Festival D'Aix-en-Provence Announces 2018 Season

The 70th anniversary season of the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence will present an incomparable collection of artists from around the globe in six major opera productions; recitals, chamber music and orchestral concerts from July 4 through 24; plus multiple events from the Académie du Festival d'Aix in June and July. This double anniversary season - the Festival's 70th and the Academy's 20th - also celebrates the conclusion of Bernard Foccroulle's eleven-year tenure as general manager of the Festival. His legacy will be on display in the 2018 season with commissions, new productions, major participatory events, and significantly broader outreach to Arab and local audiences. Foccroulle will be succeeded by Park Avenue Armory artistic director and Dutch National Opera director Pierre Audi in September 2018.

Two 2018 world premieres will present new wave Czech composer Ond?ej Adámek's unique a capella opera Seven Stones, the composer's first opera and a Festival commission; and the participatory opera Orfeo & Majnun, which combines an urban parade with an outdoor opera, by Moneim Adwan, Howard Moody, and Dick van der Harst. This extraordinary production -presented free of charge - is sung in English, French, and Arabic by four young soloists with an orchestral and choral ensemble of 150 amateurs, performed outdoors on the Cours Mirabeau boulevard. The work will be preceded by a city-wide parade (a newly co-commissioned Festival production) featuring fantastical creatures and performances created by non-professional artists during the year and presented along the parade route throughout the day.

New productions this year are Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, directed by the British Festival favorite Katie Mitchell with Dutch National Opera chief conductor Marc Albrecht leading the Orchestre de Paris; Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel, directed by Polish National Opera artistic director Mariusz Treli?ski with Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra music director Kazushi Ono conducting the Orchestra de Paris; and Purcell's Baroque tour de force Dido and Æneas,conducted by Václav Luks with the Ensemble Pygmalion Chorus and Orchestra and directed by Vincent Huguet. Another highlight is the revival of director Simon McBurney's celebrated staging of Mozart's The Magic Flute, which played to sold-out houses at Festival 2014. The opera will be conducted by Raphaël Pichon with his Ensemble and Choir Pygmalion.

Also in the spotlight this season, The Académie du Festival d'Aix commemorates its 20thanniversary from June 13 - July 18. An extension of the Festival, the Academy serves as a center for training, teaching and professional experience. The Académie's 20th anniversary celebration schedule includes residencies on Mozart and the Art of the Recital; performances by such former Académie artists as Sabine Devieilhe, Stéphane Degout, and Tabea Zimmermann; workshops on Opera in Creation, and sessions for symphonic musicians and intercultural creation.

The founding of the Opera in Creation workshop (2007) and the arrival of the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra (2010) has transformed the Académie into a nexus of innovative training for a global collection of young artists. And the addition of the enoa and Medinea networks - to enable emerging European and Mediterranean artists to develop their careers - has further elevated the Académie to its current distinguished position on today's international scene.

"I am so very proud of the Festival's 70th anniversary," said General Manager Bernard Fouccroulle. "It is both thrilling and gratifying that the coming season realizes so many elements of my vision for its evolution. The re-imagining of operatic classics through such innovative collaborators as director Katie Mitchell, whose Ariadne auf Naxos is her fourth production at the Festival; the creation of new contemporary opera embodied by Ond?ej Adámek's Seven Stones;and the interactive world premiere of Orfeo & Majnun, emphasizing our efforts to engage new audiences through expanded outreach to local, Mediterranean, and Arab communities. Together, all of these components are truly a reason to celebrate. As I look forward to broadening my horizons in the future, the Festival will always be close to my heart. I am absolutely confident in its continued growth under the demonstrated leadership of Pierre Audi."

Festival d'Aix-en-Provence has become a leader in the world of opera since it was founded in 1948. Its broad range of events are presented in and around the charming Provençal city of Aix on stages that range from extraordinary historic venues to a 21st-century state-of-the-art music auditorium and an open-air theater.

OPERA

Richard Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos (New Festival Production) July 4 - 16

Strauss' one act version of Ariadne auf Naxos with librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal combines the world of opera with the characters of commedia dell'arte. The plot tells of a young composer, charged by a rich patron to deliver a private performance of his operatic tragedy, Ariadne. Just before the curtain rises, he discovers that not only will he be sharing the limelight with a troupe of Italian actors hired to perform the play The Unfaithful Zerbinetta, but that the two productions will be presented simultaneously. Onstage, the lamento of Princess Ariadne, awaiting death after her abandonment by Theseus, is entwined with the flippant comedy of Zerbinetta, her suitors, and the god Bacchus.

