Jacqueline in Andre Messager Fortunio @ Grange Park Opera & Buxton festival

Photos Video Jacqueline is in her 20's, one year into her marriage with M. Andre, a wealthy lawyer in his 60's. It's a marriage of convenience, to improve her social status. As many young girls of her time did. Her life is contained around his public appearances, listening to him and not really given a chance to express herself. But she loves him like a relative, a father. They don't share a bedroom. The arrival of an attractive officer shakes her pleasant, yet relatively boring existence. Clavaroch charms her, she gives in to his forceful advances, perhaps curious and he awakens her sexual freedom. She discovers that she can have excitement, be physically satisfied. However this doesn't last long. Clavaroch is extremely vain, apart from his looks and sex appeal, there is not much depth to him. Soon she realizes that Cl is using her and doesn't really love her. But He opens the door for Jacqueline to search for fuller, deeper love connection. First she is touched by simplicity and honesty of Fortunio's poetic expression. The beauty of raw emotion touches her, she is moved by his different, honest look on life. She wants to spend more time with him, he makes her dream, he makes her realize that the world she is living in is fake and she falls for him. Clavaroch is planning to kill Fortunio, as he senses the change in Jacqueline. On the other hand Fortunio is ready to die for the woman of his dreams. Even if Jacqueline was finding it hard to trust in true and tender love, she is finally convinced and gives her heart to Fortunio fully. She loves how Fortunio makes her feel, but she loves more the change in herself, influenced by Fortunio's love. Jacqueline is a three dimensional character, unlike her husband M. Andre or Clavaroch, who are set comic commedia dell'arte characters. She has a sense of humor, but not a comic role. She and Fortunio are typical serious lovers, who experience deep emotions and go through dramatic changes. She changes thru her men, learning on mistakes. It was fascinating for me to compare the two journeys of heroines I played recently. My Jacqueline goes through completely opposite, reverse journey to my Tatiana. Jacqueline starts the Opera being married to older M Andre (Gremin's age) and ends up younger, dreamier, happier, connected to her true self, granted with finding true love. How can one compare comic, lighthearted French Vaudeville, filled with sensual atmosphere, perfumes and humor to the dreamy and fatal world of Russian extremes in Onegin?. Especially as their final choices are so different. Both directed partly by the moral rules of societies they live in. Fortunio has an open end, with three people in a relationship, very open and french style. A possibility that Tatiana, Gremin and Onegin would not have even thought about. But Tatiana is not looking to suffer and Jacqueline is not looking for adventures, they are yearning for true and deep self discovery. In Tatiana's case through turmoil and hard choice. But in Jacqueline's- much fortunate, she finds love and relationship that is so right and easy that makes her realize why others before were such hard work. The music by Messager is sensual, passionate and expresses the full palate of emotions. I could sense how much the orchestra was enjoying playing those luscious almost Wagnerian like long lines with our voices searing on top. I felt Fortunate to share this beautiful creation with lovely and warm people, supportive and caring colleagues. From my Jacqueline and from all of them, I learnt so much.  reviews: Guardian Opera