Frida, des ailes pour voler

Presentation

"Frida, des ailes pour voler" is the title of this new creation by Cie Artichoke. It is an inclusive and intercultural opera project for a young audience, developed with a participatory, community-driven approach.

This project will blend multiple art forms: music, theatre, dance, and the art of Frida Kahlo. It involves a choir of non-professional children from challenging backgrounds, as well as children from schools, who will be invited to prepare in advance to participate in the show from their seats.

The opera will be developed through a multifaceted workshop process with the children. They will explore not only Frida Kahlo's art and biography but also the theme of resilience through the arts. This process will take one year and culminate in a public performance during the Festival Musiq3 (a partner of Festivals de Wallonie) in Brussels.

The opera is composed for a soprano, children's choir, and a small instrumental ensemble. It will be sung in French and Spanish. The artistic team and the children in the choirs come from multicultural backgrounds. The project aims to celebrate the beauty and healing power of the arts together.

Frida Kahlo's world, with its vibrant colors, animals, and objects, inspires the overall scenography. The story of Frida's dream, as described in her journal, is the starting point of the libretto. The theme of an imaginary friendship is particularly engaging for children to explore.

"I must have been 6 years old when I intensely experienced an imaginary friendship with a little girl about my age. On the glass of the window in my room, which faced Allende Street, I made fog on one of the panes. With a finger, I drew a door... Through this 'door' I escaped into a dream. With great joy and urgency, I crossed the visible expanse that separated me from a dairy called 'PINZÓN'... Through the 'Ó' of PINZÓN, I entered and descended into the interior of the earth, where 'my imaginary friend' was always waiting for me."

Artistic Team

Artistic team Composer, arrangements: PETE CHURCHILL He has a proven expertise of improvisations with children, and composing from that material, expert of groove and jazz music, and choir leading, partly based in Brussels, where he teaches in conservatory. Libretto and stage director: SOPHIE VAN DER STEGEN She has a proven expertise of writing and creating shows for children. She is the initiator of this project "Frida, des ailes pour voler", it will be her first time with kids on stage rather than in the audience. Co-stage director: SARAH LAULAN She teaches lyrical interpretation to young people in conservatory - she is comedian and an expert in actors' direction, and will bring her expertise to assist Sophie with directing the group of kids. Assistant and link with the kids: DANY PORCHE She was a school teacher for 30 years, and is used to big kids' groups and making theatre with them. She will assist in the group work. Visual artist & scenography: SHIZUKA HARIU &JULIE MICHAUD We would ideally like to have both scenographers: Shizuka is famous scenographer, and would be in charge of the big scenography on stage (designing) whereas Julie will be in charge of creating the stenographical elements and costume in workshops with kids; She is used to working in workshops as she directs the "Zinneke Parade", a yearly cultural and artistic event in the streets of Brussels. Choreography: INES CARIJO Ines is used to working with kids from challenging background, improvising with them, trying to make them dance more than just TikTok moves. Cultural mediation in schools: JEANNE SERVAIS She has a proven expertise at La Monnaie, educational department. Lights: TOM LUCET Sound and technique: BENOIT PELE Children's choir: EQUINOX CHOIR Choir master & Diego Rivera : ZENO POPESCU Frida Kahlo (soprano): AMALIA AVILAN Ensemble musical TBC- 3 instrumentalists, and preferably a Mexican musician among them to avoir cultural recuparation

Partners