The cast of "Cyrano de Bergerac, the Musical" is putting the finishing touches to its show in Nice before a tour to China.

The applause is resounding, the audience captivated. The songs are precisely timed to explore the range of emotions. Even if, once the lights go out on the Saint-Raphaël performance (last August 10), everyone knows, on stage and backstage, that there are still details to be sorted out.

Stéphane Brunello is probably more aware of this than anyone else. He is one of the two composers of Cyrano de Bergerac, la Comédie musicale , a contemporary adaptation of Edmond Rostand's work, and is one of the two musicians who play live on stage, accompanying this troupe of regional singers.

Among them, Bertrand Borgognone from Toulon plays De Guiche. Captain of the Gascony in the original work. The one who sends Christian to his death. In this new version, De Guiche is a producer and he distances Christian, a young singer, from Roxane by sending him on tour.

It was through friendship with Stéphane Brunello that the Var artist found himself, five years ago, recording the demos of what would become this incredible show. "I had known Stéphane for a long time," confides the Var native , "and when Philippe (Hattemberg) and he needed performers, he told me he was thinking of me for De Guiche. I recorded with pleasure..." Before waiting for the project to come together under the impetus of the Nice show maker Gil Marsalla and Directo Prod, "and for him to ask me to take on the role."

"This text applies to all situations"

Cyrano de Bergerac , "I had studied it in my school days, like everyone else. I also knew the film version with Depardieu…" But it was still necessary to immerse myself in the "magnificent" story. "What makes it beautiful is its timeless character. This text can be transposed to all situations . It speaks to all generations, about things that everyone experiences: love, jealousy…"

At 46, Bertrand Borgognone finds here a role that suits him in a register from which he has kept away until now. However, it was a musical comedy written by one of his teenage friends that gave him the singing and music bug. "It was called Benjamin Rêve , I must have been one of the few non-professional artists at the time..."

Since then, Bertrand Borgognone, who has never left the stage, has been "lucky" , he says, to have been able to make a living from his profession for 26 years. And he questions himself by taking on this role in a register on which, he confesses, he had "a slightly distorted view..." And then, the project and the assembled troupe did the rest: "There was a real curiosity... And the desire to discover what goes on behind the scenes" .

Manon Vibert, a dancer from Raphaël on an adventure

Bertrand Borgognone isn't the only Varois involved in the adventure: dancer Manon Vibert, 33, joined Cyrano during a casting. "They were looking for dancers who had a pied-à-terre in Nice or who didn't live far away..." she rejoices.

The show has evolved considerably to become a musical comedy. The final version, which will be presented at the Nikaïa in Nice before going on tour, will be enhanced by the addition of four dancers alongside the six already present.

Choreographer Olivier Matheron is once again going to push the boundaries. This doesn't scare the Raphaëloise, who thinks first and foremost of the collective. " The team spirit, the mutual support," which makes it possible to overcome anything. Especially when you have a three-year tour ahead of you.