Friday, February 25, 2011

Starstruck and Starry-Eyed

Image: Jacket designed by Yves Saint Laurent in 1980 as a homage to Jean Cocteau.

I've been in a good mood all day ever since I woke up to an email informing me that the Comité Jean Cocteau has granted me the rights to do an English translation of Orphée!

The head of the Comité Jean Cocteau and the keeper of the moral rights to his work is Pierre Bergé, who was a friend of Cocteau's in the '50s and is best known as the personal and professional partner of Yves Saint Laurent. The email this morning mentioned him by name, saying that he is "tout à fait d'accord" (entirely in agreement) with my plans. I am very grateful and more than a little starstruck!

Starstruck... I guess that's an appropriate word, considering that Jean Cocteau loved star imagery and incorporated it into his signature.

3 comments:

Patrick J. Vaz said...

Congratulations!

Also, in case you weren't aware of this: Ensemble Parallele is presenting Philip Glass's operatic version of Orphee this Saturday and Sunday at Herbst Theater. It might be of interest to you.

Marissa Skudlarek said...

Thanks, I will be at the Sunday matinée! I'm very excited.

Dr.J said...

Congratulations! you must be a great time-organizer
For the record: Orphée (orfeo) was first performed in Spain as soon as Dec. 1928 (when a military junta governed under Gral. Primo de Rivera) by the company Caracol (snail) the adaptation was probably by Cipriano de Rivas Cherif, brother-in-law of the future PM and President Azaña,
don´t know about modern translations to spanish

By the way, the star in Cocteau signature is probably for his friendship to Picasso, isn´t it?
hope I am not crowding your post with spanish references. I am outraged today on learning that the world service of the BBC closed their broadcasting in spanish due to funds shortage.
That service provided a haven to many spanish exiliates from 1938