Heuchlerserenade

Text by Marcel Valmy (G)

S,2M,A,T,3Bar; 3 non-singing roles; chorus;
2(II=picc).2(II=corA).2(II=bcl).2-4.3.3.1-timp.perc-pft-gtr-elec.bgtr-accordion-strings

Paris in the late 1960s

Young Pierre Leclerc is on the way to Paris, dreaming he can make a career as a musician there. On the train, he becomes acquainted with Madame Yvonne, a widow who inspires confidence and who is to represent a crucial turning point in Pierre's life. Madame Yvonne offers him board and lodging in exchange for piano lessons. Soon after their departure, however, it turns out that Madame has no piano at all and her idea of making music is entirely different to that of Pierre. There would not be any objections to this – if, however, it were not for her husband who, though thought to be away, appears at the door one day. Pierre has learned a great deal after his first day in Paris: in this city, nothing is as it seems, morality means hypocrisy, love is a nice word for sexual exploitation and friendship serves one's own profit. Soon the song goes: "Rien ne va plus." But the end also signifies a turn of events. For Pierre, things change when he meets the charming Simone, the secretary of the influential music publisher Jean Richet. With her help he manages to rise from the depths of the Seine Babylon to become a celebrated composer. But first, Pierre has to 'bite the dust' before he can enjoy his fame and compose in peace and quiet.

Comic, Poetic