Zavaro: Manga-café – One Act Opera

Masmondet, Julien; Heyse, Morgane; Apaches, Les; Pancrazi, Eléonore

The libretto of Manga-Café freely based on Densha Otoko (The Man on the Train). This title is well known to aficionados of contemporary Japanese culture. The hero of Densha Otoko is a twentyish otaku who, one evening in a Tokyo train, intercedes to save a stunning young woman who is being attacked by a drunk. Wishing to win her over, he writes about this altercation on a forum for singles and asks for their help to overcome his shyness and win Makiko. Pascal Zavaro writes: “I wanted to capture both the crazy and the stereotypical aspects of the manga style. I sought to show a civilization which is divided, twisted and disturbed, yet deeply vibrant. In my music, I like it when no one knows what is going to happen from one second to the next, rather like a constant sequence of new elements, with developments slowed down or abruptly stopped: a bobsleigh ride where everything flies past too fast for you to see what’s going on.”

Price: $25.98