WEBVTT 00:00:20.340 --> 00:00:23.699 Hello and welcome to Dive in with (e)me, a show 00:00:23.699 --> 00:00:26.059 by the Fondation EME in which we talk about 00:00:26.059 --> 00:00:28.699 the benefits of music in all the languages of 00:00:28.699 --> 00:00:31.879 the country. Thank you to Radio ARA for giving 00:00:31.879 --> 00:00:34.579 us the opportunity to present the various advantages 00:00:34.579 --> 00:00:38.259 of music on their airwaves. Today's episode is 00:00:38.259 --> 00:00:41.799 called Breaking Barriers with Opera. We're exploring 00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:45.200 pOpera, a participatory opera project by Fondation 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:48.439 EME that invites refugees and Luxembourg residents 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:51.729 to create an opera together. Our guest today 00:00:51.729 --> 00:00:54.409 is Lenny, one of the participants who is passionate 00:00:54.409 --> 00:00:57.450 about creating spaces where words and music can 00:00:57.450 --> 00:01:00.170 become bridges for dialogue and transformation. 00:01:05.390 --> 00:01:07.890 Welcome Lenny and thank you for being with us 00:01:07.890 --> 00:01:11.409 today. Thank you for inviting me. I'm very happy 00:01:11.409 --> 00:01:14.769 to be here today. We are too. So we'll start 00:01:14.769 --> 00:01:17.069 right away with the first segment of this show, 00:01:17.390 --> 00:01:27.379 which is the sound check -in. We ask all our 00:01:27.379 --> 00:01:30.500 guests about their current favorite music. It 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:33.939 can be an orchestra, a band, a musician or a 00:01:33.939 --> 00:01:37.060 genre, illustrated by a song that we then play 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:40.420 for our listeners. So Lenny, what's your music 00:01:40.420 --> 00:01:44.409 of the moment? Well, more than being the music 00:01:44.409 --> 00:01:47.489 of the moment, I would say, for me, music is 00:01:47.489 --> 00:01:51.969 just part of my history. Since I'm a kid and 00:01:51.969 --> 00:01:54.489 I'm exposed to music, my father wanted to be 00:01:54.489 --> 00:01:58.629 a pianist, so he was all the time playing us 00:01:58.629 --> 00:02:01.269 and we were all listening to opera music, classical 00:02:01.269 --> 00:02:04.269 music, which we hated, actually, like my brother 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:06.810 and I, when we were kids. Now I can understand 00:02:06.810 --> 00:02:10.330 the beauty of it. And then my mother was this, 00:02:10.330 --> 00:02:12.639 you know, like old pop songs of the 80s, these 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:16.539 love songs and stuff. But then it was also I 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:21.580 was playing to create my own radio shows and 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:25.939 then my brother shared with me all his electronic 00:02:25.939 --> 00:02:27.900 music that he loved and then my cousins rock 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:30.879 music so everything for me is like every genre 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:34.800 has a story and for me stories are the most important 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.099 thing in the world and this is why I thought 00:02:37.099 --> 00:02:40.240 that it would be great today to share a song 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.180 that represents the story that we're going to 00:02:43.210 --> 00:02:46.770 talk about today which is about voices you know 00:02:46.770 --> 00:02:49.909 like we will talk about voices today which is 00:02:49.909 --> 00:02:51.949 for me the most important thing that we 00:02:51.949 --> 00:02:55.090 explore in pOpera amongst other things but 00:02:55.090 --> 00:02:58.009 well i will go further afterwards but the 00:02:58.009 --> 00:03:02.050 point is that i would like to use this moment 00:03:02.050 --> 00:03:06.289 as a tribute to our voices because I believe 00:03:06.289 --> 00:03:11.180 that this is one of the most powerful weapons 00:03:11.180 --> 00:03:16.340 or tools that we have and so the name of this 00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:20.159 song is actually Tu Voz which means your voice 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:23.909 and it was also very important for me to 00:03:23.909 --> 00:03:27.210 share my roots. I'm Mexican, therefore this song 00:03:27.210 --> 00:03:31.110 is from Lila Downs and La Sonora Santanera. And 00:03:31.110 --> 00:03:35.110 also Lila Downs has been a great reference for 00:03:35.110 --> 00:03:40.229 helping immigrants and people that hasn't been 00:03:40.229 --> 00:03:43.289 allowed to speak, you know? And this is why for 00:03:43.289 --> 00:03:46.469 me it's so important today also to make a tribute 00:03:46.469 --> 00:03:49.590 to all these people that are using their voices 00:03:49.590 --> 00:03:53.129 to give the power to others to express themselves 00:03:53.129 --> 00:03:57.169 and that for any reason they are speechless and 00:03:57.169 --> 00:03:59.729 uh and yeah and the song is with the most 00:03:59.729 --> 00:04:03.169 beautiful metaphor so i love it so please uh 00:04:03.169 --> 00:04:09.229 yes that's pretty lovely so that's why i'm gonna 00:04:09.229 --> 00:04:33.269 play it right away Alright Lenny, it's time to 00:04:33.269 --> 00:04:37.269 play our little game called... Cliché or Reality. 00:04:37.569 --> 00:04:40.370 We've all heard people make big statements about 00:04:40.370 --> 00:04:43.790 opera, singing or collaborative art projects. 00:04:44.329 --> 00:04:46.870 You know, the ones that sound like absolute truth. 00:04:47.370 --> 00:04:50.389 But are they true? Or just clichés that need 00:04:50.389 --> 00:04:53.110 to be challenged? I'm going to read a few of 00:04:53.110 --> 00:04:55.949 these common phrases and you tell us. Is it a 00:04:55.949 --> 00:04:58.689 cliché or does it reflect your experience in 00:04:58.689 --> 00:05:01.790 opera? Feel free to agree, disagree or share 00:05:01.790 --> 00:05:04.870 a story that proves them right or wrong. So, 00:05:05.029 --> 00:05:08.189 cliché number one. Opera is too difficult for 00:05:08.189 --> 00:05:11.730 people who aren't musicians. Well, I would say 00:05:11.730 --> 00:05:16.889 that it's perfectly wrong. And this is the magic 00:05:16.889 --> 00:05:20.810 of opera, because here we will all experience 00:05:20.810 --> 00:05:25.209 that opera is a genre. just like any other that 00:05:25.209 --> 00:05:30.250 can be sang or played or experienced in any way, 00:05:30.490 --> 00:05:32.970 that it's not complicated. It's exactly the opposite. 00:05:33.069 --> 00:05:36.170 They're making it so easy for us that you would 00:05:36.170 --> 00:05:39.269 never thought that you would have been able to 00:05:39.269 --> 00:05:42.050 sing opera so easily, you know? So it's, yeah, 00:05:42.230 --> 00:05:46.110 it's wrong. And cliché number two. If you don't 00:05:46.110 --> 00:05:49.029 have a trained voice, you can't be part of an 00:05:49.029 --> 00:05:53.209 opera. Well, it's part of the same. It makes 00:05:53.209 --> 00:05:56.569 me think about, at some point, I wanted to start 00:05:56.569 --> 00:05:59.350 drawing. Well, because I was studying architecture, 00:05:59.449 --> 00:06:03.310 so I needed to draw. And I was so bad at it, 00:06:03.389 --> 00:06:08.550 but really so, so bad at it that all my classmates 00:06:08.550 --> 00:06:12.959 were laughing at me. And then I started trying 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:16.399 on my own and I joined some classes with one 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:20.600 woman that said like, why does people have good 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:23.079 handwriting? Well, they're more or less better 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:25.939 handwriting, but it's because you must do it. 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:28.899 This is not something that you think about or 00:06:28.899 --> 00:06:32.519 not. You know that you must learn to write and 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:34.839 then you just do it. So it's kind of the same 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:38.180 with drawing. So if we wouldn't have these... 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:41.980 need to make it beautiful or whatever then we 00:06:41.980 --> 00:06:44.920 would have just done it and it's exactly the 00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:48.060 same with singing you know like we have all these 00:06:48.060 --> 00:06:50.519 stereotypes and all these ideas that oh no my 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:52.560 voice is not beautiful oh no i don't sing nice 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:55.060 and and this is not truth the only thing that 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:58.379 you need to do is to try it and rehearse it and 00:06:58.379 --> 00:07:00.600 experience it you know because we all have beautiful 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:05.100 voices we all have beautiful tones rhythms and 00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:08.000 yeah we just need to try and experience it Cliché 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:11.680 number 3. People from different cultures can't 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:14.079 really create together. The language barrier 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:17.899 makes it too difficult. Absolutely super wrong. 