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Head over to #THEDIGITALSTAGE of the Festival d’Aix to see all the content already online or soon to be made available, included recorded broadcast of Charpentier’s Louise, panel discussions with artists, podcasts of opera ‘preludes’, interviews with creators and performers, and much more. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the Festival d'Aix from the comfort of your living room or to revisit the highlights of this edition.

In 2025, ARTE, media partner of the Festival, will be broadcasting Louise by Charpentier. Saturday 12 July at 10:45 pm, tune in to ARTE and ARTE.TV.

From 12 to 23 July, France Musique, media partner of the Festival, will once again set up its microphones in Aix-en-Provence. Morning interviews and lyrical evenings are on the programme for this special week broadcast live from the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.

To honour the memory of Pierre Audi, inspired artist and visionary leader — whose legacy has left an indelible mark on the future of the Festival and, more broadly, on the world of opera and artistic creation — we invite you to join us on Sunday 6 July from 11am to 12:30pm, at the Grand Théâtre de Provence.

While outside, the scorching heat makes the city’s air quiver, the cool and welcoming penumbra of the Grand Théâtre de Provence causes eyes to blink upon entering the elegant amphitheatre. The stage and the auditorium produce the gentle buzz of a working beehive, each group attending to a specific task in preparation for the upcoming performances of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Sir Simon Rattle, the production’s music director, is speaking in the orchestra pit with his assistant Luca Guglielmi. At the same time, the videographer adjusts the projection to fit the contours of the set, while the sound designer tests the sound effects placed at key moments in the drama, to underline the intention behind the staging. The stage director, Robert Icke, is not yet present; he is rehearsing in the studio with Madison Nonoa and Paweł Horodyski, who play Zerlina and Masetto respectively. Robert Icke bases his stage direction on creative processes drawn from theatre rather than from the operatic world: the sessions on stage or in the studio aim, through dialogue with the singers, to understand their characters and define stage movement in harmony with their psychology, through gestures, movement, and the story the director wants to tell. [...]

Although the four initial performances are nearly sold out, there’s good news for those of you who were afraid of missing out: due to overwhelming demand, and an additional performance has been scheduled for 10 July at 3 PM. Spread the word, and book now!

Saturday, 7 June 2025 – Summer has barely begun, and already the first stage rehearsal of Louise is underway. Throughout the month of June, the courtyard of the Archevêché will become the setting for the love affairs of La Calisto and of Louise. Throughout the day, the technical team has been at work installing the set for the new production of Gustave Charpentier’s opera Louise, as conceived by Christof Loy. In this mysterious waiting room, the young seamstress sees her hopes and anxieties, her desires and nightmares file past her. The sound of drills and the echo of voices signal that stage managers, carpenters, and set designers are still putting the final touches to the scenery. [...]

5 June 2025. The beginning of June marks the annual reopening of the Théâtre de l’Archevêché and the uncovering of its tiered seating to welcome festivalgoers in less than a month. This year, La Calisto, an opera by Francesco Cavalli, opens the season and inaugurates this stage. After a week of musical rehearsals in Paris and ten days of staging rehearsals in Venelles — home to the Festival’s set-construction and costume-design workshops — the artists and creative teams are now taking possession of the venue. 6:30 PM – The early evening light bathes the stage of this courtyard theatre in splendour. As the continuo musicians of the Ensemble Correspondances — who will soon be joined by the rest of the orchestra — take their places in the pit, a joyful buzz fills the air. With the first notes of the harpsichord, harp, lute and positive organ, the central platform of the set slowly rotates: the wood-panelled semi-rotunda of an eighteenth-century sitting room gives way to a smaller drawing room made up of armchairs and a sofa. A chandelier descends from the ceiling into what is now a hollowed-out space; a door at the rear of the set opens to admit a flurry of footmen — still in trainers — and singers wearing morning coats over their shorts. [...]

The Collectif 17h25 is made up of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Paris Opera, the Opéra de Lyon and the Théâtre de La Monnaie. It leads research and development work devoted to ecological transition in the design of sets and structures for cultural organisations.

This summer, for the very first time, the music of Francesco Cavalli will resound in the courtyard of the Théâtre de l’Archevêché during eight performances. Here are five good reasons to book a ticket for this July.

We are very touched as we announce that the 2025 Birgit Nilsson Prize has been awarded to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, making it the first cultural institution ever to receive this distinction.

Following Pierre Audi’s unexpected death, the French State, the City of Aix-en-Provence, the Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence, the Department of Bouches-du-Rhône and the Sud PACA Region, in agreement with Festival President Paul Hermelin, have re-affirmed their confidence in the Festival and appointed Bernard Foccroulle, who directed the Festival from 2007 to 2018, as advisor for the 2025 edition. He will support the Festival’s teams on artistic and managerial matters.