Painter meets Musician

In the post titled "Ovation for over 15 minutes" (click HERE to read it) I had mentioned about the encouragement given by the audience to the performers in a ballet show at Opera De Bastille in Paris, France on 13th July, 2008.  The ballet was titled "Signes" in French, meaning "Signs" in English.  It was a delightful show and the Director and artistes won the hearts of the audience.  The show itself  was wonderful in concept, design and on-stage execution.  The director and artistes who performed on the stage received standing ovation for over 15 minutes by an appreciative full house audience.

In a music concert, each performer uses a different instrument that has its own characteristics and special features.  A number of instruments, say five violins or trumpets, may also be used to provide enhanced sound effects.  There may be moments in the duration of the concert when the individual  brilliance of an artiste may be savoured by the viewers or listeners, but the emphasis is on the overall impact of the blend of the output of various instruments as planned and executed.  Likewise, when there is a confluence of two or more forms of fine arts, their collective impact gives out an exhilarating experience.  A layman would certainly derive some pleasure out of such concerts, but a trained mind would be able to appreciate the finer aspects even better.

Literature and forms of Performing and Fine Arts like Music, Dance, Painting and Sculpture have their own intertwined relationship, though each one of them have their own domains and individuality.  There are innumerable instances where a piece of literature has inspired a host of artistes like dancers and painters to convert words into visual form of expression.  This enables the content of the literary piece to reach a far wider audience who may not know the original language of the literature or may even be illiterate.  A combination of two performing artistes in different disciplines has often enthralled the audience by their expertise in the fields chosen by them.  One such attempt called "Geeta-Chitra" is very popular in our part of the world.  In such an exercise, as a poet recites his poem, an artiste starts painting the theme of the poem on a canvas in full view of the audience.  Just as the poet completes a poem in five to six minutes, the painting bringing out the essence of the poem is also ready!  Similar attempts are also made in other parts of the world.  The versatility of such artistes often leave us dumbfound.  A standing ovation is probably the only possible way in which we can appreciate their talents.

As we entered the Opera de Bastille auditorium for the ballet titled "Signes" and collected the tickets booked earlier through internet, we were given a booklet with each ticket.  The booklet contained all the information about the show and included details about the artistes and the director.  We were led into the auditorium five minutes before the show to allow us sufficient time to find our seats and settle down.  The  2,703 seat acoustically consistent hall is a magnificent sight.  When we go to concerts and shows, we often pray that a short man or woman should occupy the seat in front of us to save us from the prospect of moving our heads in the alternate directions every time the person in front of us moves his head for his convenience!  There is no such problem in Opera de Bastille.  Even if all the seats are occupied by Amitabh Bachans, there is no need to squirm in our seats since all spectators have a clear view of the entire stage.  The entrance doors were closed one minute before the show began and there was no disturbance from late entrants.  There were no announcements and the show started on schedule, continued and ended as planned.  Not a soul stirred and coughed during the entire period of 90 minutes   

The ballet "Signes" is the result of the efforts of three artistes, musician Rene Aubrey who designed the music, choreographer Carolyn Carlson and painter Oliver Debre who designed the sets and costumes. The effect of the paintings was transformed into visual and audio treat to the viewers.  The ballet is divided into seven paintings on the theme of smile, as under:

1. The sign of smile
2. Loire am
3. Guilin Mountains
4. Monks of the Baltic
5. The Spirit of the blue
6. Colors of Madurai
7. Victory Signs

The unique stage facilities of Opera de Bastille were fully exploited to provide a product of exceptional quality.  The 45 meter high and 30 meter wide stage with its 25 meter depth and the scenery turntable were used to provide continuity without break as well as breathtaking viewing of change in scenes with least disturbance.  The 9 elevators used in creation of several levels in the show and the three main elevators fetched the required scenery up from below stage to provide the sequence. The effortless movement of the hundreds of artistes was like movement of hundreds of parts of a complex machine; each doing only its part by own rotation and yet providing the ultimate effect for which the machine is designed.  The orchestra pit that accommodated as many as 130 musicians gave a wonderful audio support to the great show on the stage.  The circling and floating artistes and their many complex movements was a visual treat.  The sixth painting titled "Colors of Madurai" was a bonus for us and India's contribution to the ballet made us proud.

The combined effect on the audience was reflected in "Standing Ovation" for over fifteen minutes and was indeed well deserved.

Visit to historic Bastille site, view of the Bastille building and sitting through the Ballet "Signes" was a memorable experience and is still fresh in our minds, even after five years.   

