Commitment
Meaning & Awareness
Celebrating initiatives dedicated to sustainability in the performing arts.
With its opera Xynthia, l’odyssée de l’eau (Xynthia, the water odyssey), Collectif Io affirms its commitment to environmental responsibility and its desire to use art as a driver of collective awareness.
Eco-responsibility
Eco-responsibility was central to the design of the opera Xynthia, l’odyssée de l’eau: from the number of people on stage and on tour, to sustainable set design, the use of second-hand textiles, natural dyes for costumes, and energy use. Numerous initiatives were also associated with the production, such as the implementation of mobility solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of spectators, themed conferences, and creative workshops for local residents on the theme of water.
Eco-design and an innovative approach to set and costume design
The set design for Xynthia was created by Charlotte Gautier Van Tour, using a “palette” of possibilities from recycled materials, sustainable suppliers, and furniture designers who use industrial waste or biomaterials. A collaboration was established with the Palana Environnement association, which recovers “ghost” fishing nets abandoned at sea. As the show deals with water contamination, climate disasters, and human arrogance, the set designer chose this material for the floor, in keeping with both the libretto and the staging, while supporting the work of an association that cleans up the sea and coastal areas. Anaïs Heureaux took the same eco-responsible approach to costume design, choosing French suppliers, natural dyes, unbleached and non-chlorinated textiles, GOTS-certified fabrics, second-hand items, and reusing existing stock.
Eco-responsible distribution
Creating an opera is a daunting undertaking involving many people, artists, and technicians. With Xynthia, Collectif Io has created a form of opera that requires only a small team on tour. In parallel with its eco-responsible approach, the Collectif Io has also considered the distribution of a lyrical form of the opera. Xynthia is designed, both technically and economically, to be offered in different distribution networks, both in opera houses and in multidisciplinary venues.
Approach and exploration
A new opera, Walls of Glass, is currently in preparation. The libretto, written by Lancelot Hamelin, draws inspiration from Charlotte Beradt’s journalistic approach and her work The Third Reich of Dreams, which compiles dreams collected in Berlin during the rise of nazism. This opera takes a broader look at the place we give to our dreams, their interpretation, and our collective unconscious in times of profound upheaval.
Through this creation, Collectif Io continues to question the crucial issues facing our society, exploring how troubled political and social contexts can strongly influence our most intimate imaginations.
Similar questions, albeit in a different form and on different themes, also run through the tale La vie bien accordée de Rémy Pinson (The Well-Tuned Life of Rémy Pinson). Commissioned by the intermunicipal music school and museum of Mirecourt, this musical tale offers a sensitive and poetic look at how individuals navigate the major upheavals of their time, between withdrawal, disorientation a vital need for otherness.