「最高のメロディーをもたらすのに不可欠な詞を書こう。」 ヒットの予感の記録 このミュージカルの始まりはかなり昔に遡る。 ランボーがリシャール・シャーレの人生に本格的に登場したのは、彼がケベックのラヴァル大学に在籍し、Dormeur du Val（谷間で眠る男）についての詩作の授業を受けていた1995年のことである。彼は、人生で（ランボーと）再び出会うことを運命づけられていたのだ！ というわけで、リシャールは大学時代は文学青年だった？模様。。。 題名からして、訳に困ったのですが、原文は、CHRONOLOGIE D UN SUCCÈS ANNONCE。chronologieは英語とほぼ同じで、年代記とかそういった意味なので、要するに時系列に追った記録という意味だと思うのですが、annonceがなかなかつかめず。。。知らせ、広告等の意味が多いですが、しるし、現れ、兆しという意味もあるので、成功の兆し→ヒットの予感、とやや飛んだ訳にしてしまいました。 1999年6月26日、このプロジェクトの創作を決定づける出会いが起こった。 リシャール・シャーレとアルノー・ケランの2人は、フランシス・カブレルの13回目のアスタフォールでの集会に、パリジャンであるアルノーは、作詞家として、ケベコワであるリシャールは、作詞家、作曲家、演奏家として、選出されていた。この10日間の間、たくさんのやりとりが行われた…アルノーは、シャーレ氏のCDの曲を聴き、リシャールのほうでは、ケラン氏の詞を見つけ、そのうちの一つに、文字通り、惚れ込んだ。その詞とは、親不孝な息子とその母の関係性として描かれがちなヴィタリー・ランボー夫人についてのものであった。アルノーは、すでに実際、アルチュール・ランボーの人生の虜になっていた。この2人の相棒たちは、1999年7月3日に再び会えるかどうかもわからないまま別れた。
ランボーのミュージカルの冒険はこうして始まったのである！ 4年間のブランクがあったにもかかわらず、やっぱりミュージカルを書こうと思ったということは、リシャールにとって、アルノーさんの詩、そして、ヴィタリーという女性がよっぽど強い印象を残していたのかなあという気がします。そして、この話からも、二人の性格がすごい出てる気が…笑。「ミュージカルをやりたいんだ！」と熱っぽく語る猪突猛進型（笑）のリシャールと、「ちょっと待ってくれ。」と一瞬考える熟考型のアルノーさん＾＾ 二人の会話が目に浮かびます。にしても、3年アルノーさんから伝記を借りっ放しって、これ、世間でいう借りパクってやつじゃ、、、？！まあ、愛読書だったのでしょう笑。 さて、フランス語ですが、Qu’il pose sur le guéridon entre lui et celui qu’il veut à tout prix embarquer dans cette aventure. と突然冒頭にqueが出現。こういう文結構見かけるのですが、英語ではあまり見ないパターンな気が島します。疑問文でも英語のMay〜!のような祈願に当たる文でもないので、そのまま文が続いてるようにして無理やり訳してしまっていますが、あまり自信はなく。。。そして、Un regard…Complice…という部分。イメージとしては（若干妄想あり笑。）リシャールとアルノーさんがカフェのテーブルで一瞬無言になり、お互い見合って、うん、と頷く、みたいな男の熱い友情エピソードチックなシーンみたいなことを言っているんだろうという想像はつきましたが、ぼんと名詞でこられるとどうつないで良いかわからずちょっと困りました。。。regardは英語のgazeに近い感じでじっと見ること、compliceは共犯の、ひそかに合意を示す、の意味なので、まあ心得顔で、というような意味だとは思うのですが。そして最後の２人の台詞（爆）。Arnaud, dubitatif, s’interroge : « Mais ça n’existe pas déjà ? » Et Richard du tac au tac : « Bah, ça se saurait! »。わからなすぎました。。。最初のアルノーさんの台詞は疑いのまなざしで聞いた、とあるので、でも？？みたいな展開になると思うので、ここの部分のdéjàはyetということなのだと考えました。というわけで直訳は、「でも、そのようなものはまだ存在していないよね？」ということな気がします。そして、リシャールの返事。辞書には、この表現が成句として載っていて、そんなことありえない、もしそれが本当ならみんな知っているはずだ、という訳が当てられているので、「もちろん、そんなミュージカルは存在しているはずはないじゃないか！」ということになるのだろうと解釈しました。 2005年1月3日から、2人は、伝記の読み込みを始め、詞を書き始めた。「ヴィタリー」はすでにできていた、その後、「Charleville, mon soupir（シャルルヴィル、僕の溜息）」（ソウルでのノートルダムドパリのツアー中である2005年1月にリシャールによって作曲された。）ができた… この話を見てみても、どうやらリシャールは、NDPで旅しながらこのミュージカルの構想を同時に練っていたようですね。そういえば、Charleville, mon soupirは、故郷を憶うちょっとノスタルジックな雰囲気の曲なので、ツアー中に書いたと言われると何だか納得でした。 アルノー・ケランは、ランボーはとても情熱的な人生を送り、類稀な経歴を持つ人物だったので、ランボーの伝記の中には、「曲の解決策がたくさんあったんだ。」と語った。それは、偉人の一人、文学の天才、流星（註：のように人生を送った人ということ？）に関する人生についての伝記であり、曲に使用された参照箇所は、この偉大な詩人がどのような人物だったかについて客観的な見方ができるよう多岐に（ヴィタリー・ランボー、ジョルジュ・イザンバール、マチルド・ヴェルレーヌの視点から）わたっている。 この文章、多分、以前紹介したアルノーさんとリシャールの映像のアルノーさんが話していることと被っている気がするのですが、ランボーの１人称的な視点だけでなく、他の人の視点も組み入れながら、ランボーの人生を浮き彫りにする、という話に個人的にすごく興味を持ちました。 意外に単純そうで訳しにくいのが、vie intense 。intense lifeということなわけですが、intenseは英語と同様、強烈なとか激しいといったような意味を持つことばなのですが、要するに、波瀾万丈なジェットコースターのような人生（短く、太く生きた）のことを指しているのではないかと思います。流星というのも短い人生を流星のようにまばゆい輝きを持って生きた人、という意味合いが込められた比喩なのかなと思いました。 さらに数多くの文献を読んだ後に、アルチュール・ランボーの足跡をアルデンヌ地方の奥深くまで実際に巡った。シャルルヴィル、デュカル広場、ムーズ川のほとり。すべてを吸収した。 そういえば、去年、NDPアジアツアーの後、リシャールとアルノーさんはシャルルヴィル巡りをしていたようなのですが（リシャール、めっちゃうれしそうだった笑。）、それ以前にもランボー巡礼をしていたようですね。シャルルヴィルは、実は、フランスの中でもかなり北部のベルギー寄りの都市で、写真で見る限りでは、風光明媚な地方都市という感じがしました（だからこそ、アバンギャルドのランボーは、こんな田舎でなんて、やってられるか、となってしまったのかもしれませんが。。。）。デュカル広場やムーズ川はランボーゆかりの場所で、Charleville, mon soupirにも歌詞として登場します。 最後に出てくる、L’imprégnation est totale. imprégnationは、浸透、染み込ませること、の意味なのでちょっと「？」となったのですが、シャルルヴィルの旅で全て染み込んだ＝そこで得たインスピレーション等をすべて吸収した、と解釈しました。