Featured roles include sopranos Lise Davidsen (Norway) as Ariadne and Sabine Devieilhe(France) as Zerbinetta, both former artists of Académie du Festival d'Aix; and American tenorEric Cutler as Bacchus.

This new Festival production of Ariadne auf Naxos features the return of British director Katie Mitchell; Marc Albrecht, chief conductor of the Dutch National Opera, will lead the Orchestre de Paris. A co-production of Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Les théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, the work will have six performances at Théâtre de l'Archevêché.

Sergei Prokofiev: The Fiery Angel (New Festival Production) July 5 - 15

Written by Prokofiev between 1919 and 1928 as a five-act opera, The Fiery Angel is adapted from a violent novel by Russian poet Brioussov. In the streets of 16th century Cologna, disturbing stories are circulating about the beautiful Renata. She has been abandoned by Count Heinrich, a man she believed was the reincarnation of the angel Madiel who visited her as a child. Subject to hallucinations and delirium, is Renata possessed or a tormented saint? To find Madiel's heavenly love in Heinrich's arms, she drags the knight Ruprecht into her obsessive quest.

Lithuanian soprano Ausrine Stundyte will sing the role of the tormented Renata; American baritone Scott Hendricks sings the knight Ruprecht.

Polish National Opera artistic director Mariusz Treli?ski makes his Festival debut as director ofThe Fiery Angel. Kazushi Ono - music director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and Barcelona Symphony Orchestra - conducts the Orchestre de Paris and the Polish National Opera Chorus. Co-produced by Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and the Teatr Wielki-Polish National Opera, the opera will have four performances at the Grand Théâtre de Provence.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute (Revival) July 6 - 24

Following his wildly acclaimed production of last season's The Rakes Progress, Simon McBurney - award-winning writer, founder, and artistic director of England's Complicité - returns to the Festival with the revival of his spectacular staging of The Magic Flute, which ran to rave reviews at Festival 2014. Known for his uniquely theatrical productions, McBurney's highly original work The Encounter had an extended run on Broadway in 2016.

Mozart's last opera, The Magic Flute was conducted by the composer at its Viennese premiere approximately three months before his death. The work is actually a singspiel - an opera in which spoken dialogue replaces recitatives. It is also one of Mozart's most unusual works, combining different styles and full of Freemasonry references that examine man's search for enlightenment. The plot follows Prince Tamino, his magic flute, and the bird-catcher Papageno, his companion on a whimsical adventure full of magical creatures and unexpected challenges to rescue Princess Pamino from the realm of the sorcerer Sarastro.

The vocal roster includes Russian bass/baritone Dimitry Ivashchenko as Sarastro; tenorStanislas de Barbeyrac, who recreates his highly praised 2014 Festival performance of Tamino; and Metropolitan Opera coloratura soprano Kathryn Lewek as Queen of the Night; with Norwegian soprano Mari Eriksmoen as Pamina and Dutch baritone Thomas Oliemans as Papageno, both former Académie artists.

French conductor and counter-tenor Raphaël Pichon will lead the Ensemble Pygmalion Chorus and Orchestra, which he founded in 2005. A co-production of Dutch National Opera and English National Opera, the work will have eight performances at the Grand Théâtre de Provence.

Henry Purcell: Dido and Æneas (New Festival Production) July 7 - 23

The Baroque masterpiece Dido and Æneas is a five-act opera and prologue composed in 1689, inspired by an episode of Virgil's Æneid. Exiled from Tyre, Queen Dido is the founder of the city of Carthage on the northern shore of Africa. Rescued from the fall of Troy, Prince Æneas has been ordered by the gods to go to Italy and establish the foundations of Rome. These two fall for each other when they meet, but their union is doomed to fail. Torn between duty and love and manipulated by spiteful spirits, the only choice is to accept their destiny. Æneas continues his journey, leaving Dido to her fatal end.

The opera features the rising young South African soprano Kelebogile Pearl Besong as Dido and baritone Tobias Greenhalgh, first place winner of the 2016 Riccardo Zandonai Competition, as Æneas.

The presentation of Dido and Æneas, directed by Vincent Huguet - who also worked on Aix's celebrated presentation of Elektra with Patrice Chéreau, is a new production of Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and Académie du Festival d'Aix. Conductor Václav Luks, founder of the Prague Baroque orchestra Collegium 1704, will lead the Ensemble Pygmalion Chorus and Orchestra in eight performances at Théâtre de l'Archevêché.

