MIDIS DU FESTIVAL: PANEL DISCUSSIONS WITH ARTISTS OF THE 2022 FESTIVAL

The Midis du Festival (“Middays at the Festival”) — a series of six panel discussions — will begin on 4 July at noon. The first event will take place in the amphitheatre of the Hôtel Maynier d’Oppède, while the subsequent talks, from 7 to 12 July, will be held in the shaded courtyard of the Collège Sainte-Catherine. These events, which will include both artists from the 2022 programme and external guests, will be recorded and made available as podcasts on #THEDIGITALSTAGE.

Monday, 4 July 2022 (Amphitheatre of the Hôtel Maynier d’Oppède) — Trial and Rebirth?
While Europe and the international community experience major upheaval, opera and theatre continue to reflect the fundamental questions that affect today’s society. Rebuilding from ruins, taking care of our departed, and imagining ourselves in a possible utopia are among the issues of our time, which Resurrection, Moses and Pharaoh and Il Viaggio, Dante address in particular. Can the genre be a driving force for a new world order, and embody hope for the future? Can it help us to emerge from this world, to be reborn, and make for a better life together?
With the participation of: Pierre Audi (general director of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence), Claus Guth (stage director of Il Viaggio, Dante), Michele Mariotti (conductor of Moses and Pharaoh) and Piersandra Di Matteo (dramaturge of Resurrection)
In English
Moderator: Raphaëlle Blin

Thursday, 7 July 2022 (Collège Sainte-Catherine) — Opera and the World’s Disorders
In many operas, humankind must confront the forces of nature and the anger of gods who may be either unjust or more benevolent. These confrontations may not be simply of a natural order: they can be social and/or political as well. At the heart of the Festival’s productions this summer is the relationship a people build with their governing elite — or with a guide, if they place their faith in a single man. These operas not only describe humanity’s connection with the world, but also criticise it and imagine ways it could be reformed.
With the participation of: Satoshi Miyagi (director of Idomeneo), Fleur Barron (artist playing the roles of Octavia and Virtù in L’incoronazione di Poppea) and Isabelle Moindrot (professor in theatre studies and director of the Opera and Climate Change project at the Institut Universitaire de France)
In French
Moderator: François Delécluse

Friday, 8 July 2022 (Collège Sainte-Catherine) — A Universal Journey: Dante at the Opera
Creating an opera around Dante means tackling a work of global magnitude. The Divine Comedy was deeply rooted in the issues of its own era, but it is also highly relevant for the world today. In their reading of this great classic, this artistic team invites us on a journey from heartbreak and grief to solace and eventual ecstasy. However, it is also a journey through the poet’s language. How do you approach the specific rhythm of Dante’s use of words, and how can you experience it in opera? Pascal Dusapin takes up this dramatic and musical challenge.
With the participation of: Pascal Dusapin (composer of Il Viaggio, Dante), Christel Loetzsch (artist who plays the role of Giovane Dante in Il Viaggio, Dante) and Frédéric Boyer (librettist of Il Viaggio, Dante)
In French
Moderator: Timothée Picard

Saturday, 9 July 2022 (Collège Sainte-Catherine) — Women in Opera: New Stories, New Roles
How well are women represented in opera today? In addition to contemporary re-readings of the classic repertoire and the creation of new characters, we must also highlight the achievements of forgotten women. Given recent social change, how can the world of music rethink its relationship with women? From operatic roles to women opera-makers, and from artists’ imaginations to the completed work, these issues touch every facet of the production process.
With the participation of: Kanako Abe (conductor of Woman at Point Zero), Antonio Cuenca Ruiz (dramaturge of L’incoronazione di Poppea), Golda Schultz (soprano in Resurrection and a Festival recitalist) and Stéphanie Deporcq (in charge of Non-Profit Social Responsibility at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence)
In French and English
Moderator: Timothée Picard

Monday, 11 July 2022 (Collège Sainte-Catherine) — Collective Creation: Sharing Opera
While recent social issues are helping to shape new models based on equality and sustainability, opera can reflect these diverse social commitments. How can we deconstruct the structures of pre-existing power in the world of opera and musical creation, in order to imagine new perspectives? Creating different stories, privileging cross-disciplinary dialogue, and thinking of relationships in terms of their horizontality are just some of the paths to be explored in order to experience the world and navigate its challenges.
With the participation of: Laila Soliman (stage director of Woman at Point Zero), Fabrizio Cassol (artistic director of the Medinea session and the MYO), Katie Mitchell (stage director, and programme leader of the Young Women Opera Makers workshops of the Académie du Festival d’Aix) and Zack Winokur (artistic director of Harawi, and co-founder of the American Modern Opera Company)
In English
Moderator: Raphaëlle Blin

Tuesday, 12 July 2022 (Collège Sainte-Catherine) — Symphony Orchestras: Their Issues and Challenges
From Mozart and Mahler to Strauss, Stravinsky and Messiaen, symphony orchestras have grown to monumental proportions and represent a true challenge for musicians. Conductors have embraced this fact by taking the sonorous mass and its multitude of textures and sculpting them. In opera, the size of an orchestra poses a special challenge for vocal performances as well. Moreover, orchestras serve as a learning ground for young musicians: performing in such a context means examining your individual relationship with the creation of a collective sound.
With the participation of: Ingo Metzmacher (conductor of Salome), Ginette Decuyper (violinist with the LSO, and mentor of the MYO), Duncan Ward (musical director of the MYO) and Raphaël Pichon (musical director of Idomeneo)
In English and French
Moderator: François Delécluse