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:25.120 And this is also another magical thing about 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:29.740 pOpera. And we need also to think about that 00:07:29.740 --> 00:07:33.430 communication does not happen only with... the 00:07:33.430 --> 00:07:36.490 language, you know? It's not only about what 00:07:36.490 --> 00:07:42.449 we say. We communicate with our eyes, we communicate 00:07:42.449 --> 00:07:45.569 with our gestures, we communicate with our hands, 00:07:45.730 --> 00:07:47.670 we communicate with our body in general, you 00:07:47.670 --> 00:07:50.529 know? And with the tone of our voices, with everything. 00:07:51.009 --> 00:07:55.189 So the language is just like the last step of 00:07:55.189 --> 00:07:59.980 the process of the communication. And it's amazing 00:07:59.980 --> 00:08:05.060 what we can do when we have this language barrier, 00:08:05.139 --> 00:08:08.459 because then we need to use our creativity in 00:08:08.459 --> 00:08:12.759 order to be able to express ourselves. So sometimes, 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:17.920 yes, we would make mimics, or we would mix our 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:21.199 own languages. And then you laugh a lot. Well, 00:08:21.220 --> 00:08:24.379 I laugh a lot about it. I constantly mix Spanish, 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:26.819 and then I'm learning Luxembourgish and French 00:08:26.819 --> 00:08:30.470 and everything. and then it's so crazy. The part 00:08:30.470 --> 00:08:34.129 that is more important is that when we speak 00:08:34.129 --> 00:08:38.549 with our hearts, everyone can understand what 00:08:38.549 --> 00:08:41.929 you are saying. So, and regardless which language 00:08:41.929 --> 00:08:47.710 are you speaking. So, no, wrong. We can communicate 00:08:47.710 --> 00:08:49.909 and there's no language barrier is exactly the 00:08:49.909 --> 00:08:52.210 opposite. Yeah, what they need to understand 00:08:52.210 --> 00:08:55.970 that it's like voice is like an accessory, you 00:08:55.970 --> 00:08:59.840 know, like you don't need it to be part of this 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:03.220 project and you just need to want to participate 00:09:03.220 --> 00:09:05.419 like you said yeah and show off yourself yeah 00:09:05.419 --> 00:09:12.899 that's right be bold yeah and um for the last 00:09:12.899 --> 00:09:16.840 cliché cliché number four participatory art projects 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:19.600 are nice but they don't really make a difference 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:24.029 in people's lives Yeah, with this one, I couldn't 00:09:24.029 --> 00:09:29.789 be more disagree. I'm happy that you disagree. We're 00:09:29.789 --> 00:09:37.509 on the same page. We understand each other. So 00:09:37.509 --> 00:09:41.830 participatory community projects, I would say 00:09:41.830 --> 00:09:46.529 that are the core of societies. For me, this 00:09:46.529 --> 00:09:52.419 is the perfect place where we can have a safe 00:09:52.419 --> 00:09:57.179 space to explore our voices, to explore who we 00:09:57.179 --> 00:10:01.419 are, to explore different cultures and to coexist 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:06.220 in peace and with respect, you know. It's very 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:09.320 interesting, like we all come from very different 00:10:09.320 --> 00:10:12.980 backgrounds, but here what is very touchful from 00:10:12.980 --> 00:10:16.659 pOpera is that most of us or many of us, we're 00:10:16.659 --> 00:10:21.460 immigrants. So we're here on our own and some 00:10:21.460 --> 00:10:25.379 of us came like because we wanted to but there 00:10:25.379 --> 00:10:27.840 are others that came here because they didn't 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:31.700 have any other choice and the refugees here so 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:34.740 this is a place where