IT Bastien

There were lots of theatrical Rousseaus in the 18th century and Jean-Jacques (1712–78) was only the most famous of them. A fair amount of the intellectual impulse of Romanticism can be traced to (or blamed on) him. A poseur and charlatan in the grand format, this music copyist also found time to compose music, and this is his most enduring piece. Indeed, it is his only enduring music.

For its fourth opus, the most badass string quartet in France’s young guard revisits standards written by some of the monuments in jazz, namely Mingus, Ellington, Coltrane, Monk and Shorter. And this four-piece is probably one of the most relevant around when it comes to artistic experiment based the material that belongs to our heritage. Here the RP Quartet shows its increasing maturity as it closes in on the essentials of its art, and Poney Jungle is a wild, powerful musical horse ride that clears every obstacle with sincerity and brio. Augustin BONDOUX

I’d read On purge bébé ! even before I composed Pinocchio. I said to myself: ‘This is a wonderful play… but it’s impossible to turn it into an opera’. And if I say something like that, it means that I’m going to do it — it’s like I’m setting myself a kind of challenge! I liked a lot of things in this play. It’s rather malicious, as it presents an image of a smug, pretentious, and uneducated petty bourgeoisie and their complete dishonesty. I don’t think anyone has ever done an opera based one of Feydeau’s plays — at least, not that I know of. People don’t think of turning Feydeau into an opera…