile ALEXANDRE and the Quatuor ZAÏDE deliver a desperate and bewitching tango, playing with the voice gutturalness and the brutality of the sidewalk for the strings, to embody the tragic panache of this argentinian suburbian icon. Released for the hundredth birthday of Piazzolla’s birth, YO SOY MARIA is the 1st excerpt of NO(S) DAMES, genderless tribute to opera’s divas, celebrating the beauty of their arias beyond their gender stereotypes.

AH NON CREDEA I La Sonnambula, Bellini

Heroine of La Somnambule, Amina gets repudiated by her fiancé that accuses her to be unfaithfull with his rival. When he finally understands she suffers from sleepwalking, he forgives her and gives her back her engagement ring, ultimate promise of happiness for women in the social codes of that period.
By redistributing the roles in her most famous aria, Théophile ALEXANDRE and the Quatuor ZAÏDE explore the male fragility by a tightrope and frail vocality, sustained by a matrix of strings stretched up to vertigo. AH NON CREDEA is the 2nd excerpt of their album NO(S) DAMES, genderless tribute to opera’s tragic heroines, celebrating for the first time the divas’ arias beyond their traditional gender caricatures.

L’AMOUR EST UN OISEAU REBELLE I Carmen, Bizet

Iconic heroine, the gipsy Carmen seduces Don José. But also courted by Escamillo, she finally chooses him after months of quarrels with Don José. Mad with jealousy, Don José stabs her.
If I love you, beware… By putting back these words into a male mouth, Théophile ALEXANDRE and the Quatuor ZAÏDE reveal the true meaning of this dark message, announcing the tragic destiny male composers imagined for her. With swing in the strings and casualness in the voice, L’AMOUR is the 3d excerpt of their album NO(S) DAMES, genderless tribute to opera’s tragic heroines, celebrating for the first time the divas’ arias beyond their traditional gender clichés.

ADN BAROQUE I Baroque soul undressed in piano-voice

Discographic worldwide première : the countertenor Théophile ALEXANDRE and the concert-pianist Guillaume VINCENT dare baring baroque music in PIANO-VOICE.
In 21 pieces, like the 21 grammes of human soul, the artists dive us into the heard of mankind emotional DNA, exposing unheard facets of baroque essence : an audacious contemporary réinvention exploring the strengths and vulnerabilities of mankind through the powerful intimacy of piano-voice. INCLUDED : 4 duets with the sopranos Chantal SANTON & Marion TASSOU
BEST SELLING ALBUM 18-19 WITH 3.5 MILLIONS OF STREAMS

On stage, Théophile ALEXANDRE and Guillaume VINCENT couple the musical PIANO-VOICE strip down to a contemporary reinvention of baroque movement,  choreographed by Jean-Claude GALLOTTA and both sung and danced by Théophile. ADN BAROQUE takes us in a trip at the heart of mankind’s emotional DNA, exploring these feelings in chiaroscuro that sign our humanity.
On tour for 3 seasons: more that 35 dates and 17 000 spectators.

15th to 21st of Sept 2021 / STRASBOURG Opera

SNOW QUEEN

 Hans Abrahamsen revisits the classic fairytale of Andersen and takes us in an initiatic journey, both poetic and mysterious, in a fantastic universe made of ice.  Staged by James Bonas and Grégoire Pont, under the musical direction of Robert Houssart, this 1st opera of the danish composer reunites the soloists Lauren Snouffer, Helena Rasker, Floriane Derthe, Rachael Wilson, David Leigh, Théophile Alexandre, Moritz Kallenberg and Michael Smallwood.

1st to 3d of Oct 2021 / MULHOUSE Theater

SNOW QUEEN

 Hans Abrahamsen revisits the classic fairytale of Andersen and takes us in an initiatic journey, both poetic and mysterious, in a fantastic universe made of ice.  Staged by James Bonas and Grégoire Pont, under the musical direction of Robert Houssart, this 1st opera of the danish composer reunites the soloists Lauren Snouffer, Helena Rasker, Floriane Derthe, Rachael Wilson, David Leigh, Théophile Alexandre, Moritz Kallenberg and Michael Smallwood.

12th & 13th of Nov 2021 / VESOUL Theater

CHILDREN OF BRITTEN

Major composer of the 20th century, Benjamin Britten is as known for his musical masterpieces as for his brave personal commitments against intolerance or war. 40 years afetr his death, 40 children of the Justiniana ensemble and of the Choir of Dôle give a new life to his pieces for children’s choirs (Friday afternoons, Ceremony of Carols…), questioning the actual world : right to be different, overconsumption versus ecological emergency, new ways to love, in a poetic and meaningful show conceived, stages and choreographed by Théophile Alexandre.