「どうやって曲は生まれるのか？」という質問に対し、アルノー・ケランは、以下のように答えた。「Charleville, mon soupir（シャルルヴィル、僕の溜息）、Fils du soleil （太陽の息子）や残りのその他の曲は、まずは実際の情報から始めて、その後インスピレーションに導かれるままにしておくんだ。それを修正して、また試してみて、削って、また書いて…ちょっとそれらを寝かせておいて…ほら、実際のところ、曲っていうのは、終わりっていうものが全然ないんだ。でも、どこかの時点でストップ、と言わなければいけないんだけれどね。」
It's been a while (très désolée!), but here is the latter half of the story of genesis of "Rimbaud Musical" (mainly about casting)... (The first half ishere.) The casting in 2007 will not necessarily be the one in the upcoming version, but personally, I thought the process of casting was interesting. So, I added this latter part too. Here we go...
A book composed of texts looking back the life of Arthur Rimbaud
by Ernest, George, Mathilde, Isabelle (Arthur's sister)
The success of this very lovely project also involves the judicious choice of the performers. 6 roles for casting. That's not many but it's a choice! The roles will certainly be not many but all of them will be really present. Who will be Vitalie, Mathilde, Paul, Arthur, George and Ernest? The cast is as important as the texts and melodies ... There must not be a mistake. The very first role attributed was that of Ernest Delahaye, a long-time stooge of young Arthur. Richard talks about this project with Pascal Lafa from 2005, Pascal, with whom Arnaud and Richard had already previously collaborated on the album "Le Cœur des Femmes" (for the benefit of Laurette Fugain Association). The second to be integrated in the adventure is Sophie Delmas whom Richard met for the first time in 2001 during a radio show (him, Notre Dame, her, l’Ombre d’un Géant (Cast a Giant Shadow)) and a second time was during the casting of Autant en Emporte le Vent (Gone with the Wind) (at this time he declined the offer of the role of Rhett Butler). One of his greatest wish was to share a stage with her. At the time of first demo recording, he hastened to offer her the role of Vitalie Rimbaud. Next comes Pablo Villafranca (Les 10 Commandements (The 10 Commandments)) whom Richard has already met many times but really didn't have time to know about. One day, Pascal Lafa sent him a funny SMS mentioning the name of Pablo that they had met the day before. In need of "Georges" (Izambard, a young professor of Rimbaud), it clicks. A lunch to get to know each other and it's done....
He still had to find Paul, Mathilde and especially, the "headlight (leading)" role, the Son of the Sun (le Fils du Soleil)... The magic of MySpace came on the scene at this time. In the list of Richard's "Myspace friends", he found a a young man for whom he composed a title ("On ne connaît personne ") in the previous year. Next to his picture, another picture of his "friends", the picture of Arthur Rimbaud... At this time, Richard had an "illumination (inspiration)". It will be Him, Arthur... Jonatan Cerrada, the winner of "Recherche de la Nouvelle Star (Looking for the New Star)"... It became definitely a must when Pablo, without even knowing Jonatan, recommended his name for the role of Rimbaud and two days later, Pascal, at the studio with the young Belgian, called Richard to talk about him. For the choice of Mathilde, Lucie Bernardoni (the finalist of Star Académie(Star Academy)), whom Richard has met in the previous year in the March for Laurette Fugain Association. For Mathilde, he was looking for a person with sweetness, character and a young and lovely tone of voice. Myspace guided him to her. One day, on her profile, a little comment by Lucie: "I feel good on this page." Simply... no need for more words... She will be Mathilde... If she agrees...
