Bucharest National Opera kicks off “Magic Blouse” show in Paris

Bucharest National Opera, in partnership with the Permanent Delegation of Romania to UNESCO, will organize “Povestea Iei” (The Magic Blouse), a complex and original multimedia show dedicated to the 160th anniversary of Romanian Diplomacy. The show is also a celebration of Romania's National Day.

The ie is the traditional Romanian blouse. It has wide sleeves, traditional motifs, and bright, natural colors, most often red.

The event seeks to promote Romanian culture encapsulated in the ie.

“This extraordinary show, in which the ensembles of the Bucharest National Opera will return to Paris for the first time after 57 years, is a symbolic moment,” said Daniel Jinga, director general of the Bucharest National Opera. “We will have the opportunity to present, in front of a multinational audience, both Romanian orchestral music and music inspired by Romanian folklore, as well as premiere a piece signed by Dan Dediu, which will represent the live soundtrack of the original ballet created by Gigi Căciuleanu, a major name in Romanian choreographic art, well known to the Parisian public.”

The show “Povestea Iei/La blouse enchantée/The Magic Blouse” will have two parts, one orchestral and one choreographic. The introductory orchestral program is focused on highlighting traditional Romanian musical values ​​in various arrangements, with pieces such as "Hora mărțișorului" or "Romanian songs" by Tiberiu Brediceanu, and "Six Romanian dances" by Béla Bàrtok. The songs will be interpreted by the Bucharest National Opera Orchestra, conductor Daniel Jinga, and soprano Teodora Gheorghiu.

“How do you translate the ie, simultaneously a garment and a talisman, into sounds, gestures, color, and light? This was the challenge that we accepted. We immersed ourselves, each one, in the beauty of the Romanian cultural tradition as in an ocean: we collected some souvenirs from the bottom of this ocean. We brought them to land, then we studied them, incorporated and stylized them in a unique construction. Something completely new has come out, expressing the soul and mental configuration of the present," said composer Dan Dediu.

The choreographic part of the evening consists of a show performed by Gigi Căciuleanu to original music composed especially on this theme by the composer Dan Dediu, one of the most important Romanian compositors at the moment.

“When you dance, you speak in other languages ​​and address the people in the hall not in their mother tongue, not in the language of the country where you are but in their body language,” said choreographer Gigi Căciuleanu.

After being performed in Paris on November 23, the show will also be brought back to Romania and performed on the stage of the National Opera.