02 & 03d of Dec 2021 / CANNES Dance Festival

KANTUS I Système Castafiore

Operatic & choreographic dystopia, KANTUS takes us in a future world where all our species are extincted. Through numerical memory, 4 explorers revive the singing and dancing rituals of the ancient world, questioning the hybrid beings that we became in a choreographic oper both poetic and apocalyptic. Ultimate creation of the Castafiore System, composed and staged by Karl Biscuit, on choreographies by Marcia Barcellos, Kantus stars Théophile Alexandre, singing and dancing along with 3 other singers and 5 dancers.

18th of Dec 2021 / Eglise Saint-Augustin, DEAUVILLE

A WINTER NIGHT IN DEAUVILLE

A fairy win blows in Deauville ! The organ tubes of the Saint-Augustin Church play with the virtuose Pan flute of Matthijs Koene to create a magical surrounding for the celestial voice of Théophile Alexandre. Together, they revisit the most moving Christmas melodies : baroque, classical, traditional and even pop, to celebrate the festive spirit of this ending year.

13th of Jan 2022 / Cité musicale – METZ

KANTUS I Système Castafiore

Operatic & choreographic dystopia, KANTUS takes us in a future world where all our species are extincted. Through numerical memory, 4 explorers revive the singing and dancing rituals of the ancient world, questioning the hybrid beings that we became in a choreographic oper both poetic and apocalyptic. Ultimate creation of the Castafiore System, composed and staged by Karl Biscuit, on choreographies by Marcia Barcellos, Kantus stars Théophile Alexandre, singing and dancing along with 3 other singers and 5 dancers.

13, 14 & 15th of Jan 2022 / Scènes Nationales du Jura

CHILDREN OF BRITTEN

Major composer of the 20th century, Benjamin Britten is as known for his musical masterpieces as for his brave personal commitments against intolerance or war. 40 years afetr his death, 40 children of the Justiniana ensemble and of the Choir of Dôle give a new life to his pieces for children’s choirs (Friday afternoons, Ceremony of Carols…), questioning the actual world : right to be different, overconsumption versus ecological emergency, new ways to love, in a poetic and meaningful show conceived, stages and choreographed by Théophile Alexandre.

PREMIÈRE : 18th of Jan 2022 / Le Volcan, LE HAVRE

NO(S) DAMES I Genderless tribute to opera’s divas

For the 1st time, the countertenor Théophile ALEXANDRE and the female string quartet ZAÏDE ungender the greatest arias of operatic heroines to challenge their  old sexist clichés. Staged by Pierre-Emmanuel ROUSSEAU, the artists question 4 centuries of male operas and their fantasized female icons with tragic destinies, from Carmen to Violetta, Médea, Norma or the Night Queen…
By daring reversing the roles, NO(S) DAMES revisit freely these musical masterpieces while disrupting the patriarcal norms inherited from the Romantic period, with the will to celebrate the beauty of these arias without perpetuating their gender corsets.

Built as an exquisite corpse of héroïnes by Mozart, Verdi, Bellini, Bizet, Tchaïkovsky, Grieg, Cavalli, Piazzolla, NO(S) DAMES is staged in an operatic curiosity cabinet, mixing fantasized videos and diva’s accessories to explore the morbid fetichisms associated to these Divanities.
Co-production : Cie Up To the Moon, Le Volcan du Havre, Limoges Opera, Quatuor Zaïde
Support : Mairie du Havre, Département Seine Maritime, Région Normandie, Région PACA

20th of Jan 2022 / Théâtre Edwige Feuillère, VESOUL

NO(S) DAMES I Genderless tribute to opera’s divas

For the 1st time, the countertenor Théophile ALEXANDRE and the female string quartet ZAÏDE ungender the greatest arias of operatic heroines to challenge their  old sexist clichés. Staged by Pierre-Emmanuel ROUSSEAU, the artists question 4 centuries of male operas and their fantasized female icons with tragic destinies, from Carmen to Violetta, Médea, Norma or the Night Queen…
By daring reversing the roles, NO(S) DAMES revisit freely these musical masterpieces while disrupting the patriarcal norms inherited from the Romantic period, with the will to celebrate the beauty of these arias without perpetuating their gender corsets.

