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DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE by Mozart, new production of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence Conductor: Leonardo García-Alarcón — Stage direction and video: Clément Cogitore Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2026 © Jean-Louis Fernandez

Relive the 2026 edition of Aix en Juin – the prelude to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence – in pictures. For over two weeks, the entirely free events for audiences of all ages transformed the city of Aix-en-Provence and its surrounding area into a vast space of performances and panel discussions. Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2026 © Vincent Beaume / © Christophe Raynaud de Lage

No need to wait until the Festival begins: #THEDIGITALSTAGE can already enrich and extend your experience of the 2026 programme. Tune in to our “Prelude” podcasts to discover this season’s five opera productions, and delve deeper with “The Artists Talk About the Festival” series. And as of 9 and 11 July, filmed recordings of The Woman without a Shadow and The Magic Flute, respectively, will be available to watch online. Throughout the Festival, the platform will also offer audio and video recordings of the Midis du Festival – conversations and panel discussions with artists from this edition and numerous other guests.

18 June 2026, 9:30pm — Théâtre de l’Archevêché — Festival d’Aix-en-Provence It would be an understatement to say that, on this mid-June evening, an atmosphere of good humour hangs over the Théâtre de l'Archevêché. One could almost imagine an exuberant school class, brimming with energy and just a little overexcited, were it not for the fact that all the artists gathered for this piano stage rehearsal are consummate professionals who, the very moment the conductor announces the start of the rehearsal, regain complete calm and absolute concentration. Pygmalion, the ensemble founded twenty years ago by Raphaël Pichon, has taken up residence at the theatre to revive Requiem, created with Romeo Castellucci at the Festival in 2019. More than a production, Requiem has become a long-term artistic adventure, bringing together a close-knit team of performers who have presented it all over the globe. These artists are clearly delighted to come together for a project that has become iconic and that, in 2026, will return to the place where it first began: the courtyard of the Théâtre de l'Archevêché in Aix-en-Provence. [...]

From 29 June to 29 August, France Musique, a media partner of the Festival, will be touring throughout France to share highlights of the summer season with its listeners. France Musique will stop in Aix-en-Provence from 10 to 13 July (Place du Théâtre de l’Archevêché and Place de l’Université). In addition, recorded and live broadcasts of operas will bring you the 2026 edition of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence on France Musique, on francemusique.fr, and via the Radio France app.

This summer, ARTE, a media partner of the Festival, will be broadcasting two operas from the 2026 programme. Tune in to ARTE and ARTE.TV to watch — or rewatch — Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) and Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman Without a Shadow).

Through these pictures, relive the concert of Algerian jazz performed by TinniT at the Pavillon Noir, and the first concert by the vocalists of the Académie’s Voice Residency, singing great opera arias. Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2026 © Vincent Beaume

Enjoy these photo highlights of last week’s events: the series of Voix de Silvacane concerts under the vaults of the Cistercian abbey in La Roque-d’Anthéron, and the premiere of Orfeo vacilla, a modern and moving circus-inspired variation on Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice at the Centre International des Arts en Mouvement. Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2026 © Vincent Beaume / © Christophe Reynaud de Lage

Only his hands can be seen above the orchestra pit: despite his imposing stature, the conductor Klaus Mäkelä is almost invisible to those seated in the auditorium of the Grand Théâtre de Provence, which has been plunged into darkness for several minutes in anticipation of the start of the rehearsal. With a decisive gesture, the passionate Finn launches the opening chord of Strauss’ The Woman without a Shadow. At the piano, Rupert Dussmann then lets rip with the triple opening motif like a thunderclap, sombre and mysterious. But almost immediately, stage director Barrie Kosky, positioned with his entire team in the centre of the auditorium, calls out to Klaus Mäkelä with a touch of humour: the conductor had not waited for the director’s cue, which was intended to allow for a longer, more intense silence before the music began. Klaus Mäkelä’s hands make a brief apologetic gesture, prompting a few laughs, before Barrie Kosky continues speaking. “Applause, applause, applause… silence!” He is envisaging the applause that will greet the beginning of the performances before gradually fading away. A striking silence then ensues, which the opening notes forcefully slice through. With a stage director so thoroughly attuned to the subtleties of opera, the silences form part of the rehearsal process. [...]

The heatwave has begun to take hold, and yet activity at Le Théâtre du Jeu de Paume is in full swing, with just three weeks to go before the first performance of Accabadora, the new opera composed by Francesco Filidei. Tucked away amongst the narrow streets of Aix-en-Provence’s historic centre, this intimate eighteenth-century theatre feels like a haven of coolness in the early afternoon. Having passed the stage door, we encounter a buzzing hive of activity, in stark contrast to the torpor of the surrounding streets.Every corner of the theatre is occupied. Upstairs, the singers are getting ready in their dressing rooms; costume assistants manoeuvre clothing racks through the corridors leading to the stage; and set designer Mariangela Mazzeo has taken over the public areas, spreading out one of the stage curtains there, a vast black fabric from which she is cutting strips to refine its pleating and texture. [...]

Discover the first photos of rehearsals for Accabadora. This world-premiere production by composer Francesco Filidei, which draws on the rich traditions of Sardinia, is staged by Valentina Carrasco and conducted by Lucie Leguay. Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2026 © Jean-Louis Fernandez

Slip behind the scenes via this photo report to discover rehearsals for the revival of Mozart’s Requiem, an iconic Festival production staged by Romeo Castellucci and conducted, once again this summer, by Raphaël Pichon. Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2026 © Jean-Louis Fernandez