Ensemble Contraste

Albane Carrère, mezzo-soprano
Rémi Poulakis, tenor and accordion
Arnaud Thorette, alto

Three artists, three voices—those of the mezzo-soprano, the tenor, and the alto—blended with the sound of the accordion to bring an entire world of theater to life.

With *Mon Petit Opéra*, the great masterpieces of opera leave the orchestra pit and the gilded halls of the theater to be reinvented in an ensemble as lighthearted as it is unexpected. From Mozart to Puccini, from Bizet to Offenbach, from Donizetti to Gershwin, the program explores the passions of opera: love, jealousy, desire, seduction, and dreams—but also humor and an irresistible love of spectacle.

Cherubino discovers the first stirrings of love, Carmen sings of her freedom, the Grand Duchess succumbs to the charms of the uniform, Nemorino sheds a tear, Calaf awaits the break of dawn, while Gershwin draws us into the warmth of *Porgy and Bess*…

Through original arrangements, the three performers play with roles, vocal timbres, and situations to rediscover what makes opera’s heart beat: stories, characters, and raw emotions.

Program:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Le nozze di Figaro : Voi che sapete
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Don Giovani : La ci darem la mano
Ruperto Chapí - Las hijas del Zebedeo : La Carcelera
Georges Bizet - Carmen : L’amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera)
Georges Bizet - Carmen : Près des remparts de Séville (Seguidille)
Jacques Offenbach - La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein : Ah ! que j’aime les militaires
Gaetano Donizetti - L’elisir d’amore : Una furtiva lagrima
Christoph Willibald Gluck - Mélodie, d'après Orphée et Eurydice, acte II, n° 30, Ballet n° 2.
Giacomo Puccini - Turandot : Nessun dorma
Jacques Offenbach - Les Contes d’Hoffmann : Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour (Barcarolle)
George Gershwin - Porgy and Bess: Summertime
Giuseppe Verdi - La traviata : Libiamo ne’ lieti calici
Jacques Offenbach - La Périchole : Air de la Griserie (« Ah ! quel dîner je viens de faire ! »)
Jacques Offenbach - La Belle Hélène : Ça n'est qu'un rêve