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The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international
music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...
which takes place each summer in
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
, principally in July. Devoted mainly to
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumental music.


Establishment

The first festival took place in July 1948. It was founded by Countess Lily Pastré, who covered the entire costs in 1948.Le Salon de Lily, Hommage à la Comtesse Pastré, mécène
, Culture 13

, Culture 13
David Coquille
Lily Pastré, du vermouth pour un conte de fée
''La Marsellaise'', 7 April 2014
It was made up of three or four concerts in the cour de l'Archevêché, a concert in the Saint-Sauveur cathedral, and six further concerts and recitals in various locations throughout the town. An opera was added to these concerts,
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
's ''
Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, 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 ...
'', a work practically unknown by the French public at the time. However, it was not until 1949 that the festival became a success with its production of ''
Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...
''. From inception until 1974, the festival was directed by Gabriel Dussurget who devoted much attention to the artistic and detailed aspects of the productions, which in turn attracted much attention to the festival. In 1970,
Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...
premiered
Henri Dutilleux Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer of late 20th-century classical music. Among the leading French composers of his time, his work was rooted in the Impressionistic style of Debussy and R ...
's Tout un monde lointain..., now considered one of the most important additions to the cello repertoire of the 20th century, at the festival. Under the direction of Bernard Lefort from 1974 to 1982, the Festival became devoted to
bel canto , )—with several similar constructions (, , , pronounced in English as )—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing, and whose definitions have often been misunderstood. ''Bel canto'' was not only seen as a vocal technique ...
opera and, in general, a celebration of the voice. Performances of 19th century operas by Verdi and
Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...
were given by the reigning stars of bel canto such as
Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...
,
José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...
,
Marilyn Horne Marilyn Berneice Horne (born January 16, 1934) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages. She is a recipient ...
, and Katia Ricciarelli, and the Festival spread throughout the town. From 1982, a broadening of the repertoire to include baroque to modern operas ( Britten and
Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...
, in particular) characterized the era of director Louis Erlo, who gave preference to Mozart by staging new productions of his most famous works, but also the early operas written in the composer's youth. In 1998 Stéphane Lissner took over the festival, accomplishing a complete renovation of the Théâtre de l'Archevêché and thus making it the heart of the Festival. New operas were commissioned, for example the 2005 production of '' Julie'' by the Belgian composer Philippe Boesmans, based on
Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 play ...
's '' Miss Julie.'' In 2006, it featured concerts and operas as well as master classes. These included
Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
's ''
Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nib ...
'' conducted by Sir Simon Rattle with Sir
Willard White Sir Willard Wentworth White, Order of Merit (Jamaica), OM, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 10 October 1946) is a Jamaican-born British operatic bass baritone. Early life White was born into a Jamaican family in Kingston, Jamaica, Kingst ...
as
Wotan (''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 . The compos ...
; Mozart's ''
The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...
'', conducted by
Daniel Harding Daniel John Harding (born 31 August 1975) is a British conductor and airplane pilot. Biography Harding was born in Oxford. He studied trumpet at Chetham's School of Music and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra at age 13. At age 17, ...
;
Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...
's '' The Italian Girl in Algiers''; the
Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...
playing
Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
's 5th Symphony; and
Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...
, conducting and on the piano and works by
Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...
. From 2007 the festival was directed by Bernard Foccroulle, who commissioned, among others, George Benjamin's opera with Martin Crimp '' Written on Skin''. Foccroulle was replaced in 2018 by Pierre Audi. In 2019, the festival had a budget of around €22 million, of which €8 million subsidies and more than 60% self-financed by ticketing and sponsoring.


Performance spaces

Performances are given in a variety of locations, including: *the Théâtre de l'Archevêché, in the courtyard of the former archbishop's palace *the Grand Théâtre de Provence, opened in 2007 *the Jeu de Paumes, a restored 18th century theatre *the courtyard of the Hôtel Maynier d'Oppède *the Théâtre du Grand Saint-Jean, in the grounds of a chateau near Aix


See also

* List of opera festivals


References


External links


Festival d'Aix-en-Provence official website

Festival d'Aix-en-Provence at Google Cultural Institute
{{Authority control Opera festivals Classical music festivals in France Tourist attractions in Aix-en-Provence Music festivals established in 1948 Early music festivals 1948 establishments in France Aix-en-Provence