you can connect when where 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:38.559 you can find a place like a shelter like an emotional 00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:41.279 shelter you know like in a place where you can 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:45.740 exchange with others to find like -minded people 00:10:45.740 --> 00:10:49.950 that like you are willing to explore the world 00:10:49.950 --> 00:10:52.070 in a different way, through a different basis, 00:10:52.169 --> 00:10:55.590 through a different... perception and to understand 00:10:55.590 --> 00:10:57.929 that we don't need the barriers, that we need 00:10:57.929 --> 00:11:00.889 to take them away, to light up all these bridges 00:11:00.889 --> 00:11:05.129 that are saying that we're different, that we 00:11:05.129 --> 00:11:08.929 cannot coexist together, that we have to fight 00:11:08.929 --> 00:11:12.789 each other. So, community projects are the perfect 00:11:12.789 --> 00:11:16.590 place to gather and to have like this beautiful 00:11:16.590 --> 00:11:22.879 utopia. try to make the best at least for two 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:27.220 hours per week yeah and they make a great popera 00:11:27.220 --> 00:11:33.120 family now and we expect 100 of them it's a huge 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:36.299 family yeah that will be a huge gathering of 00:11:36.299 --> 00:11:47.649 the family yeah So now that we've talked about 00:11:47.649 --> 00:11:50.690 clichés, let's dive into your personal experience 00:11:50.690 --> 00:11:53.169 with pOpera. We'd love for our listeners to get 00:11:53.169 --> 00:11:55.629 a real sense of what it feels like to be a part 00:11:55.629 --> 00:11:59.169 of this project. So tell us, how did you first 00:11:59.169 --> 00:12:02.009 come across the pOpera project and what made 00:12:02.009 --> 00:12:06.230 you want to be a part of this? Well, I... I literally 00:12:06.230 --> 00:12:09.809 have no idea how I ended up finding Fondation 00:12:09.809 --> 00:12:13.750 EME. Like really, like I had two friends that 00:12:13.750 --> 00:12:15.789 know that I love singing and they said like, 00:12:15.929 --> 00:12:17.429 oh, we should sing together and we should find 00:12:17.429 --> 00:12:20.110 some classes or whatever. So I just literally 00:12:20.110 --> 00:12:23.909 dig in Internet. I don't even remember the words 00:12:23.909 --> 00:12:26.009 that I used, you know? But then at some point 00:12:26.009 --> 00:12:31.409 I found that the rehearsals were going to start 00:12:31.409 --> 00:12:35.090 that same week. So I was like, no, I need to 00:12:35.090 --> 00:12:37.049 get this, so I write this email. And I was like, 00:12:37.210 --> 00:12:39.070 yeah, I would like to participate. And they were 00:12:39.070 --> 00:12:40.730 not answering. And I was so anxious because I 00:12:40.730 --> 00:12:49.879 was like, I don't want to miss it. So this is 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:54.059 how I ended up in the project and the reason 00:12:54.059 --> 00:12:56.679 why I wanted to join is because I don't know 00:12:56.679 --> 00:13:02.320 that day was a very magical day for me and I 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:05.779 was not in the mood for sharing with people or 00:13:05.779 --> 00:13:08.700 anything I was more like in this introspective 00:13:09.529 --> 00:13:12.750 Yeah, they and but then it was like a full moon 00:13:12.750 --> 00:13:15.029 and then the moon was and I love the moon and 00:13:15.029 --> 00:13:17.809 the moon was illuminating the room that we 00:13:17.809 --> 00:13:20.330 were rehearsing in and it was very beautiful 00:13:20.330 --> 00:13:23.629 because actually we never sang that day but it 00:13:23.629 --> 00:13:26.350 was we were just playing with the shakers and 00:13:26.350 --> 00:13:28.970 making rhythms and stuff but then again it was 00:13:28.970 --> 00:13:31.490 a different way to communicate together and it 00:13:31.490 --> 00:13:33.470 was so magical that I said okay I need to stay 00:13:33.470 --> 00:13:36.090 here, you know, and yeah, so this is 00:13:36.090 --> 00:13:39.419 how I stayed And when you first met the other 00:13:39.419 --> 00:13:42.940 participants, so that same night you see, what 00:13:42.940 --> 00:13:48.899 was your first impression? Well, yeah, I must 00:13:48.899 --> 00:13:54.000 say the truth, but there's a beautiful saying 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:58.539 that says that we don't see what's out there, 00:13:58.620 --> 00:14:02.029 but we see what's in. our us you know like a 00:14:02.029 --> 00:14:06.110 well the it's like a no vemos lo que lo que lo 00:14:06.110 --> 00:14:08.850 que es sino lo que somos so as i said that 00:14:08.850 --> 00:14:11.529 day was a very weird day for me when they arrived 00:14:11.529 --> 00:14:15.059 there i was like oh this is so They're all 00:14:15.059 --> 00:14:18.200 so weird. This is all so... Don't mess with me. 