Georges Aperghis (Athens,1945). Since settling in Paris in 1963 he has led an original and independent career, dividing his time between instrumental and vocal compositions, musical theater and opera.
In 1976 he founded a musical theatre workshop, Atelier Théâtre et Musique (ATEM). This organization allowed for a complete renewal of his compositional activity, making use of musicians as well as actors: his shows are inspired by everyday life, events in society are transformed into a world of poetry, a world often absurd and satirical – Récitations (1978), Jojo (1990), Sextuor (1993), Commentaires (1996).
Two of his works, composed in 2000, have achieved a wide success throughout Europe: Die Hamletmaschine-Oratorio, based on a Heiner Müller text, and the show Machinations, a commission by Ircam, which was awarded a Grand Prix by the French Composers’ Society.
In 2004, he composed Dark Side for the Ensemble Intercontemporain and Marianne Pousseur, with extracts from Orestie by Eschyle (Prix Salabert), and a new opera Avis de tempête, created in November 2004 at the Lille Opera with the Ictus Ensemble, Donatienne Michel-Dansac, Johanne Saunier, Romain Bischoff and Lionel Peintre (Grand Prix de la Critique 2005). In 2006, Avis de tempête was presented in Paris for Festival Agora/Opera de Paris.
During summer 2006, Wölfli Kantata on Adolf Wölfli texts was premiered at the Eclats Festival with the Neue Vocalsolisten and the SWR Vokalensemble conducted by Marcus Creed, and Contretemps was commissioned by Salzburg Festival for the Klangforum Wien ensemble with Donatienne Michel-Dansac (soprano), conducted by Hans Zender.
The last Witten Festival featured Zeugen, a “spectacle musical“ with texts by Robert Walser and seven hand puppets by Paul Klee for voice, puppeteer/narrator, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, accordion, cimbalom, piano and live video.
Happy end (premiered in december 2007 at the Lille Opera) is an animation-film- concert for instrumental ensemble, electronics with a film signed by the Belgium artist Hans Op de Beeck (with the voices of Edith Scob and Michael Lonsdale). It is a free concept of Le petit poucet by Charles Perrault.
www.aperghis.com, www.durand-salabert-eschig.com
Teeter-Totter (2008)
Création 18 octobre 2008 – festival de Donaueschingen
Teeter-Totter : Bascule, dont le mouvement repose sur les lois de l’équilibre “jeu d’alternance, d’élévation, d’abaissement et de reversement”. Jeu, système de bascule qui consiste à maintenir un équilibre de forçe entre deux tendances en s’appuyant alternativement sur l’une ou sur l’autre. Système de balance qui consiste à rétrograder après s’être avancer, à défaire après avoir fait.