Ballets mécaniques

Futurist Drift in 7 pictures

For an exceptional evening, the Grand Hall, the Foyer, the staircases, and myriad other spaces throughout the Lille Opera will resonate to the thousand and one sounds of the "City Fantastic", as hailed by the artists of the futurist movement at the dawn of the 20th century. With the Cris de Paris choir and several other specially invited guests, the musicians of Ictus have concocted a programme that recreates the musical intoxication of the city: the sounds of machines, the "beauty of speed", the rumbling of automobiles, the clamour of the crowd.

Excerpts from historic scores such as Edgar Varese's Ionisation or George Antheil's Ballet Mécanique mix and mingle with a Steve Reich classic (Drumming), intriguing sonic poems (Kurt Schwitters), and contemporary works by young composers.

Works by:

• Edgar Varèse Ionisation
• Georges Antheil Ballet Mécanique
• Roque Rivas & Carlos Franklin Mutations of Matter
• Kurt Schwitters Sonate in Urlauten, Poème phonétique
• Iannis Xenakis Nuits
• Steve Reich Drumming, 1st movement
• Maurillio Cacciatore Tamonontamo*
• Beat Furrer New work, etc.

Ictus l Conductor George-Elie Octors
Les Cris de Paris | Conductor Geoffroy Jourdain
IRCAM computer music design Roque Rivas, Augustin Muller*