Mrs. Pylińska and the secret of Chopin

Can an aversion to the piano turn into a tender and intimate relationship with music? Yes, if the guide to this most intangible of arts will be Mrs. Pylińska, a Polish emigrant, who begins to take lessons from Éric, a philosophy student fascinated by Chopin's work. Learning music from an eccentric and extremely inventive lady will turn out to be for the young man a great school of life, composed of the sounds of nature, as well as feelings, emotions and... contacts with the afterlife — because Mrs. Pylińska believes that Chopin's spirit is reborn in the animals that inhabit her house.

Description of the play: The autobiographical story of Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, one of the world's most widely read French-speaking writers. Young student Eric, eager to learn how to play the piano, finds himself under the wings of an eccentric teacher of Polish origin, in love with Chopin's music, Mrs. Pylińska. The teacher uses unconventional educational methods: she tells the student to lie down under the piano, listen to the rustle of branches in the park, and also... make love. Encounters with her become for the young man not only the beginning of a journey into the world of sounds — including those coming from nature — but also an extraordinary lesson in life and understanding identity, the tender expression of which is music. Combining words, music and great acting, this extraordinary performance is a story about discovering the secret of a better understanding of the world and finding your own way through sound compositions. It is also a lyrical tribute to the great Polish composer and Mrs. Pylińska — an authentic music teacher of the author of the text, Érica-Emmanuel Schmitt.

Tobacco products were used as props in the performance.

Original work in French © Antigone 2018 All rights reserved www.eric_emmanuel-schmitt.com

Duration of the performance: 80 minutes (without interruption)

Release Date: April 9, 2022