Latest news with #Aix-en-ProvenceFestival
New York Times
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Pierre Audi, Eminent Force in the Performing Arts, Dies at 67
Pierre Audi, the stage director and impresario whose transformation of a derelict London lecture hall into the cutting-edge Almeida Theater was the opening act in a long career as one of the world's most eminent performing arts leaders, died on Friday night in Beijing. He was 67. His death, while he was in China for meetings related to future productions, was announced on social media by Rachida Dati, the minister of culture in France, where Mr. Audi had been the director of the Aix-en-Provence Festival since 2018. Mr. Audi was in his early 20s when he founded the Almeida, which opened in 1980 and swiftly became a center of experimental theater and music. He spent 30 years as the leader of the Dutch National Opera, and for part of that time was also in charge of the Holland Festival. For the past decade, he had been the artistic director of the Park Avenue Armory in New York. All along, he continued working as a director at theaters around the world. Last year, when the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels cut ties with Romeo Castellucci halfway through his new production of Wagner's four-opera 'Ring,' the company turned to Mr. Audi as one of the few artists with the knowledge, experience and cool head to take over such an epic undertaking at short notice. 'He profoundly renewed the language of opera,' Ms. Dati wrote in her announcement, 'through his rigor, his freedom and his singular vision.' Pierre Raymond Audi was born on Nov. 9, 1957, in Beirut, Lebanon, to Andrée (Fattal) Audi and Raymond Audi. His father worked for the family bank, which was founded in the mid-19th century. Mr. Audi was raised in Paris and in Beirut, where he started a cinema club at school and invited directors like Pier Paolo Pasolini and Jacques Tati to speak. In a 2016 interview with The New York Times, he spoke about the formative influence of Middle Eastern storytelling traditions on his work. 'Coming from the place I come from, a story is the start of everything,' he said. 'Through 20th-century music, I discovered the chaos, which is the other side. I think my life is about working a path through those contradictions.' He was educated at the University of Oxford, where he directed a production of Shakespeare's 'Timon of Athens' in 1977. A few years before, Mr. Audi had led a group that purchased an early-19th-century building in the Islington neighborhood of London that, over its varied history, had housed a display of Egyptian mummies and served as a music hall, a Salvation Army facility and a factory that made carnival novelties. By the time Mr. Audi discovered it, it had fallen into disrepair. But he saw its potential as a performance venue, and he led a fund-raising effort to renovate it and reopen it as a theater with a few hundred seats. (He would later link his interest in repurposing unusual structures to growing up in Lebanon, a country that lacked theaters.) Through the 1980s, the Almeida developed a hip reputation, with homegrown and touring productions that offered early boosts to the careers of now-prominent artists like Robert Wilson, Robert Lepage, Phelim McDermott, Deborah Warner and Simon McBurney. The Almeida International Festival of Contemporary Music became renowned as a presenter of new and commissioned operas. During his tenure at the Dutch National Opera, beginning in 1988, the house also became a hotbed of commissions and progressive stagings, including collaborations with visual artists like Anish Kapoor and Georg Baselitz. There, Mr. Audi directed the Netherlands' first full production of the 'Ring' and a cycle of Monteverdi's operas. 'The thing about Pierre was, it wasn't going to be traditional, old-fashioned opera,' said the opera administrator Matthew Epstein, who advised Mr. Audi during that early period. 'It was the expanding of the repertoire both backward — toward Handel and Monteverdi, which he directed and became famous for — and forward, toward so much contemporary opera.' Mr. Audi is survived by his wife, the artist Marieke Peeters; his children, Alexander and Sophia; his brother, Paul Audi; and his sister, Sherine Audi. In Aix-en-Provence, Mr. Audi was able to present just one season before the pandemic hit. In 2020, when the festival's performances were canceled, he managed to hold rehearsals for 'Innocence,' a new work by Kaija Saariaho, with just a piano. And he was able to shift the premiere seamlessly to 2021. His true gift was as a presenter, guiding works to the stage like 'Innocence,' widely acclaimed as one of the finest operas of the 21st century. Mr. Audi's own stagings tended to look timeless and stylized. They could feel a tad bland, but they also had an appealing modesty, showcasing the music and performers while his own work receded into the background. When he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2010, with Verdi's 'Attila,' a collaboration with the fashion designer Miuccia Prada and the architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times that the production was 'not entirely successful, and sometimes weird' but was 'intriguing and full of resonant imagery.' Mr. Audi had a flair for the kind of event-driven presenting that reigns at festivals like Aix and raw spaces like the Armory, where he hosted longtime collaborators like William Kentridge and Peter Sellars; wrapped seating around the New York Philharmonic for a performance of Saariaho pieces; and brought spectacles like Claus Guth's 2023 staging of Schubert songs, which filled the Drill Hall with field-hospital beds. In 2019 in Amsterdam, he put on a three-day bonanza of chunks from Karlheinz Stockhausen's 29-hour, seven-opera cycle, 'Licht,' including Stockhausen's most notorious invention: a string quartet playing in helicopters. Last year, he brought to the Armory a smaller (and helicopter-free) selection, a surprisingly elegant, restrained show of lighting effects and immersive sound. In 2022, a half-century after he stumbled on the building that became the Almeida, Mr. Audi opened another new-old venue, for the Aix Festival: the Stadium de Vitrolles, a massive, graffiti-strewn black concrete box built in the 1990s that had been sitting abandoned on a Provençal hilltop for more than two decades. 