 It was a magical evening indeed with a variety of artists highlighting a bilingual connection between French poetry, opera and music videos inspired by the Tarot of Marseille.
For one night only, this special show at the Secret Rose Theatre brought together native French and American talents in a thoughtful but thoroughly entertaining display of spoken word, translated by Leon Schwartz, PhD in French Literature and Parisian artist Sophia Balestri.
Schwartz started the evening with readings by a survey of French master poets:
“Ballade of the Ladies of Yore” by Francois Villon
“The Crow and the Fox” by Jean de La Fontaine
“A Life Recalled” by Charles Baudelaire
“The Sleeper in the Vale” by Arthur Rimbaud
“O Place Clichy!” by Andre Salmon
The California State Univ. of Los Angeles Professor Emeritus offered brief explanations of the history and relevance of each poem along with reading his English translations of these poems from his most recent publication, Poems That Sing by French Masters.
 Readings also included playwright and BMI composer and lyricist, Jan Michael Alejandro’s poetry recently featured in the 3rd annual Dada Poetry Salon in NYC this year. With the exception of “What’s Mine is Now Yours,” translated by Balestri, all other French translations were by Leon Schwartz. The selections from Alejandro included:
“What’s Mine is Now Yours”
“The Pain is Endless”/La Doul
“Loneliness”/La Solitude
“Don’t Be Surprised”/Ne Sois Pas Surpris
“When I Finish Building This Bridge”/Quand Je Finirai de Construire Ce Pont
For more information on Jan Michael Alejandro, please visit: www.jansplays.com
Between readings, Debbie Dey enchanted the audience with powerful arias excerpted from “Carmen” and “Samson and Dalila” accompanied by Miguel Vargas. Debbie is currently singing Mercedes in the opera “Carmen” with the Repertory Opera Company in Pomona this June.
For more information or tickets, please visit www.repertoryoperacompany.org
 Rounding off the festivities was Sophia Balestri’s Project XXII featuring videos based on the images from the first-known tarot deck of Marseille. Visually stunning and provocative, each music video played on a theme taken from four Major Arcana cards:
“The Wheel of Fortune” inspired by Jean Cocteau.
Music by Mat Creedon, lyrics by Sophia Balestri
“The Hermit” in association with Tim O’Connor
“The High Priestess”
Music by Kylyra, lyrics by Sophia Balestri
“The Tower”
Music by Jan Michael Alejandro, lyrics by Sophia Balestri
A writer, painter, and film director, Sophia published her first novel in 2008, La Plume et l'Envol which follows the adventures of a young poet in the 17th century and is working on her 2nd vol.
For more information on her multiple projects, please visit: www.sophiabalestri.com
The wide variety of artists and the culmination of French and English made this a delightful evening to connect with the familiar and the new, proving that art like no other medium can both illuminate and transcend language.
--M.R. Hunter
Photos courtesy of the artists
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