André Diot (born 1935) is a

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

and

lighting designer In theatre, a lighting designer (or LD) works with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create the lighting, atmosphere, and time of day for the production in response to the text while keeping ...

of French theatre and film, who played an important role in the emergence of the profession in France. In a long career, he designed the lighting for the 1976

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

Jahrhundertring The ''Jahrhundertring'' (''Centenary Ring'') was the production of Richard Wagner's ''Ring Cycle'', ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'', at the Bayreuth Festival in 1976, celebrating the centenary of both the festival and the first performance of the comp ...

'', staged by

Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ...

, the opening and closing ceremony of the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

, and in 2013 ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'' at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

Career

While a director of photography in television, Diot was introduced by Bernard Sobel to

, with whom he subsequently worked extensively. Their first joint creation was in 1967, for ''Les Soldats'' by

Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (23 January 1751, or 12 January in the Julian calendar – 4 June 1792, or 24 May in the Julian calendar) was a Baltic German writer of the ''Sturm und Drang'' movement. Life Lenz was born in Sesswegen (Cesvaine), ...

. Diot then introduced

Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide lamp Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide (HMI) is the trademark name of Osram's brand of metal halide lamp, metal-halide gas discharge medium arc-length lamp, made specifically for film and entertainment applications. ''Hydrargyrum'' comes from the Greek l ...

(HMI) theater projectors, usually reserved for the cinema or sports events. Until the mid-1980s, he used techniques such as black-and-white,

backlighting A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). As LCDs do not produce light by themselves—unlike, for example, cathode ray tube (CRT), plasma (PDP) or OLED displays—they need illumination ( ambient light or a s ...

and shadows to create an onstage environment of

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

, or of twilight, a poetic atmosphere that eventually became their joint trademark: Diot-Chéreau. They worked together in Chéreau's first theatre, the Théâtre de

Sartrouville Sartrouville () is a commune in the Yvelines department, Île-de-France, north central France. it is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris. Name In the Middle Ages the name Sartrouville was recorded in Medieva ...

, from 1966, in a team with together with stage designer

Richard Peduzzi Richard Peduzzi (born 1943 in Argentan, Orne) is a French scenographer. He was the director of the French Academy in Rome from September 2002 to August 2008. Since 1969, he has decorated the sets designed by Patrice Chéreau, and together they ...

and costume designer Jacques Schmidt. Gwyneth Chéreau (großer)

As part of this team, he designed the lighting for the ''

'' (''Centenary Ring''), the production of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's ''Ring Cycle'', ''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the '' Nibe ...

'', at the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

celebrating the centenary of the festival and the cycle. In 1992, he designed the lighting for at the opening and closing ceremony of the

. He has collaborated with other directors, including , ,

Roger Planchon Roger Planchon (born 12 September 1931 in Saint-Chamond, Loire, died on 12 May 2009 in Paris), was a French playwright, Film director, director, and filmmaker. Biography Roger Planchon spent his childhood in the Ardèche, notably in Dornas. He fo ...

Jean-Pierre Vincent Jean-Pierre Vincent (26 August 1942 – 5 November 2020) was a French theatrical actor and director. He served as Administrators of the Comédie-Française, Administrator of the Comédie-Française from 1983 to 1986. Theatre *''The Broken Jug'' ...

and

Jacques Weber Jacques Weber is a French actor, director, and writer. Life and career Weber joined the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique at the age of 20, and won the Prix d'Excellence when he left. He joined Robert Hossein in Rheims, and ...

. He designed the lighting for

Peter Zadek Peter Zadek (; 19 May 1926 – 30 July 2009) was a German director of theatre, opera and film, a translator and a screenwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater. Biography Peter Zadek was born on 19 May ...

's 1988 staging of Shakespeare's '' Der Kaufmann von Venedig'' at the

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...

, which took the action to a Wall Street background. The artist's conversations with Zadek are part of a 2012 book ''Peter Zadek und seine Bühnenbildner'' (Peter Zadek and his stage directors), edited by . In 2011 he designed the lighting for Janáček's ''

Katya Kabanova Katya is a feminine given name. It is a very popular name in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, and North Macedonia. It is a Russian diminutive form of Yekaterina, which is a Russian form of Katherine.This name is also can be spelled Katia.MFnames ...

'' at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

, staged by . In 2013 he designed the lighting for Mozart's ''

'' at the

, staged by Ezio Toffolutti and conducted by

Michael Schønwandt Michael Schønwandt (born 10 September 1953 in Frederiksberg) is a Danish conductor. In Denmark, he studied piano, theory, and composition, and later continued musical studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Biography In 1979, Schønwand ...

Awards

Diot received the

Molière Award The Molière Award recognises achievement in live French theatre and is the national theatre award of France. The awards are presented and decided by the ''Association professionnelle et artistique du théâtre'' (APAT) and supported by the Min ...

in the category Best Lighting Design, in 2001 for Brecht's '' Le Cercle de craie caucasien'', in 2004 for ', directed by

Zabou Breitman Zabou Breitman (born Isabelle Breitman; 30 October 1959), or simply Zabou, is a French actress and director. She is the daughter of actors Jean-Claude Deret and Céline Léger. At the age of four, she appeared in her first movie. Since 1981, Za ...

at the

Théâtre de l'Atelier The Théâtre de l'Atelier is a theatre at 1, place Charles Dullin in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The theatre opened on 23 November 1822 under the name Théâtre MontmartreEdward Foreman, ''Historical dictionary of French t ...

