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With her iconic arias and their extremely high tessitura, her often remarkable costumes, and her very brief but intense on-stage appearances, the Queen of the Night is one of the most demanding and exhilarating roles in the soprano repertoire. In this video produced by our partner France Musique, Sabine Devieilhe reveals the secrets and challenges of performing this emblematic character from The Magic Flute, which she has done many times to great acclaim. Don’t miss the opportunity to see her again in the new production of The Magic Flute, from 2 to 21 July at the Théâtre de l’Archevêché.

For its 28th edition, the Académie has selected 13 artists for the 2026 Voice Residency — ten singers, three pianists/vocal coaches, and one conductor — for this programme focused on improvement and openness.

Sonya Yoncheva will appear in concert this summer at the Festival, alongside Leonardo García-Alarcón and musicians of Cappella Mediterranea. To tide you over until then, listen to Les Grands Entretiens on France Musique, a series hosted by Stéphane Grant which explores the inspirations and career of this Bulgarian soprano, one of the world’s greatest opera stars.

This summer, the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence presents one of Richard Strauss’ most ambitious operas: Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman Without a Shadow) premiered in 1919. After Salome staged by Andrea Breth in 2022, and Elektra, in Patrice Chéreau’s production in 2013, the 2026 production of Die Frau ohne Schatten promises to be a major event: the young Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä will be making his debut in the orchestra pit with the Orchestre de Paris accompanied by an outstanding cast of singers to take on this demanding score: Nina Stemme, Tamara Wilson and Michael Spyres among them; with Barrie Kosky staging the production, bringing to the opera stage a profoundly humanistic vision of this masterpiece, often regarded as Strauss’ last Romantic opera. From the emergence of Strauss’ neo-classical works in the Festival’s programming in the 1960s to the presentation of his most modern operas since the 2010s, the Festival has maintained a long-standing relationship with the work of Richard Strauss, reaffirming its vocation to bring the most ambitious scores of the operatic repertoire to the theatre.

The 9th edition of Open Day in the set-construction and costume-making workshops took place on 3 March. The event included 440 participants accompanied by the Festival cultural outreach programme, Passerelles. For many, it was an opportunity to discover the world of opera, as well as the wide range of professions and expertise represented at the Festival.

Go behind the scenes of the Festival d’Aix; and discover how our teams are re-thinking the structures of sets in order to reduce the environmental impact of productions. Since the end of 2022, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence has been working with the Opéra national de Paris, La Monnaie in Brussels, the Opéra national de Lyon, and the Théâtre du Châtelet, as part of the Collectif 17h25. Together, these institutions are developing standardised stage structures designed to be reused from one production to another: this innovation aims to reduce resource consumption, lower the weight involved in transport and storage, and decrease the environmental footprint of stage design. On 5 March at the Opéra Bastille, this technical development was presented to more than 250 professionals from the performing arts sector. The programme included an introduction to the project’s guiding principles, feedback from early experiences, demonstrations of how the modules are assembled, workshops exploring design and scenographic challenges, and discussions on building a community of users. Realisation — Fikus Prod © Communication and marketing department – Festival d’Aix-en-Provence

The renowned baritenor Michael Spyres captivates audiences with his voice, capable of producing remarkable bass notes for a tenor and reaching the high register of a baritone. On our media partner France Musique, he reflects on his personal and artistic journey in the series Les Grands Entretiens (“Great Interviews”), hosted by Judith Chaine — a programme we invite you to discover.

Created in 2021 at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence continues to shine internationally and is about to enter the repertoire of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, Innocence earned Kaija Saariaho the Victoires de la Musique Classique “Composer of the Year” award in 2022. In 2025, the Festival received the Birgit Nilsson Prize for its artistic achievements, with special recognition for the world premiere of this opera. Part of the Festival’s technical team is currently on site for the installation of the sets. Discover behind-the-scenes photos of this new New York chapter in the opera’s journey, before it is presented on the legendary stage of the Met from 6 to 29 April 2026.