Festival Messiaen: Ensemble Intercontemporain 2 presents “Into the Little Hill

For the Messiaen Festival, which runs from 25 July to 1 August, discover:

"Into the Little Hill": Georges Benjamin offers a rereading with disturbing contemporary resonances. Without losing any of its poetic dimension, the work reveals an even more disturbing shadow

To ensure his re-election, a Minister gives in to popular anger and promises to rid the town of rats. He makes a pact with a mysterious stranger for a large sum of money. But once re-elected, he goes back on his word, triggering consequences as inexorable

as they are terrifying…

The tight chamber opera form, with two voices taking on all the roles, lends the work a gripping dramatic intensity, while preserving its legibility and narrative force.

To open the programme, two pieces by George Benjamin highlight the qualities of the EIC soloists. Flight, for solo flute, draws its inspiration from bird-watching, soaring effortlessly into the blue before swooping over the crests of the Swiss Alps. Viola, Viola, written for two violas, explores a dialogue of changing colours, where timbres merge to evoke an orchestral texture, before dissociating into distinct, contrasting lines.

Ensemble intercontemporain:

George Benjamin, conductor

Jenny Daviet, soprano

Joanne Evans, mezzo-soprano

Sophie Cherrier, flute

Odile Auboin, viola

John Stulz, viola