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:22.799 I don't know why I felt like very weird. Then 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:24.620 again, I guess it was the full moon or I don't 00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:27.259 know, but everything was so weird. Then at some 00:14:27.259 --> 00:14:29.399 point I just started laughing because they also 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:31.820 said like that you gather with people that are 00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:34.980 like you, you know, like you ended up... So then 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:38.720 I said like... wow, then how weird am I as well, 00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:42.220 you know? So then I said like, okay, let's go. 00:14:42.379 --> 00:14:46.139 But no, afterwards I discovered like so beautiful 00:14:46.139 --> 00:14:48.840 people, you know, they all have these beautiful 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:51.620 hearts with beautiful experiences and they're 00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:54.720 all so generous, so loving, so careful. I really 00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:57.179 love the team that we have created. And yeah, 00:14:57.179 --> 00:14:59.740 as you said, it's a family, you know, like it's 00:14:59.740 --> 00:15:03.779 a very interesting dynamic and I really loved 00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:07.590 it. And taking part in a project like this often 00:15:07.590 --> 00:15:11.190 changes people in some way. So what do you feel 00:15:11.190 --> 00:15:14.490 you've discovered about yourself along the way? 00:15:15.710 --> 00:15:21.879 For me... I always had the idea that canon singing 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:24.759 was impossible, that was super hard because well 00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:28.539 I'm also an actress and then so during the singing 00:15:28.539 --> 00:15:31.159 classes all the time that there was canon singing 00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:33.480 I was like no this is so hard I cannot because 00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:36.759 then I followed the other voices and then I cannot 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:40.539 and so I always had this barrier on my own that 00:15:40.539 --> 00:15:43.200 it was so complicated and then when I joined 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:45.779 and we were on this summer phase that we needed 00:15:45.779 --> 00:15:48.460 to to sing and kind of I was like no again my 00:15:48.460 --> 00:15:51.320 nightmare you know like this is I cannot do this 00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:54.639 and then at some point I knew because I was always 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:57.720 following one beautiful voice of other of the 00:15:57.720 --> 00:15:59.539 participants so I was always following and then 00:15:59.539 --> 00:16:02.299 that day she was not there so I was like no way 00:16:02.299 --> 00:16:04.919 what am I going to do yes exactly I'm gonna miss 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:07.139 it you know and then at some point I said like 00:16:07.139 --> 00:16:09.820 you know what you know the song you know the 00:16:09.820 --> 00:16:12.120 music you have been rehearsing this like for 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:14.539 i don't know how long just do it you know it 00:16:14.539 --> 00:16:17.059 do it trust yourself and know that you can 00:16:17.059 --> 00:16:19.340 do this and i did it you know and and then i 00:16:19.340 --> 00:16:22.899 didn't follow any other voice but my own and 00:16:22.899 --> 00:16:26.059 and yeah it's it's so it's again a metaphor you 00:16:26.059 --> 00:16:28.700 know to say like uh we need to trust in ourselves 00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:31.600 we need to trust in our out in our power we need 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:34.269 to trust in our voices we