Those who have toured the Round House a thousand times assure us: as far as they can remember, they had never seen the members of the Orchestra and the Choir of Radio France bobbing with so much enthusiasm. after a show. This event occurred during the last of the three concerts given in the auditorium of Radio France, in Paris, on December 2, 3 and 4, by the singer Gilberto Gil and the composer and conductor Aldo Brizzi. The Brazilian and the Italian created there Blue lovean opera they co-wrote for seven years, between the drops of Covid-19 – a first for the co-founder of tropicalism and ex-minister of culture for President Lula.
Acme last year for Radio France and France Télévisions, which co-produced it, this singular collaboration invites, in the same stride, to start 2023 on the right foot: it will be broadcast Friday January 20, on France 5, then Wednesday January 25, on France Musique. The recording took place during the dress rehearsal, Thursday 1is December. The enthusiasm of the participants was already palpable – as soon as the concert was over, the horns began to sing the first notes of Hey Jude, as an offering to Gilberto Gil, whose passion for the Beatles is legendary. Who remembers? In the 1990s, Paul McCartney had tried his hand at scholarly music, without convincing. The incursion of the Bahians is otherwise more convincing. Evidenced by the opening ofBlue love, of a beauty crystal clear – melody, orchestration, interpretation, everything flows naturally.
“Much water does not quench love / Flooding rivers do not overwhelm it”, say the first verses of the libretto, a preamble to the tortuous and tortured loves of Krishna and Radha. Cascading avatars, a cosmic and syncretic mythology, great means – 2h45 of music, 47 pieces, 523 pages of score, 19,500 notes, 169 artists on stage including two Indian dancers: James Cameron can go get dressed, the bluish winter blockbuster, here it is.
Fine flower of tropicalism
The success is all the more admirable since Gil celebrated his 80th birthday in June 2022. He has enlisted the services of a maestro who, in matters of figure eight, knows his stuff. In the contemporary music circuit, Aldo Brizzi has long been associated with Giacinto Scelsi, who made him his disciple of choice. An unusual musician like this Scelsi, as archaic as he was avant-garde: he said he owed his inspiration to the Vedic deities, and expected to join the beyond on the day when the eight, symbols of infinity, would all be aligned – in fact, he died on August 8, 1988.
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