''Les Éclairs'' (''The Lightning Flashes'') is an opera in four acts to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Jean Echenoz Jean Echenoz (born 26 December 1947) is a French writer. Biography Jean Echenoz was born in Orange, Vaucluse, the son of a psychiatrist, He studied in Rodez, Digne-les-Bains, Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and Paris, where he has lived sinc ...

with music by Philippe Hersant. It was premiered at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

in Paris on 2 November 2021.''Les Éclairs''
Opéra-Comique website, accessed 26 December 2021 Based on a novel in verse by Echenoz, the opera is a fantasised biography of the inventor Nikola Tesla as the main character, Gregor. It depicts his arrival in America in 1884, a stormy relationship with Thomas Edison, Gregor's adoption by the (fictional) entrepreneur Parker and the support he receives from the (also fictional) philanthropist couple Ethel and Norman (the former of whom falls in love with Gregor). He is also supported by the journalist Betty. As with the real-life Tesla, Gregor becomes progressively obsessed with impractical projects and imagined extra-terrestrial contacts.

Roles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eclairs, Les Compositions by Philippe Hersant Operas 2021 operas French-language operas Operas based on real people Operas based on novels Operas set in the United States Operas set in the 19th century Cultural depictions of Thomas Edison