need to trust who we 00:16:34.269 --> 00:16:38.450 are, and share it with the world. And yeah, I 00:16:38.450 --> 00:16:40.669 would say this is one of the beautiful things 00:16:40.669 --> 00:16:46.169 that make me remember, let's say, for my life. 00:16:47.669 --> 00:16:50.690 Opera brings together several disciplines, like 00:16:50.690 --> 00:16:54.389 singing, theatre, staging. Which one touched 00:16:54.389 --> 00:16:59.970 you the most? I think that... I mean, singing, 00:17:00.389 --> 00:17:03.840 theatre, everything, I love it. I always say 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:07.420 I really sing everywhere, all the time, and I'm 00:17:07.420 --> 00:17:09.859 passionate about the theatre, I'm an actress, 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:12.160 you know? But I would say that the thing, or 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:16.109 the discipline... that touches me the most is 00:17:16.109 --> 00:17:18.569 the sociology or the psychology, you know, like 00:17:18.569 --> 00:17:24.470 to observe everyone there with their, yeah, with 00:17:24.470 --> 00:17:27.809 who they are and how to express themselves, how 00:17:27.809 --> 00:17:33.789 they share their ideas, their dreams, their voices, 00:17:33.910 --> 00:17:36.210 you know, and their bodies, like everything. 00:17:36.670 --> 00:17:38.690 So I would say like this is the part that triggers 00:17:38.690 --> 00:17:40.990 me the most, that passionate myself the most 00:17:40.990 --> 00:17:44.119 about the project. That was my question. You 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:46.279 know, how would you describe the atmosphere within 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:48.839 the group? But I think you've answered quite 00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:54.339 well. But if you need to... Yeah, it seems like 00:17:54.339 --> 00:17:57.559 you said a big family. Now you're all friends. 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:02.309 See, and it's... I don't know, like every hearse, 00:18:02.710 --> 00:18:04.890 it's so beautiful, we experience different things. 00:18:05.349 --> 00:18:09.410 And one thing that I also haven't said, I'm very 00:18:09.410 --> 00:18:12.049 passionate about gastronomy, you know, like for 00:18:12.049 --> 00:18:15.569 me, that's the other most beautiful thing in 00:18:15.569 --> 00:18:18.250 the world, like music, gastronomy and nature 00:18:18.250 --> 00:18:23.829 are my tops. And this is also a place where sometimes 00:18:23.829 --> 00:18:26.630 people come and share their own dishes, you know, 00:18:26.730 --> 00:18:29.269 from their own cultures. So for me, there's no 00:18:29.269 --> 00:18:33.849 better place on earth, a space where I can listen 00:18:33.849 --> 00:18:39.390 and or do music while I'm eating something from 00:18:39.390 --> 00:18:43.250 someone that had the generosity to share it with 00:18:43.250 --> 00:18:45.549 the rest of the group. So yeah, I don't know 00:18:45.549 --> 00:18:49.130 what else can I say but... You must have so many 00:18:49.130 --> 00:18:53.269 memories from the rehearsals. Is there one moment 00:18:53.269 --> 00:18:57.250 funny, moving, surprising even that you'll never 00:18:57.250 --> 00:19:01.920 forget? See, there were two. One was... Well, 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:04.019 actually both of them were during the summer 00:19:04.019 --> 00:19:09.720 phase. So we were once rehearsing the songs that 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:14.000 we were going to sing. And we went out, like 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:17.579 in the street, just to sing, because we were 00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:20.400 going to sing in the streets, you know, in Luxembourg. 00:19:20.579 --> 00:19:23.980 So we did it. And then there was this woman that 00:19:23.980 --> 00:19:28.839 just stepped outside in the balcony. And then 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:40.680 we ended up sharing a serenade to her and it 00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:43.779 was so beautiful you know and then other people 00:19:43.779 --> 00:19:48.630 went out also to the balcony and this woman was 00:19:48.630 --> 00:19:51.230 saying that she didn't because at some point 00:19:51.230 --> 00:19:53.509 Paolo said like oh now sing with us you know 00:19:53.509 --> 00:19:55.569 and she was like no no no I don't know how to 00:19:55.569 --> 00:19:58.609 sing and then well she ended up doing it and 00:19:58.609 --> 00:20:02.210 she had so like this beautiful voice again so 00:20:02.210 --> 00:20:06.009 it was it was very touching it was very moving 00:20:06.009 --> 00:20:09.250 it was yeah it was very beautiful that that she 00:20:09.250 --> 00:20:11.730 joined us and that she enjoyed the moment as 00:20:11.730 --> 00:20:15.660 much as we did and she must come If she's listening 00:20:15.660 --> 00:20:17.940 to me, please come because you have a very beautiful 00:20:17.940 --> 00:20:21.460 voice. Come and join us. And the other one is 00:20:21.460 --> 00:20:26.539 this is there was extremely moving because there 00:20:26.539 --> 00:20:31.440 was one of the participants couldn't speak any 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:33.759 of the languages. Let's say like no English, 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:37.670 no, no French, no just. mini bit of German, you 00:20:37.670 --> 00:20:40.650 know, like the nothing. It was like very complicated. 00:20:40.890 --> 00:20:43.890 And then at some point he realized that another 00:20:43.890 --> 00:20:47.250 participant was able to speak his own language. 00:20:47.390 --> 00:20:50.690 And they have. So when he found it out, they 00:20:50.690 --> 00:20:53.630 just came in the middle of the classroom 00:20:53.630 --> 00:20:57.190 and and they hugged each other so beautifully. 00:20:57.190 --> 00:21:00.769 You know, it was. This was all this joy from 00:21:00.769 --> 00:21:03.009 him to say, like, oh, I finally found someone 00:21:03.009 --> 00:21:05.470 that can listen to me and that can understand 00:21:05.470 --> 00:21:07.009 me. I'm not alone. Yes, exactly. I'm not alone. 00:21:08.029 --> 00:21:11.670 But what was shocking is that afterwards, one 00:21:11.670 --> 00:21:14.150 of them said, like, yeah, I mean, at this moment 00:21:14.150 --> 00:21:17.210 we can hug each other. But if we were back in 00:21:17.210 --> 00:21:20.809 our countries, we would have been talked to 00:21:20.809 --> 00:21:24.609 hate each other. And for me, that was like, I 00:21:24.609 --> 00:21:30.130 got again like this. Goosebumps everywhere like 00:21:30.130 --> 00:21:34.549 it's incredible how We can change the 00:21:34.549 --> 00:21:37.630 perspective of who we are and who is each other 00:21:37.630 --> 00:21:41.430 depending on the place that we are So yeah, that's 00:21:41.430 --> 00:21:43.609 something that I will never forget and do you 00:21:43.609 --> 00:21:46.329 feel that this experience brought you closer to 00:21:46.329 --> 00:21:51.130 other cultures and people definitely This 00:21:51.130 --> 00:21:55.210 is what we're here for to understand other 00:21:55.319 --> 00:21:59.359 people's cultures and ideas and backgrounds and 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:01.920 hearts and souls and you know like of course 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:07.660 so music is there I would say like the excuse 00:22:07.660 --> 00:22:12.279 the excuse to gather together but deep down the 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:15.079 project is to integrate ourselves and to gather 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:18.359 together through music which is amazing you know 00:22:18.589 --> 00:22:21.769 And finally, if someone was thinking about joining 00:22:21.769 --> 00:22:25.269 pOpera, what would you tell them to convince 00:22:25.269 --> 00:22:28.349 them to jump in, you know? Well, I already told 00:22:28.349 --> 00:22:33.690 you a lot. Yeah, I think they have no excuse, 00:22:33.930 --> 00:22:37.069 you know? No, no, no, but there's something very, 00:22:37.069 --> 00:22:40.450 very important that I haven't shared and it's 00:22:40.450 --> 00:22:45.690 the extraordinary team that we have and the extraordinary 00:22:45.690 --> 00:22:50.599 artists that are uh backing us in this in in 00:22:50.599 --> 00:22:53.500 this journey you know so we have team woman and 00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:57.980 Antoine Pohu from from the creating the music then we 00:22:57.980 --> 00:23:01.920 have uh well the luxembourgish uh philharmonie 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:04.559 and then we have the pretty cantor is the conservatoire 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:07.660 de la ville de luxembourg the community choir 00:23:07.660 --> 00:23:11.259 we have evan baumers which is the director and 00:23:11.259 --> 00:23:13.880 then pierre nimes the direction the direction 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:17.160 of the choir then Stephany or there the