'I saw the height of it,' he said, 'and I immediately looked at the real estate being very similar to the Armory.' Mr. Audi took a risk, planning the first production in the stadium without knowing whether its renovation would be ready in time, and without conducting an acoustic test in the space. But 'Resurrection,' Mr. Castellucci's staging of Mahler's Second Symphony as a 90-minute exhumation of a shallow mass grave, was both sober and thrilling, the kind of music theater you couldn't find anywhere else. Mr. Audi didn't rest on his laurels after that. As always, he tried something different. In 2023, he presented a trio of films accompanying Stravinsky's epochal early ballets, played live with orchestra. 'The important thing,' he said soon after 'Resurrection' opened, 'is not to imitate what we did this year.'
Campaign ME
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Campaign ME
The art of storytelling in festival marketing
Humans have always been storytellers. Whether through chats around a fire, paintings on a cave wall or contemporary social media, the instinct to share stories is ingrained in who we are. Storytelling is how we communicate and how we connect. And it's an integral part of marketing, especially for something as creative as a cultural festival. With the Abu Dhabi Festival, the story has been shaped and refined for over two decades. So, how do we continue to evolve, while honouring its core values and innovating for a new and changing audience? A strong story starts with a strong identity. Think of major festivals around the world: the Edinburgh Festival, celebrating creative freedom; The Salzburg Festival, one of the most prestigious and long-standing arts festivals in the world; The Aix-en-Provence Festival with its world-class opera productions and innovative stagings, the historic Venice Biennale, recognised as the Olympics of the art world. Each has an identity by which it's known – a cohesive, compelling narrative that defines it and differentiates it from its peers. The Abu Dhabi Festival identity is defined by connection which, to me, lies at the heart of storytelling. In the world of arts and music, where emotion runs deep, loyalty is built through genuine, two-way interaction. As marketing professionals, our role is to create a connection. We must ensure that festivals aren't seen as simply entertainment, but as experiences that resonate, that spark emotion and a sense of belonging. This means creating a level of accessibility to democratise the arts and meet people where they are. We must offer multiple entry points for discovery, learning and dialogue. This approach shifts the narrative from exclusivity to inclusivity, amplifying the message: everyone is welcome. Inclusivity and authenticity underscore our brand identity. We carefully navigate cultural authenticity with global appeal; respecting our cultural identity yet being entirely inclusive and welcoming. Our identity is tied to a larger narrative, one which aligns with the nation's cultural ambitions, and which contributes to the advancement of Abu Dhabi's vision to become a global force in culture and the arts. This broader context is just as important to the storytelling process of a festival as the event itself. For marketers in the arts and culture world, real magic lies in striking the balance, respecting legacy while speaking the language of now. It's about storytelling that stays true to our roots, yet feels fresh, relevant and alive in the formats today's audiences actually want to engage with. That's where digital steps in, not just as a tool, but as a gamechanger. It's helped us tune in to younger audiences, uncover new demographics, and most importantly, make sense of it all through data. We're no longer just counting attendance, we're measuring impact. With more than 50,000 attendees annually and a recent socio-economic impact study showing a contribution of AED 61.6 million to Abu Dhabi's economy as reported by 'Nielsen', the numbers speak for themselves. From tourism and ticketing to hospitality, retail and employment, the Festival is not just an experience, it's an economic driver with a cultural soul. But beyond the numbers, long-standing festivals like Abu Dhabi Festival thrive on something more profound: reputation, trust and influence built over time. In recent years, the Festival has marked some incredible cultural milestones: a landmark co-production with Opéra National de Paris—their first ever with an Arab organisation; the upcoming regional debut of a co-curated exhibition with the Seoul Museum of Art' right here in Abu Dhabi; and unforgettable performances by Emirati artists at global cultural icons like The Met, Kensington Palace, and Carnegie Hall. In 2024, that legacy was recognised when the Festival was named Best Classical Music Festival in the Middle East by the BBC. These successes aren't incidental. They're the outcome of long-term brand building and intentional, purpose-driven marketing. I'd say consistency is key, but it's