As for Verlaine, the idea of this choice comes from Arnaud Kerane. Richard recorded scratch track for this role. Always in search of the ideal singer. And by that time, Monsieur Arnaud simply says, " You look good in that stuff. You should do it yourself!". And 6, that's the right account ... The casting is completed ... The show can begin ... The voice recording at the studio was done in early summer. Mixing and making the extracts on-line happened recently ... In late 2007, Pascal Lafa decided to leave the adventure, his personal projects eventually taking him too much time. One has to find new Ernest Delahaye. Richard Charest wants a young singer approximately the same age as Jonatan Cerrada and who is Quebecer... He let the magic of Myspace operate again... His exploration led to the page of Martin Giroux, who had participated in the Canadian Star Académie (Star Academy) in 2004... A few e-mails and phone calls were exchanged ... And Martin becomes Ernest... The troupe is complete again...
The adventure has only begun... The very beginning of the promising future... There is still work to be done, certainly, but now the process has been put into motion, the path is on the right track, the road is paved... The magic of Rimbaud is happening... This project originates from, two Passionate, Talented... friends..., who knew how to let us into this special universe, the universe of Rimbaud that they imagined... The Story begins ...
I found this text about a year ago, and this text in fact influenced my life immensely. And I can't really wait for seeing the actual presentation of Rimbaud musical!
日本語版はこちら。 On 5 March, I posted Richard Charest's interview about "Rimbaud Musical" (See here). And here, I posted my English translation of the text written by Céline that explains the genesis of the"Rimbaud Musical", which I happened to encounter about a year ago. This beautiful text made me intrigued with the musical and the poet Arthur Rimbaud as a whole. And eventually this text brought me to the "petite interview". Some of the parts are mentioned in my interview too but here, you can find more detailed and interesting story about how this musical has evolved from the scratch by the two talented people (Richard Charest and Arnaud Kerane). Sorry for a bit clumsy translation (and probably there would be wrong translations) ... but hopefully you can explore and enjoy the fascinating story of the genesis of "Rimbaud Musical" as I did. The first half of this text is mainly about the creation of the musical and the latter half is mostly about the casting, so I divided into the two parts. (Part 2: Casting is posted here.) Thank you Céline, for giving me an opportunity to discover this wonderful musical.
You can find the original french text here (it's on the official web site of "Rimbaud Musical").
So, here we go!
The Encounter of Two Giants (Part I)
"I write essential words that bring supreme melodies"
CHRONOLOGY OF A SIGN OF SUCCESS
The genesis of this musical goes way back!
Rimbaud really came into the life of Richard Charest in 1995 during a workshop of poetic creation about the "Dormeur du Val" when he was at the Laval University in Quebec. It was meant to cross his path again!
On 26 June 1999, an encounter which determined the creation of this project happened. Both Richard Charest and Arnaud Kerane were selected for the 13th meetings of Astaffort by Francis Cabrel, Arnaud, the Parisien, as a lyricist and, Richard, the Québécois, as a lyricist, composer and performer. During these 10 days, many exchanges (happened) .... Arnaud listened to the songs of Mr Charest on CD while Richard discovered the texts of Mr Kerane and one of them literally blew his mind : (the song about) Mrs. Vitalie Rimbaud which tries to illustrate the relationship between a bad son and his mother. Arnaud was actually passionate about the life of Arthur Rimbaud. Already... The two buddies separated from each other on July 3, 1999 without any certainty to meet again.
However, Richard contacted Arnaud again in February 2000 when he sang in the cast of Notre Dame de Paris. A year later, he recorded "Vitalie Rimbaud" at Studios Coppélia in the 15th arrondissement, for his album. At this point, Arnaud lent him a biography of Rimbaud.
It was not until December 2004, that they met at Seven's café at Ponthieu Street in Paris in order that Richard exposed the idea which germinated in his mind for some time to Arnaud. What if they wrote a musical? But it's not a mere musical, no! Rather, a musical that would address universal themes (ambition, violence... ). Arnaud hesitated, and got frightened by the magnitude of work ahead of them. It only took a few minutes that Richard reassured him. That day, he has just returned from Quebec, and reported the little findings which had been in warm slumber at his mother's home. The famous biography that had been lent 3 years before! That book was on the table between him and the one with whom he wanted to embark on this adventure at all costs. He already knew what direction he wanted this musical to go. Universal themes, of course, a little bit as in the life of Rimbaud... A knowing... look... They understood each other... Arnaud asked doubtfully: "But there's no such thing, right?" And Richard snapped back: "Well, of course not! (If there is something like that, I would know it!)". The adventure of Rimbaud Musical has begun!
From 3 January 2005, they embarked on reading biographies and started writing lyrics ... Vitalie has already existed ... Then followed by "Charleville, mon soupier" (whose music was composed by Richard in Seoul during the tour of Notre Dame de Paris in January 2005) ...