Built as an exquisite corpse of héroïnes by Mozart, Verdi, Bellini, Bizet, Tchaïkovsky, Grieg, Cavalli, Piazzolla, NO(S) DAMES is staged in an operatic curiosity cabinet, mixing fantasized videos and diva’s accessories to explore the morbid fetichisms associated to these Divanities.
Co-production : Cie Up To the Moon, Le Volcan du Havre, Limoges Opera, Quatuor Zaïde
Support : Mairie du Havre, Département Seine Maritime, Région Normandie, Région PACA

04th of feb 2022 / Palais des Congrès, SAINT-RAPHAËL

ADN BAROQUE I Baroque soul undressed in piano-voice

Bach, Haendel, Purcell, Rameau, Vivaldi… Like you’ve never heard or seen them before.
In 21 pièces, like the 21 grammes of human soul, the countertenor & dancer Théophile ALEXANDRE and the concert-pianist Guillaume VINCENT dare baring baroque music in piano-voice, set in motion by Jean-Claude GALLOTTA :  a musical choreographic fairy-tale, diving us into the heart of our emotional DNA and exposing our perfect imperfections, like jagged-gems. Body and soul.

08th of Feb 2022 / Espace Carpeaux, COURBEVOIE

NO(S) DAMES I Genderless tribute to opera’s divas

For the 1st time, the countertenor Théophile ALEXANDRE and the female string quartet ZAÏDE ungender the greatest arias of operatic heroines to challenge their  old sexist clichés. Staged by Pierre-Emmanuel ROUSSEAU, the artists question 4 centuries of male operas and their fantasized female icons with tragic destinies, from Carmen to Violetta, Médea, Norma or the Night Queen…
By daring reversing the roles, NO(S) DAMES revisit freely these musical masterpieces while disrupting the patriarcal norms inherited from the Romantic period, with the will to celebrate the beauty of these arias without perpetuating their gender corsets.

Built as an exquisite corpse of héroïnes by Mozart, Verdi, Bellini, Bizet, Tchaïkovsky, Grieg, Cavalli, Piazzolla, NO(S) DAMES is staged in an operatic curiosity cabinet, mixing fantasized videos and diva’s accessories to explore the morbid fetichisms associated to these Divanities.
Co-production : Cie Up To the Moon, Le Volcan du Havre, Limoges Opera, Quatuor Zaïde
Support : Mairie du Havre, Département Seine Maritime, Région Normandie, Région PACA

15th of Feb 2022 / Espace Jean Montaru, MARCOUSSIS

NO(S) DAMES I Genderless tribute to opera’s divas

For the 1st time, the countertenor Théophile ALEXANDRE and the female string quartet ZAÏDE ungender the greatest arias of operatic heroines to challenge their  old sexist clichés. Staged by Pierre-Emmanuel ROUSSEAU, the artists question 4 centuries of male operas and their fantasized female icons with tragic destinies, from Carmen to Violetta, Médea, Norma or the Night Queen…
By daring reversing the roles, NO(S) DAMES revisit freely these musical masterpieces while disrupting the patriarcal norms inherited from the Romantic period, with the will to celebrate the beauty of these arias without perpetuating their gender corsets.

Built as an exquisite corpse of héroïnes by Mozart, Verdi, Bellini, Bizet, Tchaïkovsky, Grieg, Cavalli, Piazzolla, NO(S) DAMES is staged in an operatic curiosity cabinet, mixing fantasized videos and diva’s accessories to explore the morbid fetichisms associated to these Divanities.
Co-production : Cie Up To the Moon, Le Volcan du Havre, Limoges Opera, Quatuor Zaïde
Support : Mairie du Havre, Département Seine Maritime, Région Normandie, Région PACA

18th of Feb 2022 / LIMOGES Opera

NO(S) DAMES I Genderless tribute to opera’s divas

For the 1st time, the countertenor Théophile ALEXANDRE and the female string quartet ZAÏDE ungender the greatest arias of operatic heroines to challenge their  old sexist clichés. Staged by Pierre-Emmanuel ROUSSEAU, the artists question 4 centuries of male operas and their fantasized female icons with tragic destinies, from Carmen to Violetta, Médea, Norma or the Night Queen…
By daring reversing the roles, NO(S) DAMES revisit freely these musical masterpieces while disrupting the patriarcal norms inherited from the Romantic period, with the will to celebrate the beauty of these arias without perpetuating their gender corsets.