surprise 00:23:17.069 --> 00:23:20.650 that we all know, coaching the vocal, as well 00:23:20.650 --> 00:23:24.450 as Nicola Billaux, coaching also vocally. Then 00:23:24.450 --> 00:23:27.650 we have Esgi, I'm sorry for the, I don't know 00:23:27.650 --> 00:23:32.369 how to pronounce it, Esgi Gokturk, I wish I didn't 00:23:32.369 --> 00:23:35.430 say that wrong, but for the repetition, Amit Dhuri 00:23:35.430 --> 00:23:38.789 for the mediation, extraordinary Paolo Lameiro 00:23:38.789 --> 00:23:41.009 for the conception and the direction artistic, 00:23:41.569 --> 00:23:44.369 and Nisha Bondi, the Miss innocent, Mariana Pinto 00:23:44.369 --> 00:23:47.079 de Souza, the choreographer, and and the assistance 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:50.119 on The Mist and the Sand. And of course, we have 00:23:50.119 --> 00:23:52.480 you, we have Sarah Bergdoll, we have Sara Lehmann 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:55.599 from Fondation EME, and all the people from Fondation 00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:57.700 EME, and all the people from the Philharmonie. 00:23:58.019 --> 00:24:02.000 And we will perform on stage, on the Philharmonie. 00:24:02.140 --> 00:24:04.880 So I don't know what else you need to... Yeah, 00:24:05.019 --> 00:24:07.039 I'm pretty convinced, you know, right now. We 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:11.279 must, yeah, gather all together for this. So 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:14.420 to end this episode, we always ask our guests 00:24:14.420 --> 00:24:17.380 for a recommendation, a piece of music, a book 00:24:17.380 --> 00:24:19.599 or something connected to the project that you 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:27.140 think our listeners should discover. So Lenny. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:31.140 What would you recommend to us or to anyone listening? 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:35.220 Well, during the second edition of Popera, Haitham, 00:24:35.819 --> 00:24:38.200 a Syrian Kurdish refugee who has been part of 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:41.599 the project since 2023, wrote a poem that was 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:44.740 translated into English with the help of Abdullah 00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:48.599 Karim Alim and recited during the 2024 performance. 00:24:49.539 --> 00:24:52.420 The most beautiful thing is that this poem has 00:24:52.420 --> 00:24:56.599 been published in issue one of the Les cahiers, 00:24:56.900 --> 00:25:00.160 luxembourgeois, alongside the Zichen, which 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:04.240 is the response written by Antoine Pohu, and 00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:07.079 who's, as I said, the extraordinary librettist 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:13.700 of the project. So you can now order this. the 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:17.900 book in Les Cahiers luxembourgois that Elio. 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:23.099 And this poem is about the feeling of displacement 00:25:23.099 --> 00:25:25.779 and abandoning and living in a place where you 00:25:25.779 --> 00:25:31.099 don't feel at home. And I won't read it because 00:25:31.099 --> 00:25:33.099 I want you to have the experience on your own 00:25:33.099 --> 00:25:36.839 to feel it and to go through each word. But I 00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:38.680 really recommend that you can go and get it. 00:25:39.099 --> 00:25:42.640 So thank you Lenny for joining us today. Thank 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:45.400 you to all our listeners for tuning in. Dive 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:47.940 in with (e)me is a show by Fondation EME, supported 00:25:47.940 --> 00:25:50.720 by André Losch Fondation. Thank you to Radio 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:52.980 ARA for allowing us to broadcast this show 00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:55.480 and for supporting us on this journey. And finally, 00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:58.900 thanks to Taipan for the wonderful jingle. You 00:25:58.900 --> 00:26:01.339 can listen to Dive in with (e)me on all streaming 00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:04.859 platforms and once a month on Radio ARA Airways. 00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:05.980 See you soon!