THE SAHEL OPERA - 2007

THE ROOSTER IS DEAD/FAGAALA/WAXTAAN/THE SCALES OF MEMORY

Musical coordination by Wassis Diop; Musical direction by Massamou Welle Diallo; Stage design by Jean-Pierre Leurs; Choreography by Germaine Acogny and Flora Théfaine..

The Janti-Bi Company participated in the creation with the collaboration of seven Malian dancers. The opening night took place 17th February 2007 in Bamako.

"Bourgade du Sahel". The confused, bewildered youth no longer believe in destiny promises, taken in by the traps of natural disasters, wars and dictatorships. Exhausted, she decides to confront all the cultural barriers that separate the Sahel from Europe.

Bintou-Were, an ex-child soldier is expecting a “natural child”. She decides to cross the barriers that protect the frontiers between Morocco and Spain, in the company of several persons met during her hectic life. “Jus soli”: will all the pretenders of the father of her baby have right?

So long as her child is not born before the perilous journey of the Melilla barbed wire.

Make ladders in the desert and go forth!

People from all walks of life meet in this odyssey of modern times.

Those who take the path of exile cross those who return from it and throw challenges at themselves through singing. From a Peuhl shepherd to a delinquent apprentice condemned several times over, from a woman who follows her husband to the enigmatic passer-by, who holds the piece to the puzzle….

In short, the top of the ladder is pointing towards the stars, in a movement which will last.

There are also groups of children; they are not travellers. They camp on the sand-dunes, waiting for the Paris-Dakar rally to pass.

Choirs and melodies, the singing of the Sahel wind, the singing of the crickets, the singing of water or of requiem…

The wisdom of a glorious past goes up to the sky in crystalline or deep notes in order to speak the tragedy. Will it be loud enough to be heard?

THE ROOSTER IS DEAD/FAGAALA/WAXTAAN/THE SCALES OF MEMORY