Arnaud Kerane states that, in the biography of Rimbaud, "there are a lot of answers for the songs" due to his intense life and exceptional career. It's about one of the greatest people, literary genius, the meteor... The references they used are very diverse in order to have an objective view about what this great poet was like (from the view of Vitalie Rimbaud, Georges Izambard and Mathilde Verlaine) .
In this clip, walking around the places closely connected to the life of Rimbaud,
Arnaud explains why they chose Rimbaud as a subject of musical.
After that, Richard explains about each character (in French).
You can find the English transcript of this clip on this blog (This person is indeed incredible!!).
Reading a number of books was added to a real pilgrimage in the deep Ardennes, on the footsteps of Arthur Rimbaud. Charleville, Ducale square, the banks of the Meuse river. The impregnation is complete.
To the question that "How is a song born?", Arnaud Kerane gives the following answer: "For Charleville, mon soupir, Fils du soleil or other songs, we always start from the existing information and then let the inspiration guide us. We correct, we try out, we remove, we rewrite ... We let it sleep a little ... You see ... A song will never come to an end actually. But we say "stop" at some point."
The result is here! The titles filled with emotions, magic, which condense the life that Rimbaud had so perfectly.
Followed up by songs, scenarios, demo recording, documents, appointments ... Richard Charest explains that sometimes, there are "negative responses that make you want to continue and perhaps (such responses) expect you more."
In order to present the project to which they are deeply committed and to give a more concrete vision of their work, Richard decided to present a series of showcases in Paris. First, private show cases for professionals which will be held on 7 June 2007 at Théâtre Comédia and on 25th, at Espace Cardin; then for the general public, as part of the Musical Festival at XXème théâtre, again in Paris, on 20, 21 and 22 July 2007. An excerpt from the upcoming show, 14 songs, one hour in another world, a world apart ... that of Arthur Rimbaud ... A simple reading (lecture) that reveals so much ... The two got warm and unanimously enthusiastic reception. After 30 months of working, 2 acts, 25 songs, 46 scenes ... The work continues ...
There was only one variable that separated the people who have a strong sense of love and belonging and the people who really struggle for it. And that was, the people who have a strong sense of love and belonging believe they're worthy of love and belonging. That's it. They believe they're worthy.
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong
man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is
marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who
comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and
shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows
great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy
cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that
his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know
victory nor defeat."
というわけで、ブルネーさんは、Shameを増殖させないようにする必要がある、と話していて、Shameを構成する3つの要素は"secrecy, silence and judgment（秘密、沈黙、決めつけること（判定が直訳ですがjudgementalというと、決めつけて考えるのニュアンスがあるので、色眼鏡で見て考えるという意味なような気がします。））"で、これをやっつける薬は「empathy（共感）」だ、と結論づけている。
彼女のvulnerabilityについての著書も面白かったです。 The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00BS03LL6
彼は愛をまず"le désir d'être désiré"と定義する。愛されたい（望まれる存在でありたい）という願望とでも訳すことができるだろうか。（英語だとdesire to be desired。）。つまり、最初のほうでいくつか例が挙げられているが、人間は、望まれた存在である、と（他人によって）認識されて初めて、自分が望まれた存在なのだ、と感じるという。そして、Yannさんは「では、どうすれば、理想的（desirable）であり続けられるだろうか？」と問いかける。
Seul une autre conscience désirante, donc, peut me constituer comme être désirable. Cela je le sais, et c'est pourquoi on peut définir l'amour d'une manière plus précise, comme étant le désir d'être désiré. D'où l'éternel problème de l'amour : comment devenir et comment rester désirable ?
そこで、人々はヒステリックなまでに、自分がどれほど価値ある存在であるかを証明するために、symboles de la désirabilité（魅力（的であること）のシンボル） / capital séduction（魅惑資本（笑））を集めることに執心してしまうという。（例としてでてきていたのは、ファッショナブルな車、すてきなお姉さん（美貌っていう意味かな。）等々。他にも年齢、背の高さ、体重、年収、学位など。）。
まずは、自分自身が価値のない存在であることに気づくこと。（en prenant conscience de ma nullité）。というと何だかちょっと絶望感いっぱいな話に聞こえるが、そもそも私たち自身に元々ある（内在的な）価値などないのであって、そういった意味で、私たちは所詮、何かになりきろうとしているだけ（imposteur（なりすまし／偽物））なのだということを自覚すべきだ、ということらしい。この「なりすまし」が行き過ぎると、カップルの場合、お互いがお互いをパーフェクトに見せようと全てがパフォーマンス化されてしまい、結果として、破局するのだと、いう。（まあ、この話何となくわかる気がする。。。）
で、Yannさんが、代わりに必要だと考える概念が、"tendresse"（優しさ）。
彼の言う"優しさ"とは、"c'est accepter les faiblesses de l'être aimé.（愛する人の欠点を受け入れること。）" そして、最後にちょこっとだけ述べられているが、それに効果的なのが、"auto-dérision（自分自身を笑うこと／自虐的な笑い。）"。
４人部屋に予約を入れていたはずだが、泊まっていたのは私以外は一人だけ。しかも、若者ではなく（でも、前回のシンガポールも、みんながみんなすごく若い人ばかりが利用している訳ではないということは知っていたので、それほどの驚きはなかった。）西洋人のおばちゃんだった。とりあえず、この日は夜遅かったので、Sorry to disturb you.とだけ言って、就寝。
