A series of up to a dozen postcards will feature images of Mary Garden in her various opera roles on one side and an excerpt from a gossipy news story on the other side, with a key phrase highlighted in red script. The cards will be on the seats when the audience arrive, with instructions for them to read the stories to each other and exchange the cards. How they do this — in pairs, small groups, the large group — is up to them.
Mary Garden’s Signature Songs
“Depuis le Jour” (Since the Day) from the opera Louise by Gustave Charpentier
I will open the piece in the persona of Louise, a young, Bohemian woman in Paris, this aria gushes over how beautiful life is, ever since the day “that I gave myself away.” While I sing “Since the Day,” each audience member will be mix essential oils to create a fragrance that approximates that of the popular perfume called Mary Garden and breathing in the fragrance.
“Mes longs cheveux” (My Long Hair) from Pélleas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy : performed live as in this video
Selections from Ariettes Oubliées, a song cycle by Debussy dedicated to Mary Garden, poetry by Paul Verlaine
*No. 1 “C’est l’extase” (It’s Ecstasy) During this song about “langorous ecstasy and amorous fatigue,” audience members will explore their face and head with their hands as though they were caressing the head of a lover or exploring a beautiful object they had discovered while walking in a forest.
*No. 2 “Il pleure dans mon coeur” (It’s Raining in My Heart) During this song about a pain in the heart that hurts all the more because there is no reason — no love or hate — causing the pain, the audience will wiggle their fingers and tap on their skin like rain drops, moving across their head, their shoulders, their heart, their torso, their limbs.
*No. 5 “Aquarelles I: Green” (Watercolor 1: Green) During this love song about a beautiful day together lolling and napping on the grass in the park, the audience members will pretend their bodies are paintbrushes, moving their head, shoulders, torso, hips, legs, and feet as though washing watercolor across a piece of paper.
“Ah, I Have Kissed Your Mouth” from the opera Salome by Richard Strauss set to the play by Oscar Wilde. While I sing this dissonant aria where Salome kisses the lips of John the Baptist’s severed head, and declares that “love has a bitter, bitter taste,” the audience will explore the texture of kiwi, lemons, and chocolate covered strawberries, tearing small bits of the fruit with their teeth and savoring each bite.
“Dis-moi que je suis belle” (Tell Me that I am Beautiful) from the opera Thaïs by Jules Massenet. In this aria, Thaïs, a sensuous priestess of Venus in Egypt, begs her mirror to reassure her that she is — and always will be beautiful, despite a nagging voice that tells her she will grown old and be Thaïs no more. Before I sing this aria, I will guide the audience through a game, where they divide into pairs, and identify a beautiful physical feature of their partner, then write a metaphor to represent that feature. An example from a recent game: “Ana’s smile opens like an intricately carve Spanish fan.” Then I will teach the group the refrain, “Tell me I am beautiful.” We will sing the refrain as a group, then go around the circle with each person sharing the metaphor about the beautiful feature they have identified for their partner. After the circle is complete, I will sing the full aria.