A breathtaking epic.
Arthur Honegger once said that “Writing music is like standing a ladder up without having a wall to lean on”. In Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher, he built a scaffold for a new world, where generous, penetrating choirs connected with the soloists, while the orchestra integrated new sounds like those from the ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument.
Tonight, Honegger’s sixth successful collaboration with Paul Claudel will be performed by a team of singers and actors led by Marion Cotillard’s indomitable Joan. Jérémie Rhorer will lead three vocal ensembles and the Italian Youth Orchestra, bringing a powerful resonance to a piece where Joan’s redemptive resistance is very much to the fore.