The Festival in a few words

Created in 1948, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence quickly emerged as one of the leading events of the opera season. It also proved to be a place for innovation and renewal, with the festival’s unique capacity to surprise the audience and introduce them to new horizons, forms and artists.

Dedicated to the creation of new opera productions and the organization of high-quality concerts, the Festival enjoys great renown, permitting it to join forces with stage directors at the height of their art, visionary orchestras and conductors, first-class casts, and the greatest contemporary composers around. Thanks to its reputation, it engages in coproductions with the finest opera houses in the world, which continue to welcome the Festival’s productions throughout the seasons.

The international Festival in July is preceded by Aix en Juin, a prelude that caters to local audiences and is entirely free, thereby reinforcing bonds in the region, another of the Festival d’Aix’s important roles.
In addition, the Festival is also known for its dynamic Académie, renowned the world over; its vibrant Mediterranean projects, which it supports through the Medinea network and the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra; and the powerful awareness-raising initiatives and creative projects of Passerelles, an educational and socio-artistic programme that welcomes over 500 participants every year.

Since 2010, the Festival has also made sustainable development a top priority, in order to reduce its impact on the environment; and since 2014, it has been especially focused on the eco-design of sets, an area in which it has been a pioneer. It has since been joined in this effort by many cultural institutions in the region, throughout the country, and around the globe.
In June 2020, the Festival incorporates into its statutes the Non-Profit Social Responsibility making the fight against discrimination, defence of diversity and environment an integral part of its mission.