‘ Ce désert est faux ’ : Thoughts on Restaging Constança Capdeville’s Scenic Works
2023; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 42; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/07494467.2023.2251312
ISSN1477-2256
Autores Tópico(s)Urban and sociocultural dynamics
ResumoABSTRACTThe oeuvre of Constança Capdeville (1937–1992) includes a significant body of music theatre works that represent a challenge for restaging. The lack of systematic information makes it necessary for those who have worked with her to bequeath a living testimony of her work, whose conceptual approach represents an enrichment of the Portuguese musical panorama. ‘Ce désert est faux’—Constança Capdeville in memoriam (2012) is a music theatre performance based entirely on Capdeville’s music theatre works, proposing a stage production enacted in her spirit. In fact, from the choice of works and excerpts to be included in the performance to their distribution and staging, the main objective guiding this project aims to establish a context that would allow for Capdeville’s music theatre works to be experienced just as they were conceived. The strategies respecting Capdeville’s typical procedures are also discussed in this study.KEYWORDS: Constança Capdevillemusic theatremusicologyperformance art documentationrestaging Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 Most of the works by Capdeville mentioned in this text can be heard on Capdeville (Citation1991, Citation1994, Citation1997, Citation2020), or Capdeville, Rosa, and Soveral (Citation1994) recordings.2 This section is based on Sousa Dias (Citation2012a) and (Citation2020). For a more in-depth view of the life and work of Capdeville in the English language, see Cruz (Citation2001); Magalhães (Citation2022); and Miranda (Citation1997). Additional information in English and music scores can be retrieved from ‘Composers—Capdeville Constança (1937–1992)’, Portuguese Music research & Information Centre website: http://www.mic.pt/dispatcher?where=0&what=2&show=0&pessoa_id=149&lang=EN.3 In Portuguese: Fundos, Rotativos, Presenças, Travessias, Comentários, Dixit, respectively.4 In Portuguese: Automático, Hipnótico, Sereno, Tranquilo, respectively.5 For a discussion on the issues regarding articulating the information available in the different documents produced for each performance, see Sousa Dias (Citation2020).6 The first version of the Capdeville catalogue was compiled by Janine Moura, a former colleague, neighbour, and close friend of Capdeville.7 Maria João Serrão published her thesis under the name Maria João Reis e Sousa Matos (Citation1997).8 Here, I apply the general term ‘music theatre’ and when referring to Capdeville’s term, I deploy music-theatre (hyphenated and italicised). In Portuguese, the terms ‘music theatre’ and ‘musical theatre’ both translate as ‘teatro musical’. In Portugal, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, ‘teatro musical’ referred to ‘music theatre’, while ‘musical theatre’ works were referred to as ‘musicals’ (musicais). Today, the same term ‘teatro musical’ serves to refer to both genres.9 For instance, see Boléo Rodrigues and Azguime (Citation2018) from 20′17″, and Aresta (Citation1990) from 12′40″.10 Nevertheless, especially since 2012, there has been a renewed interest in her personality and work as evidenced by the publication of an issue of the Glosas journal dedicated to Capdeville (d’Abreu Citation2012), alongside publications by Chambel (Citation2019), Magalhães (Citation2020a, Citation2020b, Citation2022), Marinho et al. (Citation2020), Nogueira (Citation2018), just to name a few.11 For a full discussion, see Sousa Dias (Citation2020).12 ‘Ce désert est faux. Les ombres que je creuse laissent apparaître les couleurs comme autant de secrets absurdes’ [The shadows, that I dig let the colours appear, as well as many absurd secrets] (Breton and Éluard Citation1930).Additional informationNotes on contributorsAntónio de Sousa DiasAntónio de Sousa Dias divides his work between composition, visual art, performance, research, and teaching. In addition to exploring musical works for various ensembles and different genres (instrumental, electroacoustic, and mixed), music for film (feature, documentary, animation), and music theatre, his research also includes the areas of multimedia and installation art. He is currently Associate Professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon, Portugal.
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