Carles Romero Vidal

On November 17, 2012, Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard joined the Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra for a performance of Arthur Honegger’s oratorio Joan of Arc at the Stake (Jeanne d'Arc au Bûcher) at the L'Auditori de Barcelona in Spain, broadcast live on Medici.tv. By Swiss composer Arthur Honegger, Jeanne d'Arc au Bûcher (1938) is an imposing oratorio. The libretto is a highly original creation by French poet and playwright Paul Claudel, who dramatises the last moments of the martyr's life. Originally written for actress Ida Rubinstein, the oratorio is written as a flashback in which Joan recalls her life, just before she dies. Honegger creates visually evocative ambiances and fills the orchestra with new sounds (saxophones, ondes Martenot). The initial prologue to the piece was added in 1944 as a symbol of the resistance during the Nazi occupation of France: again, Joan goes beyond her own story.

C'est un hiver doux et Martin vient de s'installer dans la maison isolée qui fut celle de son père. Une nuit, à la lisière des bois, un homme étrange portant le nom d'Haruki lui apparaît. Celui-ci invite Martin à se perdre dans la forêt pour rencontrer l'étranger. L'étranger, il le trouvera en la personne de Yoshido, un drôle de cinéaste japonais qui, assisté de Mathilde, s'apprête à tourner La Vie lointaine, l'adaptation du roman éponyme d'Haruki.