the essential
After triumphing at the Avignon festival, “Olympe”, a show created in February 2024 at the Montauban theater, goes on tour to Guadeloupe, Canada, Paris and Guyana. A source of pride for Edmony Krater, the percussionist and composer at the origin of this theatrical and musical creation which pays homage to the great feminist Olympe de Gouges.
The universal message of Olympe de Gouges, against slavery and in defense of women’s rights, is more relevant than ever. A play, “Olympe”, with Firmine Richard in the title role, powerfully conveys these values. This show was created at the beginning of 2024 at the Olympe de Gouges theater in Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) after a creative residency at the Archipel Scène Nationale in Basse-Terre, in Guadeloupe. The key man in this project, Edmony Krater, the percussionist and former teacher at the Montauban conservatory, who has lived in Beaumont-de-Lomagne for many years. It was he who composed the music for “Olympe”. After its triumph last summer at the “off” in Avignon, the show directed by Franck Salin, of the Grand Carbet company, is going on tour again, in America and Paris. An intense start to the year for Edmony Krater.
Edmony Krater, this year 2024 has been rich from an artistic point of view for you, with this show “Olympe”. What memory do you have of this creation?
A very good memory. I experienced it as a form of realization of years of work. I come from this emblematic Gwoka musical culture of Guadeloupe. I did things differently, I wanted to put this culture forward, in creation, in composition, by also teaching the ka drum. For the music of Olympe, I thought of a musical dialogue between classical works by Bach, Beethoven or the Knight of Saint-George and the gwoka.
This show was presented at the Avignon festival and was a great success. Tell us about it.
Yes, we received a very warm welcome. All our performances were sold out. At the end, people were standing in tears. Only art can enhance moments like that. Firmine Richard had never played in this register: it was a great pleasure for her to receive the prize for best “off” actress.
Now this show will continue to live. Where can we see it?
In a few days, we will return to Guadeloupe for nine performances from January 31 to February 12. On February 22, we will play in Montreal, in Canada. On March 8, as part of International Women’s Day, we will be in Sarcelle in the Paris region and then we will have the chance to perform for three weeks in a legendary venue, the Hébertot theater (1). Finally, in mid-April we will cross the Atlantic Ocean again to play “Olympe” in Cayenne, Guyana. We are very happy to carry throughout the world the message of Olympe de Gouges, this avant-garde, feminist and humanist who fought all her life against all forms of injustice. As chance would have it, I settled in Tarn-et-Garonne, the department where she was born. It was Félix Castan and Batty Daël who introduced me to Olympe de Gouges through the play “Zamor et Mirza”.
One of my tracks “An Ba Jouk”, remixed by Olivier Portal, reached almost a million streaming views.
Do you have any other musical projects in 2025?
Yes, I am preparing an album with Olivier Portal, the son of jazzman Michel Portal. I knew him a long time ago in Paris, in the Radio Nova studios. He remixed one of my songs “An Ba Jouk”. This song reached almost a million streaming views. It was selected in the DJ Set playlist compilation by the Japanese Yuna Room. As a result, the record company had the idea of asking Olivier to revisit all of my works. I am also working on a musical tale for young audiences and on a new album for the end of the year. One of my titles Gwadloup was chosen by the young Guadeloupean director, Ornella Salnotbased in Canada, for her documentary film on the dance of Bigidi which will be released this year in Montreal. I should be retired but I have never worked this hard.
Will we see you in concert in the region soon?
Yes, on February 27 I will be at the Instant Musical, Salle du Sénéchal in Toulouse from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., with my Edmony Krater Group trio composed of 6 musicians: Gérard Grimal, drums, percussion, voice; Guillaume Wilmot, keyboard, voice and Edmony Krater, vocals, percussion and trumpet. This concert is organized by Joël Saurin, the former bassist of Zebda. We met in 1996 during the famous “Chansons rivière” concert organized by Claude Nougaro on the Quai de la Daurade where I had been invited as a percussionist. For the 20th anniversary of Claude’s death, Joël Saurin paid tribute to him with his project “To each his own Nougaro”. On February 28 I will be in concert at the Cox village hall from 8 p.m., organized by the association Allant vers.
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