Pierre Bernier is an ambitious man. Pierre Bernier is also—and above all—a painter awaiting glory and the medal of honor at the Painting Salon. Pierre Bernier is in love with Lolette, whose back he painted in a work that would bring him success; this success would lift him very high, but also very far from Lolette, who would soon become nothing more than "The Naked Woman."
This lyrical drama, composed between the two world wars by Henry Février, addresses several themes that transcend all eras: desire, the gaze of others, social mobility, abandonment, and the place of women in art and society.
Led by an exceptional cast, Guillaume Tourniaire brings back to life a work forgotten for nearly a century, where the foxtrot meets epic grandeur in the service of drama.
"The 20th century was the century of all dramas and all crossroads: the upheavals still at work today, whether speaking of aesthetic movements, everyday life practices, or societal (r)evolutions, have their roots there. Numerous works of art bear witness to this and have not yet passed all the trials of posterity. We are proud and eager to unveil this unprecedented production!" — Raphaël Merlin

The artists

• Tamara Bounazou, soprano
• Valentin Thill, tenor
• Christophe Mortagne, tenor
• Antoinette Dennefeld, mezzo-soprano
• Jean-Sébastien Bou, baritone
• Guillaume Tourniaire, conductor