Elephant Man - Jana Sykorova Doctor Treves - Nicolas Rivenq Tom Norman, showman - Robert Breault Mary, nurse - Valérie Condoluci Eva Lükes, matron - Elsa Maurus Carr Gomm, hospital manager - Nicolas Courjal The Coloratura - Magali Léger Jimmy, showman's assistant - Mari Laurila-Lili Nice Opera Chorus · Nice Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted by Laurent Petitgirard
DVD 9 · NTSC · Regions 1-6 Picture Format: 16:9 Audio Formats: Dolby Digital 2.0 · Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English · French · German Running time: 166 mins
Written in 1998, Petitgirard's opera differs from David Lynch's cult film in offering an entirely different perspective on the tale of Joseph Merrick, born in 1863 with horrific deformities, exhibited as a freak at the circus, taken in by Dr. Treves at the London Hospital and subsequently afforded celebrity status. Where the film is based largely on Dr. Treves' memoirs, the opera is based on biographies of Joseph Merrick giving his character a more central focus than in the film.
"The opera is many ways the most original treatment of the story... The most revolutionary aspect of the opera is the writing of Merrick's part for a female singer. At first tempted to make Merrick a counter-tenor, Petitgirard finally decided that only the contralto voice could give him the effects he wanted. Certainly, in the theatre, this helps to create the aura of strangeness, of otherness, which Merrick personifies." -- The Independent "Petitgirard's musical vocabulary reflects his French heritage - the influences of Fauré, Ravel, Poulenc and Satie are evident - but his subtlety, melodic gift and sensitivity to the drama make him well-equipped to inherit the mantle and create his own outstandingly original idiom... No doubt [the opera] would prove even more powerful onstage than on disc." -- Opera News
