About

Les Sentinelles is a contemporary opera in two acts, the result of a collaboration between composer Clara Olivares and librettist and stage director Chloé Lechat. Premiered on November 10, 2024 at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, this work explores the complexities of human relationships through the lens of four female characters.

Synopsis

A mother and her gifted daughter meet a couple of women in crisis. The three adults form emotional bonds and attempt, as sentinels, to guide the young girl in her search for meaning. But each reveals different aspirations for happiness, and the child slips away from them.

Cast

• Musical composition: Clara Olivares
• Libretto and stage direction: Chloé Lechat
• Musical direction: Lucie Leguay
• Set design: Céleste Langrée
• Costumes: Sylvie Martin-Hyszka
• Lighting: Philippe Berthomé
• Video: Anatole Levilain-Clément
• Stage direction collaboration: Joséphine Kirch
• Vocal cast:
  • A: Anne-Catherine Gillet
  • B: Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo
  • C: Camille Schnoor
  • E (actress): Noémie Develay-Ressiguier
• Orchestra: Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine (premiere and Paris revival)
• Orchestre Symphonique de l'Opéra de Limoges Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Limoges revival)

Production

• Co-production: Opéra National de Bordeaux, Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique, Opéra de Limoges; Support for the creation of an original musical work from the Ministry of Culture
• World premiere: November 10, 2024, Opéra National de Bordeaux
• Revivals:
  • January 2025, Opéra de Limoges
  • April 2025, Opéra-Comique, Paris

ARTE Recording

Recording made during the world premiere at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, available on Youtube or on ARTE.tv.

• Video direction: Corentin Leconte
• Audiovisual production: La Blogothèque
• Duration: 96 minutes
• Broadcast: Available on ARTE.tv until March 9, 2027

Press

• Le Populaire du Centre, January 27, 2025
  
  "A delightfully surprising lyrical work supported by Clara Olivares’s hypnotic score. (...) With a decidedly modern approach carried by such aesthetic choices, this show is as convincing as it is enchantingly captivating."
  
  
  
• Résonances Lyriques, January 22, 2025
  
  "A comic opera of the finest kind; the blending of voices in unison (...) is particularly refined and moving. The musical work on prosody is a decisive contribution; it achieves this ideal of composition as a duo, librettist and musician."
  
  
  
• Le Populaire du Centre, interview January 21, 2025
  
  "In Bordeaux, where it premiered in November 2024, Les Sentinelles was already very well received. Clara Olivares and Chloé Lechat both recall the very personal and touching reactions of the audience, including the youngest, 'as if they had received a gift.' And that is exactly what they seek, to create this conversation with the public."
  
  
  
• Bordeaux-Gazette, November 13, 2024
  
  "A must-see: outside the conventions, a vision of today’s opera!"
  
  
  
• Webthéâtre, November 12, 2024
  
  "As expected, the best part of the opera is the music. It maintains an arc of intensity that never weakens throughout the show, without resorting to extreme modernism or electronics."
  
  
  
• Opéra Online, November 10, 2024
  
  "The approach seems to have touched the Bordeaux audience, and there is no doubt that for the revivals, young people will recognize themselves vibrantly. In short, Sentinelles to watch closely!"