Ovation for over 15 minutes

"Ovation" is defined as "an enthusiastic public reception of a person, marked especially by loud and prolonged applause".  What was the duration of the longest standing ovation you have ever seen or heard?  For a program that lasted for one hour and thirty minutes?  Three minutes?  Five minutes?  Seven minutes?  Ten minutes?  .....

We were witnesses for a standing ovation for over fifteen minutes at the end of a ballet performance in Opera D Bastille, Paris, France  (picture of the building is given below).  It was still continuing when we left the Bastille auditorium and actually do not know the exact duration for which it lasted!
 

Clapping and acknowledging some good effort is a common feature in functions and performances. All over the world  leaders, artistes, sports persons or performers of any kind get encouraged when they receive clapping, applause or an ovation.  A standing ovation is a higher form of acknowledgement of a job well done or a distinction truly earned. An extended applause or a long ovation is indeed an excellent tonic for performers and spurs them to even better efforts in subsequent shows. For a real and dedicated  artiste, appreciation of his or her effort by a mature and knowledgeable audience is worth even more than the financial rewards a show brings.  Politicians thrive on the applause and ovations of their followers.  That the ovation given to them is by a hired or hijacked audience matters little to such leaders.  An ovation is an ovation for them!  It is not uncommon to hear clapping even before some start their speech or performance.  Such applause may be to prevent the beginning of the ordeal or bring an abrupt end to a painful performance.  Thick skinned as they are, such performers(?) would  have tuned themselves to carry on with their act unmindful of whether the gathering really wants it or not. 

We can hear muted clapping in many functions and such applause by a handful of persons among a big gathering is often embarrassing.  Untimely appreciation by a small section of the crowd creates an awkward situation instead of enthusing the performers.  People sitting through the length of the programs leave the hall minutes before the performance ends, showing scant respect for the efforts of the performers.  In many shows or performances, especially the ones like ballet, drama etc., the artistes are called upon the stage at the end of the show.  Any artiste or backstage support staff member has a right to be introduced to the audience in every show.  After all, the show is a result and end product of  days and months of the hard work by these very people.  Their importance is known to the Producer or Director of the show.  Even if one of them is missing half an hour before the show begins, they may even have a heart attack.  Audience, especially in parts of our country, need to appreciate their importance and contributions by giving a befitting ovation to these artistes.  This should be so irrespective of the likes or dislikes of the individual audience.

The city of Paris, capital of France, is one of the most vibrant cultural centers in the world. Bastille Opera House in Paris is one of the centers dedicated for performing arts.  The place "Bastille" has its own history.  A fort was constructed at this place in the 13th-14th century to protect the eastern part of the city of Paris from the enemies. (Picture of the fort as it existed before storming is given alongside).  The fort was converted into a prison during the time of Louie XIII.  The jail housed about 50 prisoners at a time.  In course of time, this fort prison was used by the ruling elite to curb activities of any nature which was considered by them as against the persons in authority.  When the patience of the oppressed people ran out, they stormed the Bastille fort.  Storming and destroying of the Bastille fort prison happened on 14th July 1789.  This started the famous "French Revolution" and the entire fort was destroyed during the next four months.  14th July is observed as "National day of France" since then.  It is a public holiday and a tradition has developed now to honor the martyrs on that day.

A beautiful building complex has been constructed at the place where the destroyed Bastille fort stood and it was inaugurated on 13th July, 1989. A metro station located at the basement of the building makes visiting the culture center a pleasant experience.  Its main auditorium has 2,703 acoustically consistent seats.  Its stage facilities are considered unique.  The integrated scenery, costume and accessory workshops, as well as its numerous work areas and rehearsal rooms make the Opera Bastille a great modern theater. Its orchestra pit can accommodate as many as 130 musicians and can be covered.  It is mobile and adjustable.  The main stage area is 45 meter high and 30 meter wide.  Its 25 meter depth provides comfort for stage managers to experiment innovation using the scenery turntable.  The stage has 9 elevators which is used in creation of several levels in the shows and the three main elevators fetch the required scenery up from below stage.  Scenery can be stored temporarily between the stage, workshops and rehearsal stage.

Our host in Paris had painstakingly reserved seats for us for a show in this auditorium on 13th July 2008, which was the 19th anniversary of the inauguration of the building and the eve of the "Revolution Day".  The show was titled "Signes" in French, meaning "Signs" in English.  It was a wonderful show and the standing ovation given to the Director and artistes lasted for over fifteen minutes.  The show itself  was wonderful in concept, design and on-stage execution.  As this piece has already become lengthy, it will be covered in another blog post titled "Painter meets Musician".