Jeanne

Presentation

"Jeanne" is a new opera by Oscar Strasnoy, on a libretto by Lucas Samain, inspired by the legendary figure of Pope Joan. Set in a near future, the work imagines VatiCorp, a corporation founded by a Techno-Pope, where biotechnology, artificial intelligence and archaic dogmas converge in the pursuit of the “augmented human” as the ultimate expression of a masculinist ideal.

At the center of this world is Jeanne, a brilliant scientist who has gradually abandoned her convictions, accepting compromise through exhaustion and pragmatism. Her encounter with Dave, an obsolete and marginal robot, becomes the catalyst for a profound transformation. Surrounded by hybrid creatures and laboratory rejects, Jeanne finds the strength to revolt against a system she had come to accept.

The opera explores contemporary questions surrounding technology, domination, identity and our relationship with the living. Jeanne’s journey is both intimate and political: a passage from resignation to resistance, from conformity to the possibility of imagining another world.

The artistic language combines the grotesque and the tragic, incisive humour and disturbing visions. The transformation of bodies and voices is central to the dramaturgy, creating an organic and unstable universe in which the boundaries between human, machine and creature are constantly shifting.

The production brings together composer Oscar Strasnoy, conductor Raphaël Pichon, and stage directors Louis Arene and Lionel Lingelser of Munstrum Théâtre. Their distinctive work with masks, bodies and visual forms offers a powerful approach to this futuristic and deeply theatrical opera.

Co-producing Partners