Coup Fatal

Coup Fatal shows how foreign music – baroque, Congolese – can be transformed into unexpected melodies through an alchemy carefully crafted by seasoned musicians: Vivaldi intertwined with rumba, Nina Simone fused with Handel.

This multicultural celebration of music and dance, produced by the Comédie de Genève, is directed by the acclaimed Belgian stage director, choreographer, and set designer Alain Platel, who founded Les Ballets C de la B in 1984 and turned it into one of the leading contemporary dance companies of the 20th century. Platel’s talent for bringing together different artistic disciplines is evident in Coup Fatal, a cult work since its 2014 premiere, now returning to the stage in a renewed version.

The music of Coup Fatal is the result of a fusion imagined by composer and saxophonist Fabrizio Cassol and Kinshasa guitarist and bassist Rodriguez Vangama, a powerful creation where Monteverdi, Handel, Gluck, and Bach coexist with the many interpretations of traditional and popular Congolese music, alongside the rhythms of rock and jazz.

From this work emerges a new universe of sound and image, performed by an orchestra of more than a dozen Congolese musicians and the emotive voice of South African countertenor Coco Diaz, which inspires Platel’s vibrant, cross-cultural dance. And while the rhythms lean towards infectious joy, subtle elements, like a golden curtain on stage, crafted from ammunition shells by Congolese artist Freddy Tsimba, recall the history of wars on the African continent.