PICTURE A DAY LIKE THIS
OPERA IN ONE ACT
ORIGINAL TEXT BY MARTIN CRIMP
WORLD PREMIERE
CO-COMMISSION AND CO-PRODUCTION FESTIVAL D’AIX-EN-PROVENCE, ROYAL OPERA HOUSE - COVENT GARDEN, OPÉRA NATIONAL DU RHIN, OPÉRA COMIQUE, LES THÉÂTRES DE LA VILLE DE LUXEMBOURG, OPER KÖLN, TEATRO DI SAN CARLO
— WITH THE SUPPORT OF MADAME ALINE FORIEL-DESTEZET, GRANDE MÉCÈNE D'EXCEPTION DES 75 ANS DU FESTIVAL D'AIX-EN-PROVENCE
WITH THE SUPPORT OF KAROLINA BLABERG STIFTUNG, ORIGINAL PATRON OF CONTEMPORARY CREATION
CERCLE DES MÉCÈNES ASSOCIÉS, AMMODO, CERCLE INCISES FOR CONTEMPORARY CREATION AND JEAN-FRANÇOIS DUBOS
Find one happy person in this world
and cut one button from their sleeve.
Do it before night and your child will live.Martin Crimp, Picture a day like this
An ordinary day. A terrible event. The death of her infant child sets in motion one woman’s search for a life-restoring miracle. All she needs to do – in the course of a single day – is find one genuinely happy human being. But when every encounter, however promising, ends in disappointment, she turns finally to the mysterious Zabelle, owner and creator of a magnificent garden. Eleven years after the historic success of Written on Skin, George Benjamin returns to the Festival with a new opera in one act: a universal tale with moving colours, where the flow of music follows the flow of life; an initiatory fable on human nature and self-discovery. For the fourth time, he reunites with Martin Crimp, his faithful author; Daniel Jeanneteau and Marie-Christine Soma are the stage directors, and with video design by Hicham Berrada. The composer himself conducts five magnificent young singers – including Marianne Crebassa – and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, which celebrates its 25th anniversary on this occasion.
George Benjamin awarded the 2023 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, which is bestowed each year upon a composer or performer for his or her major contribution to the world of contemporary music.
PICTURE A DAY LIKE THIS IS IN THE PRESS!
— FINANCIAL TIMES
Five stars for “Picture a day like this”, George Benjamin’s beguiling, unsettling new opera
— THE TELEGRAPH
An exquisitely crafted fable of loss and hapiness
— LE TEMPS
Picture a day like this, de George Benjamin et Martin Crimp, s’impose comme le chef-d’œuvre de la saison aixoise.
— LE FIGARO
[George Benjamin] retrouve ici un geste qui lui est naturel, entre concision et raffinement. Son écriture est plus ciselée que jamais, et il tire du Mahler Chamber Orchestra, en petite formation, un luxe de sonorités taillées dans le diamant, pures ou mêlées.
— LA CROIX
Le nouvel opus lyrique du compositeur britannique George Benjamin brille comme un joyau, rare et familier, léger et poignant. La mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa y est bouleversante.
— LES ÉCHOS
À la subtilité du texte de Martin Crimp s'ajoutent la délicatesse de la mise en scène de Daniel Jeanneteau et Marie-Christine Soma et la magie des créations vidéo d'Hicham Berrada.
— TÉLÉRAMA
Martin Crimp et George Benjamin signent avec leur nouvelle création un riche conte initiatique, où texte et musique palpitent à l'unisson.
— DIAPASON
Daniel Janneteau et Marie-Christine Soma signent un spectacle en symbiose idéale avec livret et musique, et dont la sensibilité rehausse les performances d’acteurs, toutes sidérantes par leur vérité malgré l’économie de mouvements que revendique la mise en scène.
— OLYRIX
La mezzo-soprano française est d’une incroyable justesse émotionnelle.
— LA MARSEILLAISE
Benjamin délivre là une œuvre d’une rare puissance émotionnelle
Ticket prices: €155, €93, €59, €31
Youth prices: €46, €27, €17, €9
Performance available with ticket packages
1 hour and 15 minutes without interval
Sung in English with French and English surtitles
With the agreement of Faber Music Ltd, London
Streamings
Related content
GEORGE BENJAMIN WINS THE 2023 ERNST VON SIEMENS MUSIC PRIZE
The Festival d’Aix-en-Provence is pleased to announce that George Benjamin has been awarded the 2023 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, which is bestowed...