そして、次の日起床。シンガポールのときと同様、黙っていると大変気まずいので、とりあえず、Good morning.と言ってみる。昨日は、気づかなかったが、おばちゃんというより、おばあちゃんという感じの初老の女性だった。アクセントから、アメリカの人かなと思い、Are you from the States?と聞くとオハイオから来たという。早期退職をして、世界中を旅して回っているらしい。ソウルにも既に結構長い間滞在しているようだった。話した感じ、とても優しげな感じの人でほっとする。
そして、さらにつっこんで、最近、フレンチミュージカルに出会って、その中で、自分の好きな歌手の人のインタビューの翻訳をしていて、そのとき、初めて自分は、「これこそ、自分がしたかったことなのだ。」と気づいた、という話もした。そして、なぜか、i pod touchに入れていたシンガポールで撮ったリシャールの写真を見せて、この人のファンなんだ、とかフレンチミュージカルってこんな感じ、みたいな説明をしてしまう。（こういうとき写真って役立つ笑。おばちゃんにもリシャールはintelligentそうな人ね、と同感してもらえた笑。）
ちょっと脇道に逸れてしまったが、こんなようなことをおばさんに話したら、おばさんが意外にも「I know what you mean。」と返してくれた。そして、卒業から50年記念同窓会で会った同級生の話をしてくれた。彼女の同級生は、自分の仕事は必ずしも「好き」ではなかったが、その仕事自体をこなすことはすごくうまくできていたのだという。でも、その仕事にやりがいを見いだすことはできず、数年前、ボランティアで移民の人たちに英語を教えるボランティアを始めたのだという。そして、そこで、これこそ私が好きなことだ、と気づき、今でも彼女はそのボランティアを続けているのだという。彼女は本当に輝いていたわ、とそのおばさんは話してくれた。
* Please note that I'm not a native English / French speaker so there might be errors here and there... but hope you enjoy it! 日本語版はこちら。
In February, I did sort of little interview with Richard Charest about his musical regarding the famous French poet Arthur Rimbaud, which is currently in the last stage of production.
Before the interview... Before starting the interview, let me share the little story about it. I'm a fan of Richard Charest since I've known him in the Notre Dame de Paris Japan Tour 2013. Looking for information about him, I happend to learn that he produced his own musical called "Rimbaud Musical", which was performed in Paris in 2007.
A few weeks after the final performance of Notre Dame de Paris in Japan, I got the news that there would be a Victor Hugo Gala Concert at Sejong Centre in Seoul in May. On twitter, Richard revealed that he would give the performance from "Rimbaud" and what is more, there would be an Asian tour of Rimbaud Musical in the near future. At the concert, two songs "Vitalie" (Richard Charest & Matt Laurent) and "Sauver les Apparences" (Nadia Bel & Sophie Tremblay) were performed.
At that time, I didn't have enough listening comprehension ability to understand the French lyrics and I didn't know much about Arthur Rimbaud, so in fact I had no idea what these songs were about. However, the performance of "Vitalie" was striking, to say the least (For the details of this song, please see the interview below.). Richard looked splendid on stage. You could immediately sense how much passionate he was about and devoted he was to his musical. I was literally overwhelmed.
After returning home, I searched a little bit about Arthur Rimbaud and I was quite astonished at his extraordinary life story. (Being a literary prodigy, romantic relationship with Paul Verlaine and abandoning his literary career when he was just around 21 years old, to name a few.)
I also found a few excerpts of other songs from "Rimbaud". The songs sounded quite modern yet not too catchy. I couldn't understand the whole lyrics, but it seemed that the musical dealt with all sorts of emotions and the story is depicted not only from the perspective of Rimbaud but also of other characters. I became more intrigued by "Rimbaud Musical".
Now I learned he was working hard on "Rimbaud Musical" but I couldn't find a lot of information about it so the big picture was still quite vague for me.
Last December, I went to Singapore to see the performance of Notre Dame de Paris. I thought it might be a good opportunity to ask him about his own musical if I had a chance to see him after the show. I prepared a few questions but unfortunately, on the day when I saw Richard, the troup was scheduled to have a party and he didn't have much time. However, he kindly offered to answer my qustions via FB.
And... here are his answers to my questions. To my delightful surprise, he explained about his musical projects in detail and I thought this information should be shared. Hopefully this "petite interview" will give you a glimpse of his "Rimbaud Musical", in which he puts his heart and soul.
The casts in 2007 lecture.
Interview - Rimbaud Spectacle Musical Q1: What is the title of the musical? Does the musical cover whole his life or specific periods of his lifetime (e.g. the period before abandoning his creative activities)?
Pour le moment,
le titre de travail est : RIMBAUD (UN POÈTE EN PLEIN COEUR) / Spectacle
Musical. Il s’agit de l’histoire du jeune poète entre l’âge de 15 et 20 ans. De
1870 à 1875. Cela couvre donc la totalité de sa période de création. J’ai mis
quelques uns de ses textes en musique mais il s’agit essentiellement de
chansons originales racontant son histoire ainsi que celles des gens qui l’ont côtoyé.
For the moment, the working title is: Rimbaud (A POET RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF HEART) / Spectacle Musical. This is the story of the young poet between the age of 15 and 20 years. From 1870 to 1875. Therefore, it covers the entire period of his creation. I set some of his texts to music but it is mainly original songs that tells his story and the story of people who maintained the relationships with him.
