Tintin Braves New Adventure at Real-Life Opera

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015 (From left) Actors Michel de Warzee, Amani Picci and Helene Bernardy pose after the premiere (From left) Actors Joelle Charlie, Helene Bernardy, Michel de Warzee and Amani Picci perform of “The Castafiore Emerald”, a lyrical comedy adapted from the famous album by Herge, in La during the premiere of “The Castafiore Emerald”. Hulpe. — AFP photos Tintin braves new adventure at real-life opera ver the years Tintin has battled spies, climbed Carpentries, noting that many of the topics covered in to stay a professional singer and then add all that fun, the Himalayas and travelled to the Moon but the Tintin adventures published between 1929 and the comic book element, to stay faithful to the book.” Othe intrepid Belgian boy reporter now faces 1976 are still “hot”. These range from problems with The song that Castafiore sings in Herge’s book-the what could be his biggest adventure yet-an opera. technology-in his case television-to the treatment of “Jewel Song” from the opera “Faust” by Charles Already immortalized in a series of much-loved comic Gypsies, who in one of the books are forced to live in a Gounod-naturally features in the live performance, books, film and theatre, Tintin and his faithful dog dump. But in a sign of the times, the 13-year-old actor along with other operatic “pearls” that are meant to Snowy are now set to star in an open-air musical playing Tintin, Amani Picci, had never read the books show a diva at the top of her game, says de adaptation of the “The Castafiore Emerald”, which before landing the role, even if he had seen cartoons Carpentries. opens this week near Brussels. on television. “We thought about what her repertoire would be. Featuring the eccentric diva Bianca Castafiore, He said that during rehearsals over the summer “I Because Castafiore is not just a big presence, she is a whose voice can shatter glass, the book published in have received lots of advice for getting rid of stress” great singer with a huge repertoire, like (legendary 1963 by Belgian author Herge tells the story of how before going out in front of an audience of 1,800 to soprano Maria) Callas,” he adds. The book’s lively dia- she is invited to Marlinspike Hall, the country retreat play a “legend” of popular culture. But it is not Tintin logue has meanwhile been set to various tunes from of Tintin’s good friend, the drunken sailor Captain who is centre stage but the “invasive, exuberant” the operatic canon. The setting will be equally grand, Haddock. Madame Castafiore, played by soprano Helene in the 19th century surrounds of the Chateau de La Teaming up with the bumbling, bowler-hatted Bernardy. Hulpe, a country house with pointed towers that detectives Thompson and Thomson, they brave a Castafiore is a star of La Scala in Milan who flees to bears an uncanny similarity to Marlinspike Hall. It is series of adventures to recover her stolen jewelry, Marlinspike Hall to escape the attentions of the produced by the Belgian society “Opera For All”, including the precious, eponymous emerald. “I’ve tabloids. But her presence irks Captain Haddock, which over the past 20 years has been trying to bring always found it the most musical of Herge’s books,” whose expletives punctuate the performance. opera to a wider public. — AFP director Francois de Carpentries told AFP, saying that Bernardy says playing Castafiore is “therapy-you have turning it into an opera “is a childhood dream come to throw all your complexes in the bin.” The character true.” The opera is being performed in the open air is “extreme in her reactions, her gestures — she from September 17 until 26 at the Chateau de La always wants to be noticed.” Hulpe south of Brussels, and further dates are likely to follow, in France among others. Faithful to the book Belgian producer But she says that she has to be careful not to top- Cedric Monnoye ‘A true genius’ ple over into caricature. “She sings all the big roles, at smiles at the “Herge was a genius, a true visionary,” says de the Metropolitan in New York, at La Scala. So you have premiere. (From left) Actors Joelle Charlier, Amani Picci and Michel Actors Helene Bernardy (left) and Michel de Warzee per- Belgian actor Amani Picci playing Tintin poses with the de Warzee perform. form. dog playing Snowy during the premiere..

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