Sonnets à Orphée (Sonnets to Orpheus) is an original project combining songs, texts and performance. It was imagined by singer-songwriter Pauline Drand based on the work of the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke and more broadly around the myth of Orpheus. Sonnets à Orphée was created during Drand’s residency at the Cité internationale des arts in collaboration with American musician Richard Sears and dancer Nicolas Faubert.
Informed by an Orphic inspiration, Sonnets à Orphée brings together dance, music and song in a performance in which each of the three participants embodies the creative energy and vitality that characterise the Greek hero. Nicolas Faubert's movements, and Pauline Drand's declamatory singing voice are showcased to original music composed by Richard Sears, in a modern, inventive and demanding choreography in which ballet meets the performing arts.
After a successful premiere at the festival Les Bibliothèques Idéales in Strasbourg in September 2021, Sonnets à Orphée will be presented for the first time in Paris on November 12th at the Auditorium of the Cité internationale des arts, as part of the 12th edition of Paris en toutes lettres, a festival organised by the Maison de la Poésie.
Pauline Drand (France) and Nicolas Faubert (France) are recipients of the Cité internationale des arts 2-12 program.
Richard Sears (United States) is recipient of the Cité internationale des arts Music Committee.