L’ÎLE - The Island - OPERA

“Lauréat du PRIX de l’Académie de Marine - Mention 2022

3 acts, 6 tableaux, for 5 solistes and choir.

2 hours, one intermission.

A few words…

Five persons, tossed by life, a priori having nothing in common, brought together for a summer. Reflection upon the power of nature, the fragility of the artist and his role in an uncertain world, the quest for love and the possible redemption for each of them, in an island with a unique character.

The argument

Off the coast of Finistère, where the land ends, where the world's largest marine cemetery whispers its legends, an island : the Sein island.

Emma, a bored, sophisticated city girl, arrives with her son Camille. She can't cope with the child, whose acute intelligence and unpredictability is for her a constant challenge. Worn out, Emma surrenders, more and more withdrawn in herself, while Camille becomes enthusiastic about the island. He gets close to Louis-Camille, a lonely musician who mysteriously ended his brilliant career as a pianist. His requirements as an interpreter led him to doubt, and he let himself sink, indifferent to the curiosity of the child, to the support of Armelle, a kind-hearted restaurant owner, and to the reproaches of Ronan, a sailor as rough as his island.

Between sky and see, in this fragile but invincible island, several dramas get woven around the musician. The child takes risks, plays with danger; Emma wakes up to unknown feelings; Ronan illustrates the courage of sailors. 

This opera is dedicated to all sea rescue teams. 

The libretto

Jean Paul Penin meets Françoise Kerymer, novelist, in Paris, in 2011. He is about to release his first CD as a composer "1930, Douze valses Parisiennes", she has just published her first novel by Jean-Claude Lattès, "Il faut laisser les cactus dans le placard".

Quickly, their creative worlds come together; she writes for him, he composes on her texts. In 2017, they share the enchantment of dedicating themselves to the writing of an opera: «L'île». The libretto is inspired by Françoise Kerymer's third novel, "Trois éclats toutes les vingt secondes" (Lattès/Pocket), translated in German, “Zwischen Himmel und Meer” (BTB-Bertelsmann).

Jean-Paul Penin finishes the orchestration of the score at the end of 2020.

Soloists of the recordings

Armelle : Elena Voznesenskaya, soprano

Emma : Amelia Feuer, soprano

Camille : Raluca Vallois, soprano

Ronan : François Soulet, tenor

Louis-Camille : Tomasz Kumiega, baritone