Music

With the classical embracing the comedic,
The strings launch you into space、
Laughter accurately delivers you into
The orbit of classical music,
Light years calibrate the astronomical
Secrets left behind by Beethoven.
The passionate tango, free-spirited gypsy music,
Psychedelic rock, and the folksy notes of Ireland
Are the propellants to boost the space voyage,
Help overcome the gravity of Mozart and Haydn,
And let you roam in the splendours of
Piazzolla’s space storm.

Graduates from some of the most prestigious music schools in France, and with more than 10 years’ experience in the classical music concerts field, the 4 musicians of the Leonis Quartet are about to experience a true musical eclipse, riding their office wheeled chairs, playing and dancing all at once, walking their tight strings like funambulists, in a burlesque and poetic universe.

The show starts as soon as you enter the auditorium. The music is already there. On stage, 4 chairs and 4 empty music stands. Suddenly the quartet appears as if by magic, to the surprise of the audience. The concert is starting、 or finishing、 or starting by the end, no one really knows. Not even the musicians themselves, who are so confused they even swap their instruments.
This concert, which started so well, gets out of control and derails. As do our 4 protagonists, waltzing on their wheeled chairs to all corners of the stage, losing themselves and one another, then finding themselves intertwined in an imaginary ‘métro’ carriage, riding a merry-go-round, or taking a drive in a make-believe car. The instruments seem to have a mind of their own, to control the concert、 to be the masters of their owners、 occasionally disappearing、 playing by themselves or even talking. In the eccentric world of stage director Manu Kroupit, as the moon obstructs the sun, our four classical angels turn into werewolves, thirsty for music diversity.

Total Eclipse is a musical and visual theatre show, aimed at the general public, which offers a different image of classical music through humour and movement. The show uses comedy of situation (rather than musical gags), and relies (in part) on a musical repertoire often unknown to the general public, which includes some of the greatest pieces for string quartet. It takes the audience on a voyage within the fantastic world of the classical musician, who attempts to free himself from the rigorous demands of classical music, but gets drawn back in again and again.