Lazuli is a young man with a strong sense of freedom: curious, adaptable, and independent. King Ouf, on the other hand, is somewhat out of touch with reality, impulsive, and self-centred; he loves his own rules, but also a good party. How do mezzo-soprano Brenda Poupard and tenor Erik Slik bring these characters to life? And what do they think of Chabrier\u2019s distinctive music? Although their characters clash for most of the opera, Brenda and Erik get along very well, as becomes clear in this lively conversation.<\/b><\/p>\n\n
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How would you describe your character?<\/i> \nBrenda<\/b>: \u2018Lazuli is young, but he no longer has parents; that has made him very independent. He travels around selling his goods. He is strong, optimistic, has great willpower, and is quite happy with his life. Until he sees Laoula and his world is turned upside down: he falls in love! He doesn\u2019t really want that, but being as adaptable as he is, he goes along with everything that happens afterward.\u2019 \nErik<\/b>: \u2018Ouf\u2026 he\u2019s quite the character. He\u2019s impulsive and playful; he knows how to throw a party. But he\u2019s also selfish and fond of his self-invented rules. He\u2019s a kind of man-child, with too much power to handle properly and no real sounding board, except perhaps his court astrologer Siroco. Ouf\u2019s (small) world is absurd, and he is at the head of that crazy world.\u2019 \nBrenda<\/b>: \u2018They really are opposites. Ouf has no idea how things work elsewhere, while Lazuli has seen the world through his traveling life. Ouf is all about rules, and Lazuli is a free spirit who wants to follow his own path.\u2019<\/p><\/p>\n\n
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Do you recognise anything of yourselves in these characters?<\/i> \nBrenda<\/b>: \u2018Of course I\u2019m not a young man, but Lazuli is the role I feel closest to out of everything I\u2019ve performed. Like him, I have a strong desire for freedom, and I\u2019m very curious. I can also react quite childishly when something moves me, and I never cease to be amazed by things. I haven\u2019t lost that inner child (yet), and that helps in many of the roles I play.\u2019 \nErik<\/b>: \u2018Ouf is obviously quite extreme, but I always look for recognisable elements in my roles. Sometimes I also want things done my way, and I can exaggerate that in my acting.\u2019<\/p><\/p>\n\n
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How do you prepare for a relatively unknown role like this?<\/i> \nErik<\/b>: \u2018Precisely because there are few examples, I feel more freedom to shape the role myself. It was also a real discovery to dive into Chabrier\u2019s music. I studied the score in great detail, and during rehearsals you keep discovering new layers and details to play with: fascinating. I also prepare by repeating a lot. Especially the French dialogues, I really need to practice them out loud to get the pronunciation and mouth movements into my muscle memory.\u2019 \nBrenda<\/b>: \u2018I also find those dialogues challenging, even as a native French speaker. As a singer, you often receive less training in that area, so I pay extra attention to it. And for every role, I first want to dive into the material myself – just like Lazuli. Only then do I look up other performances and, for example, compare tempi.\u2019<\/p><\/p>\n\n
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How would you describe Chabrier\u2019s music?<\/i> \nBrenda<\/b>: \u2018Wonderful.\u2019 Erik<\/b>: \u2018Vibrant and lively.\u2019 Brenda<\/b>: \u2018It\u2019s very well written, witty, and clever.\u2019 Erik<\/b>: \u2018And so cheerful and catchy; as if you already know it and can immediately sing along. Even though his music – especially in the Netherlands – is rarely performed.\u2019 Brenda<\/b>: \u2018Sometimes it feels like Disney, other times like cabaret or Offenbach.\u2019 Erik<\/b>: \u2018But your Star aria is very lyrical and emotional.\u2019 Brenda<\/b>: \u2018Exactly, he always finds just the right tone and emotion.\u2019 Erik<\/b>: \u2018And he never goes for the clich\u00e9. What I also love is that when there are multiple verses, Chabrier keeps changing small details, as if he\u2019s saying: play with it, keep it alive.\u2019<\/p><\/p>\n\n
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Which scenes are you most looking forward to?<\/i> \nErik<\/b>: \u2018The\u00a0Couplets du Pal<\/i>! In it, Ouf explains like a showman how the torture chair, in which Lazuli will die, works. It\u2019s absurd and theatrical; I absolutely love performing that scene.\u2019 \nBrenda<\/b>: \u2018I find the sneezing aria very funny, a bit cartoon-like. I feel like that dwarf from Snow White<\/i> (Erik<\/b>: \u2018Sneezy!\u2019). It\u2019s incredibly fun to sing and act. Hopefully the audience will enjoy it just as much as we do!\u2019<\/p><\/p>\n\n
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Interview: Kyra Bertram<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lazuli is a young man with a strong sense of freedom: curious, adaptable, and independent. King Ouf, on the other hand, is somewhat out of touch with reality, impulsive, and self-centred; he loves his own rules, but also a good party. How do mezzo-soprano Brenda Poupard and tenor Erik Slik bring these characters to life? And what do they think of Chabrier\u2019s distinctive music? Although their characters clash for most of the opera, Brenda and Erik get along very well, as becomes clear in this lively conversation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n