The
Librettist’s comments
Questions
to the librettist, His Honour Herménégilde Chiasson
What was your first reaction when asked to write the
libretto for “Traversées”?
I was very intrigued
by the request to write a libretto for an opera. I have always been interested
in this form of music from the time I was a child. It caught my interest and
without knowing why I listened to the opera on Saturday that originated from
the Metropolitan Opera of New York. Later on my brother let me listen to
excerpts from ‘Carmen’ or the grand choruses of Verdi that I had obtained
through the Angel record club. Later on it was in
Had you written a libretto previous to the writing of
“Traversées”?
It is quite obvious
that I had never written anything that is in any way like a libretto for an
opera. I had read a copy, like everyone else, of the songs to be performed,
especially when an opera was written in a foreign language. This coupled with
the sensitivity, at a cinema, would have created a superproduction.
I then went to the library in order to become informed about how I would adapt
the stories to the opera because, even if I have written many things for the
theatre, the two forms of writing are completely different. It took me a long
time to decide and to make up my mind as to how I would write this request,
which is typical of most operas.
How did you approach the writing? In other words, what
was the order in which you addressed the writing?
The opera was to be
produced during the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of
In revisiting
your history, what emotions directed you?
It is quite evident that the story, for all Acadians interested in their
identity, stirs up mixed emotions and sometimes contradictions. As far as I am
concerned, I have always believed that whatever happened in the past, it is
necessary to take advantage of it, learn from these lessons and not to dwell on
sources of conflict and bitterness. There are too many painful examples where
ancestral hate is degenerated in conflicts for which people bear the cost for
several generations. I also wished to avoid the trap of misery and show the
courage of our descendants. In other respects I also wished to show the
celebrations part of our history and with those who are disinterested to show
the tragic dimension of the distance covered. As one can see, things are never
as they appear and these slight changes are revealed when one is interested in
the truths that history shows us.
Please tell us
about The Angel.
The structure of ‘Traversées’ constitutes a
sort of collage consisting of five different time periods. It was necessary then
to find a bond to unite these diverse episodes. I then thought about a figure
that would be the voice of destiny and that would appear periodically to act as
an official counselor, protector and messenger, one
who constitutes the principal functions devoted to the angels in the sacred
texts.
When you saw
the staged production of “Traversées”, what was your
emotion/reaction?
At the time I saw the production, I arrived from l’Ile
Ste-Croix where we froze like never before, during the whole month of June. It
rained the whole day of official celebrations to the point where I had to
change five times during the day. I then left
On a strictly personal level, I agree with many people who were there
that the music was very moving and the scope of its magnitude, its magisterial
interpretation by the orchestra, the staging and the voices of the singers and
chorus were very suited to the subject and the faith that these characters had
in their mission and their subsequent drama. I agree though that, first and
foremost among the people involved in this project, the name of Ludmila Knezkova-Hussey must have
a special mention because she was the person behind many functions, the most
important being that of the composer, the person who generated the music which
is the most important element of that kind of production. The composer, when it
comes to an opera, contrary to theatre, is the person who carries most if not
all the authorship. Can you name the librettist of “La Traviata”
or “Carmen”? But we all know that they are operas by Verdi and Bizet. This opera is by Ludmila Knezkova-Hussey and her accomplishments must be commended
both as an organizer and mainly as a composer who gave great strength and a
musical dimension fitting the drama, the event and the perenniality
of this 400th anniversary of the settlement of the Acadians, the
first Europeans north of Florida.
Herménégilde Chiasson