often misunderstood. In a world that demands constant novelty and immediacy, consistency of actions can be mistaken for playing it safe. But in reality, it's what makes a brand recognisable, trusted and grounded. It gives us the foundation to evolve meaningfully. Consistency doesn't limit creativity, it anchors it. It's what lets us try new things, explore new audiences and stay fresh without ever losing sight of who we are. Take our current Festival's creative direction, for example, which is familiar in essence, yet refreshed through new elements and approaches that bring renewed vibrancy. We've embraced a 'moving spotlight' visual concept, using shadows and colour to shift focus across movements, artists and ideas in our assets. This dynamic design mirrors how today's audiences engage with culture: through curated, bite-sized experiences. It sparks discovery, holds attention and reflects the rhythm of storytelling, all while preserving the Festival's artistic depth. Festivals need to continuously innovate, provide transformative experiences, and update how we deliver messages to attract new audiences while staying true to their legacy and identity. It's a delicate dance of evolution and preservation, and it's what keeps a festival both culturally relevant and emotionally meaningful. For marketers navigating the festival space, the takeaway is this: It's not about doing more, it's about doing it meaningfully and giving back to the community. Make your festival accessible. Spread your content across time, space and formats. Meet your audiences where they are. Use your data to listen before you speak. Adopt technology to make room for creativity in your storytelling. And keep your finger on the pulse of the people you serve, because in arts and culture, connection is everything. By Jean-Pierre Rouphael, Head of Marketing and Business Development at ADMAF
Irish Times
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Fedora Prize 2025: Irish composer Michael Gallen wins €100,000 award for new opera
The Curing Line, by the Irish composer Michael Gallen , has won the €100,000 Fedora Prize, the world's largest award for new opera. The biannual prize, which was presented at Vienna State Opera on Saturday, was awarded by a jury that included the directors of the Paris Opera, Dutch National Opera, Danish National Theatre and Aix-en-Provence Festival. Fedora is a European circle of philanthropists who support opera and ballet. In presenting the award to Gallen, to the American choreographer Shawn Fitzgerald Ahern – who also directed the work with Gallen – and to the producer Maura O'Keeffe , the president of Fedora, Stéphane Argyropoulos, said that The Curing Line 'redefines the operatic genre by fusing tradition with multimedia innovation'. The opera, which draws on research into the Irish tradition of 'making cures', tells the story of a woman who loses the capacity to use her life-saving ancestral healing power. It asks whether, in regarding the human and the environment as separate, we are failing to acknowledge that fundamental parts of ourselves and our culture are becoming extinct. READ MORE The Swedish mezzo-soprano Birgitta Svendén, who chaired the jury, said, 'Here and now, the world is experiencing a turbulent and rather chaotic time. The theme for The Curing Line is more relevant than ever. What can we do as individuals, as communities, what can we learn from history and inherited traditions, how can we acknowledge the change we have to go through without losing hope for the future generations? 'The Curing Line will address many of the questions that we as human beings are faced with and do not have the answers for. This project is deeply immersive and multisensorial, which gives the possibility to expand the boundaries of opera. The narrative, the musical language and the staging will resonate to the audience of tomorrow.' Gallen, whose opera Elsewhere was nominated for the Fedora Prize in 2021, said at the ceremony that 'for our independent, artist-led work to be selected as the winner of the award gives us a huge rush of affirmation that will carry us forward not just with this project but with all of our future plans and ambitions'. [ Elsewhere review: Agitprop opera combines the serious and the comic Opens in new window ] Minister for Culture Patrick O'Donovan said, 'We are all very proud that Straymaker , a small company from the west of Ireland led by Michael Gallen, has been awarded this honour. I want to sincerely congratulate all involved.' The director of the Arts Council , Maureen Kennelly, also congratulated Gallen and his collaborators. 'In recent years we have been honoured to support his work in many ways, and we are delighted that this award will bring an even wider audience to his ground-breaking work. Opera in Ireland is going through a very exciting period as exemplified by Michael's visionary work.' Gallen, who was born in Monaghan and now lives in Co Mayo with his wife and son, wrote the libretto for The Curing Line, which is in Irish and English, with the poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin . The opera is produced by Straymaker in association with Kilkenny Arts Festival , the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris, Miroirs Étendus, Once Off Productions and Copenhagen Opera Festival. Its development has been supported by the Arts Council and Creative Monaghan, and the premiere is planned for Kilkenny Arts Festival in August 2026. Gallen's other recent commissions include new work for Radio France, the National Orchestra of Brittany, the Irish National Symphony Orchestra and Ulster Orchestra. A new album of his songs, Sudden Wells, is due for release in 2026.
