[ IN THE PRESS ] THE SLEEPING THOUSAND
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LE MONDE
Festival d’Aix-en-Provence: The Sleeping Thousand gives a voice to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The premiere of this first opera in Hebrew, which unites Israeli composer Adam Maor and author and director Yonatan Levy, was an audience favorite.
The Sleeping Thousand, the first opera by Israeli composer Adam Maor (born in 1983 in Haifa), which premiered in the afternoon of July 6 at the Théâtre du Jeu de Paume, left a lasting impression. Its unique, alluring and provocative universe mixes political fable, philosophical tale and parabolic fiction, centered around the insoluble Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This progression from nationalism to a love for humanity owes much to the poetic talent of the playwright and director Yonatan Levy, who wrote the libretto and has penned a novel by the same name.
LE FIGARO
Satirical, political and poetic, all at the same time.
OLYRIX
A new tale of 1,001 nights, in which the overall experience is corrosive and invigorating.
RESMUSICA
Without offending, the two Israeli artists lay out an apparently hopeless situation—a sentiment that is reflected in our reality—while still defending the idea of a “community,” which is rebuilt in the dreamworld. To do so, they mix political and philosophical fable with the popular genre of science fiction; fill their space with Eastern and contemporary Western music; merge live opera and electronic music (with computerized music designed by Augustin Muller); entangle dark and luminous sounds; and play on the rich consonance of Hebrew, the language in which this chamber opera was written. [...]
LA MARSEILLAISE
Yonatan Levy and Adam Maor have created a work that is fascinating, for both its music and its thought-provoking subject matter. Here, opera talks about today’s world better, no doubt, than any news bulletin.
LUXEMBURGER WORT
A joy of contemporary opera.
LA PROVENCE
The Sleeping Thousand: humor and hope
There is always something magical about art, and opera is no exception. And this year, the cool breeze blowing over the Festival d’Aix comes from the Negev. […]
The gamble pays off in this mix between poetic fable and science fiction, in a work that takes the Israeli-Palestinian divide and makes it universal, with music that is both enjoyable and original.
