The new French-language adaptation of
The Cigars of the Pharaoh (which was
first mentioned here last July) began last night (Monday 8th February 2016) on radio station France Culture.
Featuring the stellar acting talents of the world-renowned theatre company la Comédie-Française, and with music performed by l'Orchestre National de France, this co-production by France Culture and Moulinsart is a very prestigious event (a British comparison would be the BBC getting the Royal Shakespeare Company and the London Symphony Orchestra to do radio Tintin), and is just the first in a proposed series of adaptations of the works of Hergé.
Scripted by Katell Guillou, a respect playwright in her own right, and who previously adapted Joan Sfar's
Le Chat du Rabbi (
The Rabbi's Cat) for the radio in 2013, the story has been serialized as a five-part adventure. Episodes will be broadcast every night this week.
Noam Morgensztern plays Tintin, with Jérémy Lopez as Snowy (played in much the same way as he was by Andrew Sachs in the BBC series, as a voice with "doggy" characteristics).
The production is the first of a series, which will include adaptations of
The Blue Lotus,
The Seven Crystal Balls,
Prisoners of the Sun,
The Calculus Affair and
The Castafiore Emerald.
You can listen (in French, of course!) to the episodes online (I don't know for how long they will be available).
Les Cigares du PharaonEpisode 1Episode 2Episode 3Episode 4Episode 5They are running a supporting documentary series, presented by Renaud Nattiez, about the lasting appeal of the Boy Reporter under the title
Tintin, encore et toujours. You can listen to that by using te following links.
Tintin, encore et toujoursEpisode 1Episode 2Episode 3Episode 4Episode 5You can also listen to an episode of the discussion programme
Le Rendez-vous du médiateur, in which the director Benjamin Abitan talks about the production, and how they went about bringing the serial to the airwaves.
Le Rendez-vous du médiateurTintin sur France Culture avec la Comédie Française et l'ONF