Built as an exquisite corpse of héroïnes by Mozart, Verdi, Bellini, Bizet, Tchaïkovsky, Grieg, Cavalli, Piazzolla, NO(S) DAMES is staged in an operatic curiosity cabinet, mixing fantasized videos and diva’s accessories to explore the morbid fetichisms associated to these Divanities.
Co-production : Cie Up To the Moon, Le Volcan du Havre, Limoges Opera, Quatuor Zaïde
Support : Mairie du Havre, Département Seine Maritime, Région Normandie, Région PACA

23d of Feb 2022 / Centre Culturel Les Vikings, YVETOT

ADN BAROQUE I Baroque soul undressed in piano-voice

Bach, Haendel, Purcell, Rameau, Vivaldi… Like you’ve never heard or seen them before.
In 21 pièces, like the 21 grammes of human soul, the countertenor & dancer Théophile ALEXANDRE and the concert-pianist Guillaume VINCENT dare baring baroque music in piano-voice, set in motion by Jean-Claude GALLOTTA :  a musical choreographic fairy-tale, diving us into the heart of our emotional DNA and exposing our perfect imperfections, like jagged-gems. Body and soul.

09 to 12th of March 2022 / Théâtre National de Chaillot

KANTUS I Système Castafiore

Operatic & choreographic dystopia, KANTUS takes us in a future world where all our species are extincted. Through numerical memory, 4 explorers revive the singing and dancing rituals of the ancient world, questioning the hybrid beings that we became in a choreographic oper both poetic and apocalyptic. Ultimate creation of the Castafiore System, composed and staged by Karl Biscuit, on choreographies by Marcia Barcellos, Kantus stars Théophile Alexandre, singing and dancing along with 3 other singers and 5 dancers.

18th of March 2022 / Le Tangram, EVREUX

NO(S) DAMES I Genderless tribute to opera’s divas

For the 1st time, the countertenor Théophile ALEXANDRE and the female string quartet ZAÏDE ungender the greatest arias of operatic heroines to challenge their  old sexist clichés. Staged by Pierre-Emmanuel ROUSSEAU, the artists question 4 centuries of male operas and their fantasized female icons with tragic destinies, from Carmen to Violetta, Médea, Norma or the Night Queen…
By daring reversing the roles, NO(S) DAMES revisit freely these musical masterpieces while disrupting the patriarcal norms inherited from the Romantic period, with the will to celebrate the beauty of these arias without perpetuating their gender corsets.

Built as an exquisite corpse of héroïnes by Mozart, Verdi, Bellini, Bizet, Tchaïkovsky, Grieg, Cavalli, Piazzolla, NO(S) DAMES is staged in an operatic curiosity cabinet, mixing fantasized videos and diva’s accessories to explore the morbid fetichisms associated to these Divanities.
Co-production : Cie Up To the Moon, Le Volcan du Havre, Limoges Opera, Quatuor Zaïde
Support : Mairie du Havre, Département Seine Maritime, Région Normandie, Région PACA

02 to 12th of May 2022 / Lyon Opera

Worldwide première: SHIRINE I ESCAICH & RAHIMI

Musical direction : Martyn BRABBINS I Stage director : Richard BRUNEL
SHIRINE is the 2nd opera by french composer Thierry ESCAICH, along with Goncourt award winner Atiq RAHIMI, and celebrates the emancipation of femininity through the story of the princess of Armenia and her impossible loves with the Persian king Khosrow, based on the legend Khosrow va Chîrîn by Nezâmî de Gandjeh (1141-1209).
This worldwide creation will take place in the Lyon National Opera, with the participation of France Musique, and will be sung by the soprano Hélène GUILLEMETTE, the tenor Julien BEHR and the countertenor Théophile ALEXANDRE, the barytone Jean-Sébastien BOU…

19th of May 2022 / Théâtre de l’Echiquier, POUZAUGES

ADN BAROQUE I Baroque soul undressed in piano-voice

Bach, Haendel, Purcell, Rameau, Vivaldi… Like you’ve never heard or seen them before.
In 21 pièces, like the 21 grammes of human soul, the countertenor & dancer Théophile ALEXANDRE and the concert-pianist Guillaume VINCENT dare baring baroque music in piano-voice, set in motion by Jean-Claude GALLOTTA :  a musical choreographic fairy-tale, diving us into the heart of our emotional DNA and exposing our perfect imperfections, like jagged-gems. Body and soul.