Ond?ej Adámek: Seven Stones (World Premiere) July 7 - 17

The world premiere Festival commission of new wave Czech composer Ond?ej Adámek's Seven Stones is an a cappella opera for four solo vocalists and a twelve-member choir. It marksAdámek's first opera, and features a libretto in English by the surrealist Icelandic poet Sjón. The plot follows a collector of stones so consumed by his passion that he devotes his entire life to the pursuit. He cuts himself off from the real world to escape his emotions and responsibilities, and instead looks backward at moments of his life. His memories mingle with the stories attached to each of the stones in his collection, taking him on a transformative journey from Biblical to modern times, and revealing a long-buried crime of passion at the end.

French baritone Nicolas Simeha performs the role of the stone collector with the accentor/axe 21 chorus, dedicated to the performance of new music.

The world premiere of Seven Stones was commissioned by Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and the Académie du Festival. Directed by Éric Oberdorff,director and choreographer of the Compagnie Humaine, the opera will be given six performances at the historic and intimate Théâtre du Jeu de Paume.

Moneim Adwan, Howard Moody, and Dick van der Harst: Orfeo & Majnun (World Premiere)June 24 and July 8

The Festival production of Orfeo & Majnun comprises two free events exploring the similarity of love, death, and mourning as expressed by eastern and western civilizations. Part I, The Urban Journey, will offer a city-wide, multi-genre participatory parade through the city of Aix on June 24. Along the course of the procession, amateurs will present whimsical creatures and original performances created during the year in the artists' discipline of choice, all of which mirror the fates of Orpheus, Eurydice, Layla and Majnun.

Part II, the open-air opera Orfeo & Majnun (a world premiere this summer in Brussels and Aix-en-Provence), will be performed on the Cours Mirabeau on July 8. Composers Dick van der Harst, Howard Moody, and Moneim Adwan have created a work of mixed cultural influence, performed in English, French, and Arabic by four soloists and an orchestra of amateur and professional musicians. The choir consists of 150 singer-songwriters and amateurs who participated in the parade.

This new opera interweaves the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice with the Persian legend of Layla and Majnun. When Eurydice dies after her marriage to Orpheus, the gods, entranced by his music, allow him to enter the kingdom of the dead to bring her back. Unable to heed the rule prohibiting him from turning around to watch his beloved on the way, Orpheus loses her a second time, retires to the mountains with his music, and is killed by a group of Dionysian worshippers. In the tale of childhood sweethearts Layla & Majnun, Majnun's obsessive poetry about Layla marks him as a madman. Layla's family commands her to marry another man, but she refuses. Majnun leaves for a deserted land, becomes a crazed poet of passionate love songs, and dies soon after Layla.

Orpheus & Majnun share a common destiny. Separated forever from their loved ones, they both retired from the world to soothe their pain and voice their passion through art. At the core of these two myths, the power of music and poetry transcends absence and death.

Orfeo and Eurydice will be sung by two French vocalists, baritone Yoann Dubruque and soprano Judith Fa. Majnun and Layla will be performed by Middle Eastern artists Jean Chahidand Nai Barghouti, both known for performances blending the traditions of east and west.

Orfeo & Majnun is co-produced and commissioned by La Monnaie/De Munt (Belgium), Valletta 2018 Foundation (Malta), Konzerthaus (Austria), Rotterdam Opera Days (Netherlands), Krakow International Festival (Poland), Santa Maria de Feira (Portugal). The work is directed by Airan Berg and Martina Winkel, co-founders of Theater ohne Grenzen (ToG) - a visual theater company specializing in cross-media productions - and Die Macht des Staunens, an international puppet theater festival for grown-ups. Lebanese/Polish conductor Bassem Akikiwill lead the Musicians of the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra. Part I, The Urban Journey, will march throughout the city of Aix as a participatory public event on June 24. Part II, the open-air opera of Orfeo & Majnun, will be performed on one of Europe's greatest strolling boulevards, the Cours Mirabeau, on July 8.

CONCERTS

Concerts of the 2018 edition will include the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra: a collective composition created by 15 young improvisers under the leadership of music director/saxophonist Fabrizio Cassol; and a performance led by Kazushi Ono featuring thepremiere of Samy Moussa's Nocturne. In addition, Syrian flutist Moslem Rahal will lead a concert presenting a mix of eastern musical traditions with chant, percussion, and qanûn by Jordi Savall's Orpheus XXI project, comprised of professional musicians seeking refuge in Europe.