(Photo Credit: Richard Charest)
Q2: Will the current version be different from the one in 2007? Are there any new songs or many revisions?
C’est un
spectacle 2/3 chanté et 1/3 joué. Beaucoup de scènes de jeu. 25 chansons au
total. 6 personnages principaux, 16 ou 17 personnes au total sur scène.
Beaucoup de nouvelles chansons et quelques révisions de chansons existantes. La
« version » 2007 était en fait une lecture de 14 chansons sans véritable mise
en scène.
It’s a musical 2/3 sung and 1/3 played. Many of the scenes are play. 25 songs in total. 6 main characters*, 16 or 17 people in total on stage. Many new songs and some revisions to the existing songs. The "version" 2007 was actually a reading (lecture) of 14 songs without proper stage production.
*6 main characters are: Arthur Rimbaud: the poet. (For the details of his life see here.)
Vitalie Rimbaud: Arthur's mother. There was a great strife between the young ambitious poet and his strict mother. Vitalie was very enthusiastic about her children's education and she had a high expectation of Arthur, who was a very bright child. However, such expectation was often betrayed.
Paul Verlaine: A poet. He discovered Rimbaud's talent and invited him to Paris. Later they developed a romantic relationship. Verlaine left his family and the two poets traveled Europe together for two years. However, in the end Paul shot Arthur and Paul was imprisoned for two years. Subsequently they broke up.
Mathilde Verlaine: Paul's wife. She suffered from the scandalous relationship between her husband and Rimbaud and later she got divorced and remarried to another man.
Ernest Delahaye: Rimbaud's best friend. Rimbaud and Ernest met when they were in secondary school. Ernest witnessed how his friend evolved into a great poet. He maintained correspondance with Arthur during the time when the young poet was "vagabond". Later he also befriended Paul Verlaine.
Georges Izambard: Rimbaud's rhetoric teacher. He himself was an amateur poet and progressive person. He was just 6 years older than Rimbaud. He discovered the talents in his pupil and opened up the world of literature to him. Izambard was a brother / father figure for Rimabaud and they built a very strong friendship. However, this relationship gradually changed and came to an end.
Reference: "Personnages" in Official Site of Rimbaud Musical. http://rimbaudmusical.free.fr/site/?page_id=140
Q3: What phase is your production in?
Les chansons sont
terminées (paroles et musique) et les dialogues –le livret- sont terminés
également. J’ai commencé la production musicale en studio en décembre dernier
de la version définitive des chansons.
The songs are finished (music and lyrics) and the dialogues -the script- are also finished. I started the musical production of the final version of the songs at the studio last December.
During the production. (Photo Credit: Arnaud Kerane)
Q4: What about the casting? Is there going to be 6 roles as were in the version 2007? Will the singers be different from the ones in the version 2007? You played the role of Paul Verlaine last time. This time, do you intend to play any role?
Il y aura 6 personnages
principaux, donc, et 10 personnes supplémentaires sur scène. La distribution
n’est pas arrêtée pour le moment. J’ai approché des gens, je ne sais pas encore
si des chanteurs de la version 2007 seront de la distribution finale. Je n’ai
pas encore pris de décision quant à ma participation en tant que chanteur. Je me concentre pour le moment sur la création.
There will be 6 main characters, and 10 additional people on stage. The casting has not decided yet for the moment. I approached people, I do not yet know if the singers of the version 2007 will be in the final casting. I have not yet made a decision about my participation as a singer. For the moment, I'm focusing on the creation.
Q5: For the moment, which cities are on the list of destinations for the tour?
Mon objectif serait de mettre en place une tournée avec des partenaires provenant de pays visités avec Notre Dame de Paris. J’ai maintenu de bons contacts avec des gens en Russie, en Chine, au Japon, à Taiwan, en Corée du Sud ainsi qu’à Singapour. J’espère pouvoir compter sur leur soutien pour aller présenter mon spectacle dans leur ville respective.
My goal would be to set up a tour with partners from countries I visited with Notre Dame de Paris. I maintained good contacts with people in Russia, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea as well as Singapore. I hope I can count on their support to present my show in the cities of each country.
Q6: Is there any way to listen to the songs or to take a look at the lyrics of the songs?
Je dois terminer
l’enregistrement des chansons dans leur version définitive avant de faire
circuler les paroles sur internet. Beaucoup de choses peuvent encore changer.
Un album de 10 chansons est prévu pour faire la promotion et accompagner les
représentations du spectacle. Je n’ai toutefois pas encore de date de sortie à
annoncer.
I have to finish the recordings of the songs in their final version before circulating the lyrics on the Internet. Many things may still change. An album of 10 songs is planned for the promotion and for accompanying the performances of the musical. However, I do not yet have a release date to be announced.
Le Musée Rimbaud in Charleville
Q7: What fascinates you about Rimbaud, except that he is a great poet?
Rimbaud
n’attendait personne avant de prendre une décision ou de poser un geste. Il est
pour moi l’exemple absolu de la liberté libre, comme il l’appelait lui-même. Je
suis touché par son acharnement à devenir un grand poète, son talent, bien sûr,
mais sa détermination plus encore. Ses rapports avec sa mère, son professeur et
son meilleur ami me touchent énormément. Et le fait de mourir très jeune, 37 ans,
sans savoir qu’il était devenu une figure importante de la poésie représente
pour moi un élément dramatique très fort.
