Les Dinos et l’Arche

Les Dinos et l'Arche, a Darwinian opera, a dystopian fable

Music by Thomas Leininger (*1981)
Libretto by Tina Hartmann (*1973) and Cédric Costantino (*1974)
World premiere in French at La Cité Bleue

Alas, dinosaurs, the dream of children of all ages, have disappeared. Of course, books tell us that a meteorite devastated the planet. But what if the dinosaurs missed Noah's Ark because of a sundial that was misaligned by the clouds? In this musical fable, as funny as it is profound, Charles Darwin himself, with his charming iguana rescued from the Galápagos archipelago, travels back in time to give the great reptiles a second chance. Aboard a fantastic ship, the dinosaurs set off in search of a magical plant that could save them from the Flood by transforming them into birds...

Part satire, part tender tale, Les Dinos et l'Arche brings together humans, animals and extinct creatures in a changing society that is a distorted but revealing mirror of our own. In a whirlwind of emotions, absurd dialogue, bursts of laughter and spectacular transformations, it becomes clear that dinosaurs are forced to adapt to survive in a world doomed to extinction... Does that ring a bell?

With a colourful cast, a ten-piece orchestra and Julien Condemine's inventive staging, this mini-opera, reminiscent of a journey through space and time, draws on the Baroque heritage to question our own era. Visually daring, musically delightful, and brilliantly conducted by Leonardo García-Alarcón, Les Dinos et l'Arche is an opera for curious minds of all ages.

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