Martine Chifflot, philosopher, writer and librettist, has written a text of vibrant lyricism, permeated by the power of the sacred feminine and the voice of the Earth.

The work celebrates the cycles of life, maternal and sisterly love, the return of light, and the promise of renewal.

At the heart of the libretto unfolds the mother-daughter relationship between Demeter, goddess of the Earth and nurturer, and Kore, abducted by Hades to the underworld. This foundational myth becomes a meditation on loss, separation, the return to light, and the regeneration of the world.

Writing style

Martine Chifflot adopts a style that is both lyrical and symbolic, blending poetic language, inner voices, and mythological echoes. Demeter brings together solo voices, choir, instruments, and poetic spoken word in a clear and sensitive dramatic structure. The text alternates between:

• sung dialogues full of emotion,

• interior monologues resembling theatrical declamation,

• choirs evoking the ritual, almost oracular dimension of the myth.

Dramatic structure

The opera is organized into three main parts:

• The disappearance of Kore

• Catabasis: The descent and stay in Hell.

• Anabasis. The return — reunion, reconciliation and promise of renewal.

Symbolic significance

Through Demeter, Martine Chifflot explores the power of the feminine, the memory of cycles, and the notion of passage: from earth to heaven, from mourning to fertility, from sadness to joy. This booklet connects Greek mythology, spiritual ecology, and humanism—a reflection on the fertility of the world and of souls.

Musical composition

The text lent itself to a musical setting that blends earthy timbres, electroacoustic textures, and virtuosity, written for female and male voices, choir, and instrumental ensemble, in a fusion of tradition and modernity. Béatrice Berne's composition, which combines Greek rhythms with the most contemporary accents, was met with a triumphant reception.

Nicole Corti's musical direction offers a guarantee of quality.

An opera where the Earth finds its voice. Blending theatre, song, and lyric poetry, Demeter revisits the great myth of the fertility goddess, mother of Persephone, abducted into darkness. This memorable tale becomes a contemporary meditation on nature, femininity, loss, and rebirth, carried by a musical score of rare intensity.

A contemporary work

Demeter speaks to our time: a time of ecological upheaval, of the quest for meaning and of reconciliation between humans and the living world.

It is a total spectacle — music, text, voice and stage space — where poetry becomes an act of life.

This very relevant myth of Demeter and Kore raises questions about transmission, memory, and the links between humans and nature.