Rimbaud did not expect foranyone before
making a decision or taking an action. It is, for me, the ultimate example of
free freedom (liberté libre), as he called it. I am touched by his
tenacity to become a great poet, his talent, for sure, but touched more by
his determination. His relationships with his mother, his teacher and his best
friend touched me enormously. And the fact that he died very young, 37 years
old, without knowing that he became an important figure in poetry, represents a very strong dramatic element for me. - When I read Rimbaud's letter to Izambard, I was intrigued by the young poet's almost contradictory persona; on one hand he was quite adamant and sometimes even arrogant but at the same time he looked quite fragile, naive adolescent. And above all, as Richard mentioned above, I was deeply moved by his cry for freedom and determination to be a great poet. It's partly because recently I was in a bit of "get stuck" situation and struggled to find a way to establish myself. His words overlap with what I went through. I now understand why this poet fascinates so many people around the world. His words are painfully vivid and quite relevant to this day.
Q8: I believe the first song you created was about Vitalie Rimbaud, the mother of the poet. Why did you pick up this issue - the mother- son relationship - as the starting point of your story?
J’ai rencontré mon partenaire Arnaud Kerane lors d’un atelier
d’écriture en 1999, tout juste avant de commencer Notre Dame de Paris. L’un des tout premiers textes qu’Arnaud
m’ait montré concernait Vitalie Rimbaud, la mère du poète. J’ai été stupéfait
que ce poète génial était en fait un mauvais fils. Je crois que chaque homme
porte en lui une part de mauvais fils. Je trouvais le propos universel alors je
lui ai proposé de mettre son texte en musique un jour. Sans savoir que 5 ans
plus tard, en décembre 2004, je lui proposerais d’écrire un spectacle sur
Arthur Rimbaud.
I met my partner Arnaud Kerane during a
writing workshop in 1999, just before the beginning of Notre Dame de Paris. One
of the earliest texts Arnaud showed me was concerned with Vitalie Rimbaud, the
poet's mother. I was astounded that this great poet was actually a bad son. I
believe that every man has an aspect of a bad son within himself. I noticed the universal
subject so I proposed him to set his text to music one day. Little did I know that, 5
years later, in December 2004, I would propose him to write a musical
about Arthur Rimbaud.
Mr. Arnaud Kerane, Richard's partner of the musical
(Photo Credit: Arnaud Kerane)
- It was quite interesting that Richard referred to Rimbaud as "mauvais fils (bad son)". Probably it's not limited to "son". Sometimes, parents and children live in a very different world or paradigm (in case of Rimbaud and his mother Vitalie, it's too obvious.) and when children tried to pursue what s/he believed to be right, this very action might be regarded as totally unacceptable for their parents. In such case, unfortunately, a huge discrepancy between them would arise and children had no choice but to become a bad son / daughter, I guess.
Q9: What is the song "Vitalie" about? As you performed this song so passionately at Sejong Center (Seoul) back in May 2013, I'm curious about the theme of this song.
Au Sejong Center,
nous avons interprété la chanson VITALIE (celle-là même qu’Arnaud et moi avons
créé en premier). Matt interprétait le rôle de GEORGE IZAMBARD, le professeur
de Rimbaud. J’interprétais le rôle d’Arthur Rimbaud. Il s’agit d’une discussion
un peu violente entre le jeune poète qui ne supporte plus l’emprise de sa mère
et le professeur qui tente de le ramener à la raison en lui disant de respecter
sa mère. Cette chanson marque la fin de leur amitié.
At Sejong Center, we performed the song VITALIE
(indeed the song that Arnaud and I had first created). Matt played the role of GEORGE
IZAMBARD, the teacher of Rimbaud. I played the role of Arthur Rimbaud. This is a somewhat heated discussion between the young poet who cannot stand the influence of
his mother and the teacher who tries to bring him to his senses by telling him to respect
his mother. This song marks the end of their friendship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG0RuX4A8MY
The second song of this clip is "Vitalie".
(The first song: Fils du soleil. The third song: Charleville, mon soupir)
Q10: Could you explain a little bit about "Sauver les Apparences", the other song that was performed at Sejong Center?
VITALIE, la mère
de Rimbaud, vit des heures sombres puisque son fils se comporte de façon
inacceptable. MATHILDE, la femme de Paul Verlaine, vit un peu la même chose
puisque son mari pose des gestes scandaleux. Il est important pour ces deux
femmes de garder la tête haute et de faire comme si tout allait bien. En
français, il existe une expression qui illustre bien ce comportement. Les deux
femmes tentent de SAUVER LES APPARENCES.
VITALIE, the mother of Rimbaud, experiences dark
times because her son behaves in an unacceptable way. MATHILDE, the wife of Paul
Verlaine, experiences similar things because her husband engages in scandalous
behavior. It is important for these women to keep their heads high and act as
if everything were fine. In French, there is an expression that illustrates
this behavior well; the two women are trying to "save face (SAUVER LES
APPARENCES)".
Q11: What message would you like to convey through your musical “Rimbaud”? Could you give a little message to your fans?
