Until the Lions

The Mahabharata is one of the most comprehensive stories of humanity. The epic describes a mythological battle between two royal families, yet it is also a work that addresses creation, rebirth and karma. Until the Lions focuses on the episode concerning Princess Amba, who has to be reborn as a man in order to take revenge on an enemy. The opera is based on Karthika Nair's book of the same name in which she poetically adapts the Mahabharata. The piece Until the Lions scrutinises gender images, condemns the power of war, and gives a voice to its victims. The title references the initial phrase of an African proverb: ‘Until the lions do not write their own history, only the hunters gain fame.’ Thierry Pécou discreetly assimilates Indian and Indonesian elements into his music.