At Welsh National Opera we’re about to embark on a fantastical adventure with the return of our much-loved production of Bernstein’s operetta Candide. The production brings together an award-winning creative team led by director James Bonas. We caught up with some of the team to find out what’s in store…
James Bonas – Director
What can audiences expect from this production of Candide?
The production should be incredibly fun to watch. There are close to a hundred people telling a crazy story with fantastic music. It’s like taking the best of the West End and Broadway and mixing that up with WNO Orchestra and Chorus, incredible guest singers and dancers - so it has the potential to blow you away.
What makes this piece different from a traditional opera?
Firstly, Bernstein wrote the piece two years after West Side Story and the structure of the songs, the text of the scenes and the music really is like a musical rather than opera. Often the songs include dance breaks and there are scenes of dialogue in between that carry the story and develop characters. The aim in our production is to have a unified group of performers that includes the orchestra players, the singers, the Chorus, and dancers all working seamlessly as part of one unified team telling the story.
Grégoire Pont – Video and Animations Designer
Tell us more about the concept of Cinesthetics you use and how is it applied in Candide? Cinesthetics is the way I define my sensibility to visualise music, it's a crossword between synaesthesia and cinema. It is a great joy to listen to music with your eyes closed (except while driving a car of course!) and look at the pictures that come from the imagination. It comes from a long time ago when I was bored at school in music lessons, the teacher would play a record of Haydn and I would be escaping into my imagination. It's such a pleasure and privilege to translate these images to animations for shows, I think I have the best job in the world!
It is unusual for people to see animation as part of a live performance. What can people expect to see when they come to see Candide?People will get an experience they never imagined. It is indeed a never-seen-before show with interactive videos. It's not just backgrounds like a set. The animations are aliiiiive with the sound of music! Ah ah ah!
Thibault Vancraenenbroeck – Set Designer
What do you consider when designing a set?
The music, the libretto, the director’s wishes and fantasies. I try to build up a strong visual dramaturgy that helps singers to feel at home on stage. I also try to find the right aesthetic expression to help the public to focus; enjoy and dream on the artwork.
How did you decide on the final set for Candide and what did it need to incorporate to make this production a success?
In this particular kind of video design collaboration with Grégoire Pont and James Bonas, my part is all about designing the most effective and versatile projection surfaces. I designed some elements that can reinforce the dynamic nature of the video projections. I designed some moving structural elements that can be nearly invisible if not activated by the video and that can come to life as soon as they are becoming projection surfaces or by generating lighting on itself. I also designed some objects and furniture that help James Bonas and the singers to create very concrete and playful scenes following and enlightening this crazy Bernstein storytelling.
Candidereturns to Wales Millennium Centre on Wednesday 17 September before venturing to Southampton, Llandudno and Bristol.
