Robert Lepage’s Scenographic Dramaturgy

Adaptation in Theatre and Performance Series Editors Vicky Angelaki Department of Film, Theatre & Television University of Reading Reading, UK Kara Reilly Department of Drama University of Exeter Exeter, UK The series addresses the various ways in which adaptation boldly takes on the contemporary context, working to rationalise it in dialogue with the past and involving the audience in a shared discourse with narratives that form part of our artistic and literary but also social and historical constitution. We approach this form of representation as a way of responding and adapting to the conditions, challenges, aspirations and points of reference at a particular historical moment, fostering a bond between theatre and society. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14373 Melissa Poll Robert Lepage’s Scenographic Dramaturgy The Aesthetic Signature at Work Melissa Poll Department of English Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada Adaptation in Theatre and Performance ISBN 978-3-319-73367-8 ISBN 978-3-319-73368-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73368-5 (eBook) Library of Congress Control Number: 2018943394 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Bryn Terfel as Wotan in Der Ring des Nibelungen, 2011, Metropolitan Opera/Ex Machina, © Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Foremost, I would like to thank Karen Fricker and Helen Gilbert for their ongoing support and dedication to this book from the outset. Karen and Helen’s integrity, expertise and high standards have been an ongoing source of inspiration. I aspire to bring the same qualities to my future scholarly endeavours. I am also grateful to David Williams for not only sharing his teaching expertise and classroom with me but also for many stimulating conversations that have fed my work. Emma Cox, Dani Phillipson and Liz Schafer have graciously offered their support and expertise. To them, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks. I am also grateful to Alan Duffield, Joe McLoughlin and Jorge Pérez Falconi for their encouragement and unfailing availability to read drafts. Thank you to June, Lloyd and Holly Poll and Pat Law for their love and a lifetime of support. To my husband David and my son Jameson, I am forever grateful. Je tiens à remercier Robert Lepage et son équipe à Ex Machina, notamment Michéline Beaulieu et Véronique St-Jacques. Pour Mara Gottler, une chère amie de Vancouver, ainsi que la créatrice de costumes pour La Tempête et Le Rossignol et autres fables, merci. v CONTENTS 1 Introduction 2 Scenographic Dramaturgy & Auteuring Adaptations 19 3 The Nightingale and Other Short Fables: Co-authoring Atypical Opera 51 Adapting Wagner’s Siegfried: Making Music Visible at the Metropolitan Opera 89 4 5 6 7 1 ‘Le Grand Will’ in Wendake: Ex Machina and the HuronWendat Nation’s La Tempête 123 Auto-adaptations: Re-‘Writing’ The Dragons’ Trilogy and Needles and Opium for the Twenty-First Century 151 Conclusion 185 Index 195 vii LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1.1 Fig. 2.1 Fig. 2.2 Fig. 2.3 Fig. 3.1 Fig. 3.2 Fig. 3.3 Fig. 3.4 Fig. 3.5 Fig. 3.6 Fig. 3.7 Lepage’s extant text productions: 1983–2013 The Damnation of Faust featuring Marcello Giordani (Faust) and John Relyea (Mephistopheles), Metropolitan Opera, 2008, photo: Ken Howard Bluebeard’s Castle featuring John Relyea (Bluebeard) and Malgorzata Walewska (Judith), Seattle Opera, 2009, photo: Rozarii Lynch Erwartung featuring Susan Marie Pierson (The Woman), Noam Markus (The Lover) and Mark Johnson (The Psychiatrist), Seattle Opera, 2009, photo: Rozarii Lynch The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, Canadian Opera Company/Ex Machina, 2009, photo: Michael Cooper ‘Short Fables/Women’ rendering, The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, 2009, by Mara Gottler ‘The Fox/Men’ rendering, The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, 2009, by Mara Gottler ‘Emperor’ rendering and fabric swatches, The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, 2009, by Mara Gottler ‘Nightingale’ rendering and fabric swatches, The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, 2009, by Mara Gottler ‘Nightingale/Male Chorus’ rendering and fabric swatches, The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, 2009, by Mara Gottler ‘Nightingale/Female Chorus’ rendering and fabric swatches, The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, 2009, by Mara Gottler 14 27 31 35 52 65 66 67 68 69 70 ix x LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 4.1 Fig. 4.2 Fig. 4.3 Fig. 4.4 Fig. 5.1 Fig. 5.2 Fig. 5.3 Fig. 5.4 Fig. 5.5 Fig. 6.1 Fig. 6.2 Fig. 6.3 Fig. 6.4 Fig. 6.5 Fig. 6.6 Fig. 6.7 Fig. 6.8 Fig. 6.9 Siegfried scenic storyboard, 2011, Metropolitan Opera/Ex Machina, by Carl Fillion Mime’s workshop, Siegfried, 2011, Metropolitan Opera/Ex Machina, Carl Fillion The Dragon/Fafner dies, with Fafner (Hans-Peter König) and Siegfried (Jay Hunter-Morris), Siegfried, 2011, Metropolitan Opera/Ex Machina, photo: Ken Howard Alberich (Eric Owens) and Wotan/The Wanderer (Bryn Terfel), Siegfried, 2011, Metropolitan Opera/Ex Machina, photo: Ken Howard ‘Josephte Ourné’, c. 1840, oil on canvas by Joseph Légaré, photo: National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, © National Gallery of Canada ‘Ariel’ rendering, La Tempête, 2011, by Mara Gottler Miranda (Chantal Dupuis) and Ferdinand (Francis Roberge), La Tempête, 2011, photo: David Leclerc Ariel (Kathia Rock), Prospero (Jean Guy), Miranda (Chantal Dupuis) and Ferdinand (Francis Roberge), La Tempête, 2011, photo: David Leclerc Members of the Sandokwa Dance Troupe and Ariel (Kathia Rock), La Tempête, 2011, photo: David Leclerc Pierre Lamontagne’s calligraphy (with Robert Lepage), The Blue Dragon, 2008, Ex Machina, photo: David Leclerc Pierre (Robert Lepage) at Xiao Ling’s ‘selfie’ exhibit (Tai Wei Foo), The Blue Dragon, 2008, Ex Machina, photo: David Leclerc ‘Selfie’ of Xiao Ling (Tai Wei Foo), The Blue Dragon, 2008, Ex Machina, photo: David Leclerc The Huang Pu River, The Blue Dragon, 2008, Ex Machina, photo: David Leclerc Pierre Lamontagne (Robert Lepage)/Tattoo, The Blue Dragon, 2008, Ex Machina, photo: David Leclerc Set, Needles and Opium, 2013, Ex Machina, by Carl Fillion Miles Davis (Wellesley Robertson III) descends into Juliette Gréco’s bathtub, Needles and Opium, 2013, Ex Machina, photo: Nicola-Frank Vachon Trumpet parts, with Wellesley Robertson III as Miles Davis, Needles and Opium, 2013, Ex Machina, photo: Nicola-Frank Vachon Heroin, with Wellesley Robertson III as Miles Davis, Needles and Opium, 2013, Ex Machina, photo: Nicola-Frank Vachon 95 96 98 107 130 131 133 134 140 161 164 164 166 167 170 173 175 176 LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 6.10 Fig. 6.11 Miles Davis’s New York (Wellesley Robertson III), Needles and Opium, 2013, Ex Machina, photo: Nicola-Frank Vachon Jean Cocteau’s New York (Marc Labrèche), Needles and Opium, 2013, Ex Machina, photo: Nicola-Frank Vachon xi 177 178