NOTRE DAME DE PARIS
m’a permis de visiter un grand nombre de pays tous plus fascinants les uns que
les autres. J’ai découvert à quel point les fans de comédies musicales sont des
gens passionnés, curieux et ouverts sur le monde. Je souhaite plus que tout
partir à la rencontre des fans aux 4 coins du monde avec mon spectacle RIMBAUD.
J’ai choisi de raconter l’histoire d’un jeune poète prêt à tout pour réaliser
son rêve parce que son histoire est universelle, que son travail est magique et
que j’ai senti que le public des pays visités semblait apprécier au plus haut
point les oeuvres de langue française. Vous m’avez supporté de belle façon
partout où je suis passé. VOUS avez fait de Gringoire, le plus beau rôle qu’il
m’ait été donné d’interpréter. J’aimerais vous rendre justice en vous proposant
un spectacle magnifique, émouvant, touchant, parfois drôle et résolument
moderne. MON spectacle. Je me donne rendez-vous... avec vous, le plus
rapidement possible ! Merci encore de votre soutien.
NOTRE DAME DE PARIS allowed me to visit a
great number of fascinating countries, all of which were equally fascinating. I
discovered how passionate, curious and open to the world the musical fans
are. I want more than anything to meet fans all over the world with my show
RIMBAUD. I chose to tell the story of a young poet who is desperate to realize his
dream because his story is universal, his work is magical and I felt that the
audience of the countries I visited seemed to greatly appreciate the works of
French language. You have supported me in a great way wherever I went. YOU made
Gringoire, the best role that has been given to me to interpret. I would like
to do justice by offering you a musical that is magnificent, moving, touching,
sometimes funny and firmly modern. MY musical. I will make a promise… to you, to
go to see you as soon as possible! Thank you again for your support.
Merci pour votre aimable coopération, Richard!
- When I first read this text, I was on the train but I almost cried! I was so touched by his passion and pride in "Rimbaud" as well as his sincerity and generosity as a person. He is simply incredible ...
I was also happy that he mentioned the representation in French. When I first knew about Notre Dame de Paris, it appeared that it became extremely difficult to deliver the performance in French original version. I really love the beautiful sound of French, and I know that the language play very important role in the musical. So for me, it's really sad that I can't see the original version. Moreover, it seems that there is a trend that more and more French musicals are performed in the form of adaptation rather than in the form of the original version. Given the fact that setting up a world tour needs a lot things to do, I understand that adaptation is one practical option but even so, I really hope to see the musical in French. So I am truly happy and thankful that Richard tried to bring his musical in French all the way to Asian regions.
And his last comments about fans...! It's quite interesting and a bit hilarious too :) Yes, we are really curious creatures I know! But seriously talking, seeing musicals from foreign countries is in a way encountering totally new cultures (story, staging, singers, dancers...) and I really love this part.
Après ma petite interview...
Lastly I would like to jot down a few thoughts about this interview...
Interviewing Richard and his partner Arnaud about their musical "Rimbaud" was actually my dream as a fan and as a French language learner. However, it was almost like my "wildest dream" and I wouldn't imagine that this dream would come true one day.
There were too many reasons that this dream seemed to be impossible:
First, I'm just a fan. Nothing more than that.
Second, my French language proficiency was far from doing "interview".
Third, as I didn't have any experience of "interviewing" and I had no idea what to do.
And lastly, I am normally a timid person, and this dream just seemed to be too daunting.
The only thing that I had... probably, was perseverance.
I said to myself, "even if it would end up in totally a mess, I have nothing to lose anyway. So why not try it??"
So, to start with, I sent a lengthy message to Richard and Arnaud (despite the fact that I was a total stranger to Arnaud...) about my little thoughts about "Sauver les Apparences" in French even though I could only understand half of the lyrics. When I clicked the "Send" button, I was trembled... Probably, my French was full of errors and my remark might have been beside the point but at least I believed that it would be much better to convey my sincerity.
A few days later, to my surprise, both of them gave me very sincere and kind responses. I was totally overjoyed. At this point, I started to believe, maybe, my wildest dream wouldn't be that "wild"...
This is how the story begins, and led me all the way to this interview... Euh, what a journey it has been... It's just unbelievable...
It was actually a bit a challenge for me to translate unmodified French texts into Japanese and English. Sometimes I felt quite helpless and so disappointed in myself that I couldn't properly translate Richard's fabulous texts. But luckily with the help of Mme Mew, who is a long-term french musical fan, I could finish translating this interview. It took me more time than I had expected and it wasn't totally a piece of cake, but all the better for it, this experience was quite priceless and even enjoyable for me. I cherished every moment of it.
My next "wildest" goal would be watching "Rimbaud" somewhere in the world, and tell my thoughts to Richard and / or Arnaud in French in person. Again, I know it's a tough goal but maybe it's worth trying.
Richard, thank you again for giving me such a wonderful opportunity.
I'm really looking forward to seeing you (hopefully as a singer!!!) again.
And I also say thank you to Arnaud for giving me strength and courage.
You guys are always inspiring and I can't be thankful enough.
I really wish that "Rimbaud" would be presented as many cities as possible and the spectacular world of Rimbaud would be shown to the audience ;)
*****
3 April 2014
I posted an English translation of the story of the genesis of "Rimbaud Musical" written by Céline, which inspired me a lot. For those who are interested, please seehere. You could also see the original French text (La genèse du spectacle) here.
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