, in 2005 for

Ödön von Horváth Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901, Sušak, Rijeka, Austria-Hungary – 1 June 1938, Paris France) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the name of ''nom de guerre'' Ödön von Horváth. He was ...

's ''Le Jugement dernier'', and in 2006 for Shakespeare's '' Le Roi Lear'', directed by André Engel. He was nominated in 2007 for ''Blanc'' by Emmanuelle Marie, staged again by Breitman.

Filmography

Selected theatre productions

* 1967: ''Les Soldats'' by

Jakob Lenz Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (23 January 1751, or 12 January in the Julian calendar – 4 June 1792, or 24 May in the Julian calendar) was a Baltic German writer of the ''Sturm und Drang'' movement. Life Lenz was born in Sesswegen (Cesvaine), ...

, staged by Patrice Chéreau * 1973: ''

La Dispute :''This is for the Marivaux play, for the band, see La Dispute (band).'' ''La Dispute'' is a prose comedy written by Pierre de Marivaux, shown for the first time on 19 October 1744 by the Théâtre-Italien in the Hôtel de Bourgogne. The story i ...

'' by Marivaux, staged by Chéreau * 1979: ''

No Man's Land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

'' by Harold Pinter, staged by

at the

Théâtre national populaire The Théâtre national populaire (French for ''People's National Theater'') is a theatre now at Villeurbanne, France. It was founded in 1920 by Firmin Gémier in Paris. Today, the TNP has a company of ten resident actors and the building is cur ...

at Villeurbanne (French premiere) * 1986: ', written and staged by * 1998: ** ' de

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and follow ...

, staged by at the

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...

. ** ', staged by

Benno Besson Benno Besson (born René-Benjamin Besson; 4 November 1922 in Yverdon-les-Bains – 16 February 2006 in Berlin, Germany) was a Swiss actor and director. He had great success as director at Volksbühne Berlin, Deutsches Theater and Berliner Ense ...

* 2001: '' Le cercle de craie caucasien'' by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

, staged by Besson * 2002: ''Jeux de scène'' by , staged by

Marcel Bluwal Marcel Bluwal (25 May 1925 – 23 October 2021) was a French film director and screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing ...

at the

Théâtre de l'Œuvre The Théâtre de l'Œuvre is a Paris theatre on the Right Bank, located at 3, Cité Monthiers, entrance 55, rue de Clichy, in the 9° arrondissement. It is commonly conflated and confused with the late-nineteenth-century theater company named Th� ...

(Premiere) * 2004: ' by

Roland Topor Roland Topor (7 January 1938 – 16 April 1997) was a French illustrator, cartoonist, comics artist, painter, novelist, playwright, film and TV writer, filmmaker and actor, who was known for the surreal nature of his work. He was of Polish-Jewis ...

, staged by

at the

* 2005: '' Célébration'' by Pinter, staged by Planchon at the

Théâtre du Rond-Point The Théâtre du Rond-Point is a theatre in Paris, located at 2bis avenue Franklin-D.-Roosevelt, 8th arrondissement. History The theatre began with an 1838 project of architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff for a rotunda in the Champs Elysees. Inau ...

* 2006: '' Le Roi Lear'' by Shakespeare, staged by Engel * 2009: '' Minetti'' ( de) de

Thomas Bernhard Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard (; 9 February 1931 – 12 February 1989) was an Austrian novelist, playwright and poet who explored death, social injustice, and human misery in controversial literature that was deeply pessimistic about modern civilizati ...

, staged by Engel at the * 2010: '' La Tragédie du roi Richard II'' by Shakespeare, staged by at the

Festival d'Avignon The ''Festival d'Avignon'', or Avignon Festival, is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vila ...

Selected film productions

* 1973: ''L'École des femmes'', telefilm by

Raymond Rouleau Raymond Rouleau (4 June 1904 – 11 December 1981) was a Belgian actor and film director. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1928 and 1979. He also directed 22 films between 1932 and 1981. Rouleau studied at the Royal Conservatory of B ...

* 1975: ''

Lily aime-moi ''Lily, aime-moi'' is a 1975 French comedy film directed by Maurice Dugowson. It was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Jean-Michel Folon - François * Patrick Dewaere - Gaston, dit Johnny Cash * Rufus (actor), Ruf ...

'' by

Maurice Dugowson Maurice Dugowson (23 September 1938 – 11 November 1999) was a French film director and screenwriter. His 1975 film ''Lily, aime-moi'' was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. The following year, his film '' F comme ...

* 1976: ** '' F... comme Fairbanks'' by Dugowson ** ' by Jean-François Adam * 1985: '' by * 1986: ** ' by

Michel Deville Michel Deville (born 13 April 1931) is a French film director and screenwriter. Deville started his filmmaking career in the late 1950s, paralleling the emergence of the French New Wave directors. He never achieved the level of critical and in ...

** '' Le Passage'' ( fr) by * 1987: ' by Vergez * 1989: ''La Folle Journée ou Le Mariage de Figaro'' de

Roger Coggio Roger Coggio (11 March 1934 – 22 October 2001) was a French actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 40 films between 1954 and 1998. He was married to actress Pascale Audret. He died of cancer. Selected filmography * '' Be ...

* 1997: ' by Deville * 1999: '' La Maladie de Sachs'' ( fr) by Deville

References

External links

André Diot
''Les Archives du Spectacle'' *
Film News / Patrice Chéreau, World Renowned French Director, Dies in Paris
''The Journalist'' 8 October 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Diot, Andre Lighting designers French cinematographers 1935 births Living people