The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Composer
Joby Talbot
Premiere
THE DALLAS OPERA • 2023
Commissioned by
The Dallas Opera
Based on the book “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the celebrated editor of Elle magazine. Husband, father, and a man with a very complicated personal life, he's a major player on the Paris social scene. His life shatters when a devastating stroke leaves him paralyzed and unable to speak – "locked in" like a diver at the bottom of the sea, who can only watch the world go by as he yearns for bygone pleasures. Bauby's spirit is indomitable, and he blinks with the only muscle he can control to "write" his book with the help of an assistant. Although physically incapacitated, he still has a brilliant mind that can wander and fly like a butterfly, freeing him to travel through time and space where nothing is impossible.
Wall Street Journal
“One of opera’s superpowers is its ability to speak inner thoughts aloud, and Diving Bell fully embraces and explores that potential. Mr. Scheer’s tight libretto wastes no time on self- indulgence. The conclusion is neither a downer nor a conventional ‘his work lives on’ apotheosis, but the culmination of Jean-Do’s difficult journey toward acceptance and the joy in what he’s had. The other characters sing lines from his book: ‘A butterfly’s wings, beat by beat by beat, counting all the things you’ve ever loved, all the things you’ve ever imagined; and then beat by beat by beat, counting the seconds until it’s time to let go.’”
Photos by Kyle Flubacker (Dallas Opera)
Critical ACCLAIM
— EarRelevant
The Dallas Opera • 2023
“A huge success… One of the questions going into the premiere was how Scheer and Talbot would present a leading character who is unable to speak, let alone sing opera. One solution would have been to use a body double with the singer voicing his speechless thoughts. However, they pushed the fantasy by allowing baritone Lucas Meachem to do both. Unstuck from time and place, his thoughts wander through old realities, those newly imagined, quirky observations, and fantastical visions.”
— OnStage NTX
The Dallas Opera • 2023
“From Bauby's extraordinary document of life trapped in a paralyzed body, librettist Scheer fashions a testament to the invincibility of the human spirit. While necessarily trimming some key elements from Bauby's narrative—an inevitable part of any book-to-opera (or book-to-movie or book-to-play) transition—Scheer wisely picks up on and expands Bauby's numerous and prominent allusions to Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, appropriating the character of Abbé Faria from the novel as a ghostly illusion and counter-ego to interact with Bauby. While Scheer uncovers the opera libretto lurking inside Bauby's narrative, composer Talbot illuminates Scheer's words with a gloriously imagined, immaculately crafted musical score.”
— Wall Street Journal
The Dallas Opera • 2023
“‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer would seem to have the most improbable operatic subject imaginable. It is based on the bestselling 1997 memoir by the French writer Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, at age 43, had a massive stroke that left him with locked-in syndrome—speechless and almost totally immobile, but with his mind intact. But one of opera’s superpowers is its ability to speak inner thoughts aloud, and Diving Bell fully embraces and explores that potential. The operatic Bauby (who was known as Jean-Do) stands, walks, and voices his thoughts for the audience, although all but one of the other characters on the stage see him only as a still, silent figure in a bed or a wheelchair. The intimacy of that relationship allows the audience to join him on his journey from imprisonment (the diving bell) to finding freedom in his imagination (the butterfly), and the discovery of what truly mattered in his life. Mr. Scheer’s tight libretto wastes no time on self-indulgence. Mr. Scheer cleverly underlines the imprisonment and freedom themes by introducing elements from Jean-Do’s favorite novel, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Bauby died two days after his book was published and the opera’s final scene includes his passing. Yet this conclusion is neither a downer nor a conventional ‘his work lives on’ apotheosis, but rather the culmination of Jean-Do’s difficult journey toward acceptance and the joy in what he’s had. The other characters sing lines from his book: ‘A butterfly’s wings, beat by beat by beat, counting all the things you’ve ever loved, all the things you’ve ever imagined; and then beat by beat by beat, counting the seconds until it’s time to let go.’”
— Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Opera • 2023
“A paralyzed, speechless man who imagines himself isolated in an underwater diving bell isn’t an obvious subject for an opera. But Bauby’s mind remained keenly active, if frustrated. In episodes of the opera, he comes alive to dramatize the “butterflies” of his impressions, emotions, memories and imagination. Among quotidian challenges Scheer’s libretto makes room for poetic musings. Ultimately, the opera is about how human beings confront and battle adversity, and how we either adapt to it or don’t.”
Feature Coverage
“Jean-Dominque Bauby had already experienced a life of success before the events that led to writing his international bestselling memoir. He was the editor-in-chief of the French Elle magazine, married to his best friend and had two children who loved him. He had credits as an actor and author. He was handsome and enjoyed fast cars, good food and banter with famous friends from the publishing world. Then, while out driving with his son one day, he began to see double. Bauby was rushed to the hospital after experiencing a stroke — one which would take his mobility, his independence, his ability to communicate and his connection with the outside world. Almost. That’s because what’s most striking about Bauby wasn’t his talent, but his determination to not stay locked in. ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the remarkable true story of a man whose determination leads to one of the most poignant memoirs ever written,’ says Ian Derrer, the Kern Wildenthal general director and CEO of The Dallas Opera. ‘We are honored to bring this story to our stage for the first time anywhere.’”