''L'écume des jours'' (English: ''The Foam of Days'') is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in three acts (14 scenes) composed by the Russian composer Edison Denisov in 1981. The French (also German and Russian) text is by the composer based on the novel of the same title by Boris Vian.

Composition history

Denisov conceived of the opera in the 1970s, and he worked on it up until 1981. The libretto is written in French. In it, Denisov used text from the novel and from numerous songs by Boris Vian. He also used religious texts, including a song by an anonymous author (14th tableau), a text from a funeral

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

(13th tableau), and the Latin text from the

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

( Credo and Gloria – 2nd tableau) and from the requiem ( Agnus dei and Requiem aeternam – 13th tableau). Denisov defined his opera as a lyrical drama. The musical language is typical of Denisov's music of the 1980s with complex chromatic vocal lines, dissonant harmony and rich orchestral textures. There are many quotations, hidden quotations or allusions to music of different styles and epochs: songs by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

, American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, French

chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

, or Gregorian chant. All of these are veiled and transformed in some way, and even the quotation from Wagner’s ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is a music drama in three acts by Richard Wagner set to a German libretto by the composer, loosely based on the medieval 12th-century romance ''Tristan and Iseult'' by Gottfried von Stras ...

'' has a jazzy hue. The duration of the work is 2 hours and 20 minutes. It was published by Le Chant du Monde in Paris.

Performance history

The premiere performance was given on 15 March 1986 at the Opéra-Comique in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, conducted by John Burdekin and directed by Jean-Claude Fall. Subsequently, productions were mounted at the Perm Opera Theatre in 1989 and the Staatsoper Stuttgart in late 2012.

Roles

Scoring

* Singers: 2 sopranos, mezzo, 4 tenors, 2 baritones, 3 basses, 2 mimes, 1 boy soprano, chorus *

Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

: 3.3.3.3 – alt saxophone,

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

– 3.3.3.1–

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

–

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

–

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

/ celesta –

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

– strings

Synopsis

Act 1

''1st Tableau: Colin's room'' Colin lives together with Mouse, the friend of his house. Colin is waiting for his friend, engineer Chick, whom he invited for dinner. His cook Nicolas is reading the recipes from the cook book. Chick arrives, and Colin shows him the "piano-cocktail", his own invention – the piano that makes cocktails. Chick plays an improvisation on

themes and then tells him about Alise, the niece of Nicolas, whom he met at the conference of Jean-Sol Partre (a broad hint on

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

). They both go skating. ''Intermezzo: Colin dreams about a girl he wants to meet'' ''2nd Tableau: The skating-rink "Molitor"'' Chick and Colin meet Alise and Isis, who invites them to the birthday celebration of her dog. One of the skaters breaks up on the wall. They all join the burial liturgy. ''Intermezzo: The windy street'' Colin repeats: "I would like to fall in love, you would like to fall in love", and so on. ''3rd Tableau: At Isis'' Alise tells Colin that Chick does not want to marry her, because he spends all his money on the books by Jean-Sol Partre. Chloé enters. Colin feels that she is the girl of his dream. They dance. ''4th Tableau: The Quarter'' Colin meets Chloé and they walk along the streets. Terrified by the absurd shop-windows they went to the forest where surrounded by the pink cloud they are invisible for other people.

Act 2

''5th Tableau: Wedding preparations'' Two "honorary homosexuals", Pégase and Coriolan, are preparing themselves for the wedding. Simultaneously Chloé, Alise and Isis also prepare themselves for the wedding. ''Intermezzo: The wedding of Colin and Chloé: Hymn of Love'' ''6th Tableau: The honeymoon trip'' Colin and Chloé travel by car with Nicolas as a driver. Chloé is frightened by the vision of strange fish-scale beasts, smoke and dirt of the copper mines. ''7th Tableau: At Colin's'' Colin and Chloé are in bed. Chloé complains about pain in her lungs. They play a record, and the room is transformed into a sphere. The visit of a doctor. ''Intermezzo: The Medical Quarter, the channel with some fragments of bloody cotton, the eye gazing to Colin and Chloé'' ''8th Tableau: The pharmacy'' Colin and Chick are in a strange pharmacy with a guillotine for recipes and a mechanical rabbit making pills. Colin tells that Chloé has a lily in her lungs, and only flowers can cure her. ''9th Tableau: At Colin's'' Chloé is surrounded by flowers. The room became smaller. Colin reads her a novel about ''

Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Of disputed source, usually assumed to be primarily Celtic nations, Celtic, the tale is a ...

''.

Act 3

''Intermezzo: Colin walks along the road; the vision of strange shapes and shadows'' ''10th Tableau: The military plant'' Colin finds a job at the military factory. The Director explains that weapons are growing from the seeds if you warm them with your naked body. ''11th Tableau: At Colin's'' Chloé sleeps among the flowers. Alise enters and tells Colin that Chick spent all his money on the books by Jean-Sol Partre, and now wants to separate from her. Colin tries to console her. ''Intermezzo: Seneschal and eight policemen are coming to Chick to confiscate his property'' ''12th Tableau: At Chick's'' Chick dies defending his books. Paris is on fire. ''Intermezzo: Alise sets fire to the bookshops with the books by Jean-Sol Partre'' ''13th Tableau: Chloé’s death'' The dialogue between Colin and Jesus nailed to the cross. ''Intermezzo: The empty town. The little girl sings a song about the dead town'' ''14th Tableau: An Epilogue'' Dialogue of Cat and Mouse. Mouse wants to die putting its head into the Cat's mouth. Blind girls walk the street singing a song about Jesus. One of the girls stepped on the Cat's tail. The Cat shuts its mouth.

Recordings

''Colin et Chloé'', suite from the opera ''L'écume des jours'' (''The Foam of Days'') for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, chorus and orchestra (1981) 36' Text by Boris Vian (French) *LP Melodiya 24593: USSR Ministry of Culture SO, Latvian SSR Academic Chorus, The USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra, Vasili Sinaisky (conductor), Nelli Lee (soprano), Nina Terentieva (mezzo-soprano), Nikolai Dumtsev (tenor) *CD Melodiya SUCD 10-00107: USSR Ministry of Culture SO, Latvian SSR Academic Chorus, The USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra, Vasili Sinaisky (conductor), Nelli Lee (soprano), Nina Terentieva (mezzo-soprano), Nikolai Dumtsev (tenor) :*1. The Street - 22.36 (1-7) :*2. The Molitor Skating Rink :*3. On the Way to Chloé :*4. The Wedding :*5. Colin et Chloé :*6. The Medical Quarter :*7. Alice's Death :*8. Epilogue - 7.40

References

Other Sources * Kholopov, Yuri and Valeria Tsenova: ''Edison Denisov (Contemporary Music Studies)'', Harwood Academic Publishers, 1995, ; London: Routledge, 1997, * Kholopov, Yuri, ''Edison Denisov, the Russian Voice in European New Music''. Berlin: Kuhn, 2002

External links

at Hans Sikorski pageThe production page for the 2012 staging in Stuttgart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecume des jours, L' Compositions by Edison Denisov French-language operas Operas Russian opera 1986 operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique Operas based on novels Adaptations of works by Boris Vian