Among the Festival's chamber music offerings is a Tribute to the Viola spotlighting the internationally acclaimed soloist Tabea Zimmermann in the world premiere of a new work written for her by Charlotte Bray. The Jorge Pardo Trio will offer an experimental evening of flute, guitar, and cajón fusing subtle jazz with flamenco; and in Divertimento for Trio, three longtime friends - violinist Daniel Spec, violist Tabea Zimmermann, and cellist Jean-Guihen Queras - explore works for string trio. A program titled The French Quartet from Yesterday to Today will present repertoire of then and now, including the world premiere of Bastien David's new work for string quartet performed alongside Debussy. Two Festival Academy HSBC Laureates, soprano Sabine Devieilhe and the Arod Quartet, will perform a contemporary program of Schoenberg, Zemlinsky, and Webern.

Festival recitalists will feature even more HSBC Academy Laureates: an evening of French melodies with baritone Stéphane Degout and pianist Alain Planes; and a concert by tenorJonathan Abernethy in partnership with pianist Hélio Vida performing Ralph Vaughan Williams' Songs of Travel.

CELEBRATION OF ACADÉMIE DU FESTIVAL D'AIX'S 20th ANNIVERSARY

At this year's Festival, the Academy - which welcomes some 8,000 spectators each year - will invite audiences to join the celebration of its 20th anniversary by discovering some 260 young artists from 40 countries in more than 60 public events including master classes, public performances, concerts, and recitals from June 13 to July 18, 2018. Master classes and concerts take place daily and are open to the public. A full schedule will be available in May.

The anniversary season opens with a special day-long event on July 13. Throughout the day, the young artists of the Academy will offer musical workshops to share with the entire family and in the evening, these talented 20-year olds will display their skills in a lively jam session. Academy residencies will offer one on Mozart led by singing teacher Susanna Eken, followed by a residency on The Art of the Recital with baritone Stéphane Degout, who first took part in the Academy some 20 years ago. Degout will focus on French melody, and give a recital of Debussy, Ravel, and Fauré as well. The Academy's Chamber Music residency will boast the exceptional talents of violist Tabea Zimmermann, who also performs two concerts. SaxophonistFabrizio Cassol will lead a concert with an international focus when 15 young improvisers create a work reflecting their multi-cultural backgrounds. Acknowledging the Academy's commitment to new music, 2018 performances will include three premieres by Charlotte Bray, Bastien David, and Samy Moussa. Tokyo's Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra music directorKazushi Ono will conduct the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra - comprised of young instrumentalists from some 20 different countries, coached by the musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra - in the closing concert of the Festival. This Orchestra offers talented young instrumentalists from the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France and the Mediterranean basin a chance to experience the professional life of an ensemble/orchestra musician.

The Academy stands at the heart of the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence as a center for vocal and instrumental training that provides a place to experiment with the creation of opera and a nurturing center for young artists to launch their careers. Attendees are further enriched with the opportunity to participate in residencies and perform in concerts and operas at the Festival d'Aix.

FESTIVAL D'AIX EN JUIN: A PRELUDE TO THE FESTIVAL D'AIX-EN-PROVENCE IN JUNE

From June 9 - 30, visitors to Aix will be able to see operas, concerts, recitals and master classes-many of them FREE-showcasing the young artists of Académie du Festival d'Aix as well as established musicians appearing in the Festival in July. In addition, there will be an urban parade on Le Cours Mirabeau showcasing musical, theatrical, and dance performances offered by local artists.

In the spotlight at this summer's Festival d'Aix en Juin is an extraordinary parade that will take place the Cours Mirabeau on June 24 as a prelude to the opera Orfeo & Majnun. Along the course of the boulevard, the event will present theatrical, musical, and dance performances as well as fanciful creatures dreamt up by visual artist Roger Titley especially for the opera. Works that echo the opera's themes will be created throughout the year by amateur groups, and jazz musician Raphael Imbert, singer Marion Rampal of Compagnie Nine Spirit, chorusmaster Alexandra Satger and the artists of Compagnie Rara Woulib will lead artistic residencies with school orchestras and multicultural choirs as part of the process.

Other Festival d'Aix-en-Provence en Juin Highlights are Cacher la Profondeur, a musical performance based on the correspondence between Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal including excerpts from Strauss operas; La Nuit d'Antigone, a program of music and poetry written by contemporary Mediterranean women; the children's opera Du Choeur à l'ouvrage; a performance by the Palomar Trio's unusual instrumentation of electric mandolin, tuba, and drums; and the return of Les Voix de Silvacane with a series of three concerts celebrating the joys of the motet, love songs, and Mozart beneath the lofty arches of the historic Silvacane Abbey.