WORLD PREMIERE
Experience this world-renowned true story for the first time as an opera.
“Visually dazzling”—The Dallas Morning News
Grammy Award–winning baritone, Lucas Meachem, stars as journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby who awakes from a coma unable to move or speak, “locked-in” like a diver at the bottom of the sea. With a mind as brilliant as ever, he writes a best-selling memoir dedicated to his children, blink by blink, with the only part of his body that he can move—his eye.
Like the memoir, the opera scenes move from his memories before the stroke, to his daily life being hospitalized in Berck-sur-Mer, and the flights of his remarkable imagination. The music for this inspiring story will capture your heart from the first note, composed by Joby Talbot, who wrote the film scores for Sing 2 and the soon-to-be released, Wonka.
Grammy® Award winner Lucas Meachem returns to Dallas in a world premiere debut, leading a staggering cast of opera powerhouses. Sasha Cooke lends her vocal “lushness” (San Francisco Chronicle) to the striking true story, along with Andriana Chuchman’s “glorious sound.” (The Washington Post) »See full cast
A new production from The Dallas Opera
Composed by Joby Talbot to a Libretto by Gene Scheer, Directed by Leonard Foglia
» Read the preview article from the Dallas Morning News.
» Read the preview article from the October issue of Opera News.
Read the Program Book! Text “TDO” to 55741 to view our digital program book.
Show Details
Language
Sung in English with English Titles
Running Time
Approximate run time is 1 hour and 50 minutes including one intermission.
Cast
Lucas Meachem
Jean-Dominique BaubyRichard Croft
Abbé FariaSasha Cooke
SylvieDeanna Breiwick
ClaudeKevin Burdette
PapinouAndriana Chuchman
Sandrine/MercédèsAndrew Bidlack
DoctorAva Jafari
CélesteAustin Howarth
ThéoMartin Luther Clark
OrderlyCreative Team
Emmanuel Villaume
ConductorJoby Talbot
ComposerGene Scheer
LibrettistLeonard Foglia
DirectorElaine J. McCarthy
Set & Projection DesignerDavid Woolard
Costume DesignerRussell H. Champa
Lighting DesignerDavid Zimmerman
Wig and Make-Up DesignerSynopsis
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Synopsis
A PERSONAL NOTE FROM LIBRETTIST GENE SCHEER
Our opera The Diving Bell and the Butterfly tells the story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the celebrated editor of Elle magazine. Husband and father, he’s a major contributor to the cultural and intellectual scene in Paris and throughout France. But his life shatters when a devastating stroke leaves him paralyzed and unable to speak—“locked in”—like a diver at the bottom of the sea. Yet Bauby’s spirit is indomitable, and he finds a way—by blinking with the only muscle he can still control to “write” a book about his extraordinary life.
Although physically incapacitated, Bauby has a brilliant mind that can wander and fly like a butterfly, freeing him to travel through time and space where nothing is impossible. Confronted with the brutal reality of his condition, Jean-Dominique must find meaning in what remains. Ultimately, it is his love for his children and his love for life itself, which allow him to persist. As he employs his powerful imagination and reflects on the life he has lived, he finds the strength to leave a lasting and meaningful legacy for those he loved.
My own inspiration for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly emerged when, a few years ago, I went to Paris to meet with Jean-Dominique Bauby’s family. About two hours into a four-hour dinner, Celeste, Jean-Dominique’s daughter, said to me that she understood why Joby Talbot and I wanted to turn her father’s memoir into an opera. This story of Jean-Dominique languishing with “locked-in syndrome” and almost completely unable to move, at first blush, seemed like an unusual subject for an opera. But Celeste understood that Jean-Dominique’s heroic effort to leave a testament about his life and identity was the heart of a remarkable journey that music could illuminate.
By the end of the evening, Céleste, her brother Théo, and their mother Sylvie all had only one question: “How can we help?” Over the next few days, I spent many hours with them discussing their memories of what happened and finding out more about Jean- Dominique. I explained that though we are not creating a documentary, but rather an imaginative work of art, any details that they could offer about Bauby’s life would be invaluable and allow the opera to feel especially truthful and resonant.
A few days after the dinner, I returned to Sylvie’s apartment to continue asking her questions and listen to her talk about her life with “Jean-Do.” Finally, she asked me a question: “So, where might the opera begin?” Nervously, I said to her: “In the Château d’If.” She replied, “You mean, the dungeon in The Count of Monte Cristo?” When I said yes, she laughed and exclaimed, “That’s absolutely wonderful!” She instantly got the reference to the Dumas novel and was well aware that Jean-Dominique, obsessed with the story, had been working hard on an adaptation of the classic novel at the time of his stroke. So, as the opera opens, with Jean-Dominique lost in a coma, we see what he imagines in his mind as he lies unconscious in his hospital bed in Berck-sur-Mer.
As I write this message, the opera’s premiere is only weeks away. My hope is that audiences will find it to be a beautiful and inspiring account of Jean-Dominique’s life. Joby’s score is magnificent, and the cast that The Dallas Opera has assembled is absolutely stellar. The reason this book spent years on the international best seller list is because Jean-Dominique’s story speaks so movingly of our deepest need to connect to the world and each other. To me, this piece feels especially relevant now. Living through the Covid pandemic has certainly reminded us of our own urgent need to find a way to connect and celebrate those we love. His life-affirming story also poignantly reminds us that there is no time to waste.
—Gene Scheer, librettist
Pre- and Post-Opera Discussions
Join us for these engaging and informative pre- and post-opera discussions:
Joy and Ronald Mankoff Pre-Opera Talk: Hosted by Joby Talbot, this interactive 30-minute lecture begins one hour before the start of each opera in the Margaret McDermott Performance Hall. Admission is free with your ticket to a Dallas Opera performance.
Sunday Post-Opera Talkback: Immediately following the Sunday matinee performance from the stage, this brief and casual Q&A session with members of the cast gives you an opportunity to ask questions about the performance. Hosted by Kristian Roberts, Director of Education for The Dallas Opera.
Sponsors
Martha Peak Rochelle
Presenting Sponsor
Martha Allday; Cece and Ford Lacy
Producing Sponsors
Greg Swalwell and Terry Connor; Anonymous in honor of Lucas Meachem
Supporting Sponsors
Carol Franc Buck Foundation, Hoblitzelle Foundation, Holly and Tom Mayer, National Endowment for the Arts, OPERA America, TACA New Works Fund, Texas Commission on the Arts
Additional support for the commission and creation
Mary Anne Cree, in memory of Rosine Smith Sammons
Season Sponsor