Art is omnipresent in François Girard’s loft. One part of the house is reserved for daily life, the other for his work as director and director. But in every corner we find paintings and photographs by artists that he is happy to show us.
Posted at 7:15am
Along the walls, placed on the floor, countless posters testify to the shows and films he has done throughout his career. A huge library is overflowing with books about exhibitions, painters and sculptors.
Art is the oxygen of this man of stage and cinema who, at the time of our meeting last January, was preparing to settle in New York for five months. Last but not least, three productions lead him to this long stay.
First Lohengrin and The Flying Dutchman, two operas by Wagner performed at the Metropolitan Opera. Then The Shotgun, a piece he revisits to his greatest delight and presented at the Baryshnikov Arts Center.
Our conversation begins with Lohengrin, which François Girard staged on the same day last year in Moscow at the renowned Bolshoi Theater. This project, which promised to be a mighty adventure, has nevertheless weathered several storms.
Complicating matters were COVID-19 outbreaks. “We never had a full cast rehearsing,” he says. There are still 185 people on stage. There were always missing people. The Russian army invaded Ukraine. “I found out like everyone else on February 24th. A singer fell into my arms. Nobody believed this would happen. We all thought it was a bluff. »
Within the imposing team, no one approved of this war. The director of the Bolshoi, Vladimir Urin, even signed a letter with about twenty directors of cultural organizations to oppose this invasion. “We thought he would lose his job,” says François Girard
It was planned that after the performances in Moscow, the elements of the set would be sent to the Metropolitan Opera, since it is a co-production. But the conflict brought down the bridge between the Bolshoi and the Met. “We had to rebuild everything,” explains François Girard, who is currently in his fourth production of a Wagner opera.
PHOTO PROVIDED OF THE PRODUCTION
Lohengrin, directed by François Girard, at the Metropolitan Opera
After Siegfried, Parsifal and Das Phantomschiff he now adds Lohengrin. “I found my niche in the world of Wagner. I’m not very comfortable with the whole operatic repertoire, but there is room for me with this composer. We are in myths and legends. »
It is Yannick Nézet-Séguin who will be at the podium during the performances, which will take place from February 26th to April 1st. François Girard also owes this other invitation to the Met’s musical artistic director. Their relationship is obviously based on mutual respect.
“I experienced all the possible and imaginable dynamics with the chefs,” says François Girard, without going into detail. I’ve heard of some famous silencers. That’s not the case with Yannick at all. He’s a great musician. He’s a very inspiring person. »
find freshness
After the performances of Lohengrin, François Girard will resume the staging of The Flying Dutchman that he created in 2020. This production, grounded in flight by the COVID pandemic, will return to Met audiences in May and June.
Multiple directors don’t like working on the same screens. François Girard sees it differently. “When you work with a new team, it can’t be the same production. People don’t realize how much of a change a show with the same sets and lighting with new cast members goes through. »
During a creation, the artists see a director searching and thinking. But during a recovery they have someone in front of them who knows where they are going. Does that have an impact on the chemistry with the singers? “It goes both ways. I have already met a singer who was in his 27th production of the same opera. I could have said the same about him. You have to find freshness and over time I’ve developed tricks to find that. »
After several trips to the famous New York Opera House, François Girard refuses to take things for granted. “There’s such a level of excellence, it’s insane! The choir singers are the best in the world, all the departments are super professional. It’s a big machine. You have to be up to it. But that’s work. »
The prince of speed
Between these two operas, François Girard stages the play Le fusil de Chasse by the Japanese author Yasushi Inoue. This production was first performed at Usine C in 2010 with Marie Brassard and Rodrigue Proteau. The director then presented the play in Tokyo in 2011 and 2016 with Japanese actress Miki Nakatani.
François Girard discovered the latter’s talent during the shooting of the film Soie. “Miki is known as Julia Roberts in Japan,” he said. He’s a big star. With this play she made her theatrical debut. The roof of the theater exploded when she performed this. »
Adapted from a novel, this work features three women played by the same actress. The daughter, wife and lover of a man whose presence on the stage is completely silent, reads a letter intended to let truth triumph. In New York, the legendary Mikhail Baryshnikov interprets this man from March 15th to April 16th in a room of the art center that bears his name.
Throughout the duration of the play, the actor performs a single extremely slow movement that spans an hour and a half. “It’s so slow that sometimes you wonder if it’s moving,” says François Girard. It’s incredible that this speed prince, one of the world’s greatest dancers, would agree to do this. »
François Girard will spend a total of five months in New York. He told me about the organization of his work. It makes you dizzy. Luckily, he surrounds himself with certain collaborators who provide a bridge between all of these universes, including stalwart playwright Serge Lamothe.
“You asked me earlier how I enjoy doing my productions again. When I first started doing theatre, I was in shock at the end of a run. I found the impermanence of work difficult to accept. There I have the chance to extend the life of these works. That’s wonderful ! »
After this spring in New York, François Girard will continue to develop two film projects, another documentary about the brain and an immersive exhibition. There is also a new opera project that is intended to “take him out of Wagner’s world”.
If I tell you that art is her oxygen…
Lohengrin will be performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York from February 26 to April 1. The Flying Dutchman will be repeated at the same location from May 30th to June 10th. Lohengrin will be shown in Quebec cinemas as part of The Met: Live in HD program.
The shotgun will be presented at the Baryshnikov Arts Center from March 16 to April 15.