A Musical Theatre Piece Des vagues is a musical theatre piece born from a shared dream: to recount an intimate and collective crossing, where memory, loss, and rebirth intertwine aboard a white ship adrift between dream and nightmare.   Birth of the Project n the summer of 2022, Alizée Bingöllü suggested we create a musical together. I agreed without hesitation. A musical had long been a dream of mine, though I had never known quite how to bring it to life. Our artistic collaboration dates back to our early short films in 2005, and then with Ödland from 2008 onwards. While Alizée developed her career as an actress and director, I deepened my practice in musical composition and scenography. By 2022, we felt ready to fully carry such a project, with the support of the company ICI 3.8. On Des vagues, I was involved at several levels: co-writing the dramaturgy alongside Alizée, composing the music, designing the scenography, performing on stage, and participating in the construction and assembly of the set. After the completion of our first tour, it is time to present the work we have created over the past two years. Characters Des vagues presents eight characters, all gathered on a strange, imaginary ship, where desires, fears, and memories collide in a sombre and dreamlike atmosphere. The Dreamer on the beach (Alizée Bingöllü) : Half-asleep on the sand, she drifts into musings about climate change, glimpses a ship in the distance, and begins to dream. We follow her through her wandering thoughts and subtle interventions in the dream’s unfolding events. Anissa (Amélie Zekri) : The Dreamer’s main alter ego, she travels with a suitcase full of notebooks where she painstakingly records every event. Anissa struggles to let go of the past and her memories, a fear that literally paralyses her. The Captain (Lorenzo Papace) Austere and mysterious, the Captain steers the passengers towards an unknown destination. Like the Dreamer, he seems to know events in advance and remains largely detached, focused on the journey and looming tempests. Diego, the Ship’s Cook (Jean-Philippe Salerio) : The ship’s cook who dreams of becoming a painter. Fascinated by waves, he spends his time copying famous paintings of tempests. His encounter with Blanche will overturn both his journey and his modest artistic aspirations. Diego is mischievous, clever, and somewhat manipulative. Brune & Blanche (Laure Rossi & Léa Bingöllü) : Two inseparable sisters who carry a heavy secret. Brune is possessive and protective of Blanche, and resists any connection forming between Blanche and Diego. Blanche, mute, expresses herself mainly through her violin and seems detached from events. Throughout the crossing, they seek to complete a funeral ceremony. Aimé & Albertine (Vincent Bady & Anne Fromm) : A brother and sister undertaking their final voyage together. Aimé, a former engineer, announces he can no longer care for Albertine due to her memory loss. This realisation awakens her past traumas of domestic violence and her growing sense of abandonment. Storyline Des vagues unfolds in three acts, punctuated by a central storm that irreversibly transforms the fates of the characters. Prologue The Dreamer, lying on the beach, drifts into reveries about climate change.In the distance, a white boat appears — an unreal silhouette on the horizon.As she slips into sleep, she embarks on a dreamlike voyage. The song Prologue à l’intrigue serves as an opening exposition, where each character is introduced through a dedicated verse. « Je rêve, je m’endors, je divague sur la plage. Mon bateau métaphore du vagabondage, vagabondage. » « J’arrange les choses, je dispose, j’organise. Jamais voyage sans ma valise, ma valise, c’est ma hantise. » https://youtu.be/t9WfZA0HcJs?si=qbHGnRpf1vXSh97G Act I https://youtu.be/22QdLhtoLLs?si=kCjv6foO9v-EzjCFhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpMUW470CKw Act II Act III https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccGCdw7X6A0 Epilogue C'était l'histoire d'un bateau (feat. Amélie Zekri & Laure Rossi) de Lorenzo Papace How We Created Des vagues This is how Alizée Bingöllü and I conceived and brought Des vagues to life, produced by the company ICI 3.8. Dramaturgy The creation of Des vagues began with a clear intention: we did not want to write a simple collection of songs around a theme, but to build a true musical drama.A structured narrative where music, text, and scenography would work together to tell the story. With Alizée Bingöllü, we first shared our desires, images, and recurring obsessions.Then we structured the plot: characters, conflicts, and inner evolutions. Des vagues follows a precise dramatic architecture:initial situation → disruptive event → twists and turns → crisis → resolution. The narrative is framed by a prologue and an epilogue, while a central storm marks the turning point of the story. Each character undergoes an internal conflict that shapes their transformation: We also decided early on which critical or emotionally intense moments would require musical treatment. At times, the boundary between spoken drama and song fades away: dialogue flows into melody, a situation shifts into a musical memory.Everything becomes music and narrative at once. Based on this framework, we divided the work:Alizée focused on writing the play, while I composed the songs.The actors’ presence and interpretations then brought the dramatic material to life — it is through them that the characters truly gained depth and reality. Composition The musical creation of Des vagues followed the organic rhythm of a play in the making.As with any theatrical project, we went through several stages of development, punctuated by work-in-progress showings presented at the end of each residency, offering professionals a glimpse into the evolving piece. Residency at the Théâtre National Populaire (TNP) of Villeurbanne, October 2023. In December 2022, exactly two years before the premiere, I composed Coup de vent. This lively, swirling 6/8 piece plays with shifts between major and minor tonalities, evoking the sudden changes of light under a stormy sky. The song became the backbone of the entire musical score: by varying its motifs, re-harmonising them, distorting them, I wove melodic echoes throughout the piece, building a subterranean memory that ties together different moments of the story. https://vimeo.com/925518068/2ed8089dbf Once the casting was finalised, I studied each performer’s voice and vocal