CULTURE: The lyrical being makes its comeback at the Dijon Opera
The Dijon cultural equipment was produced by 56,000 spectators in 2021-2022, indicated Dominique Pitoiset, this Tuesday, September 13. The director presented the new features for the start of the school year and mentioned “ecological concerns” in connection with the energy crisis.
The Dijon Opera invites us to “be lyrical” in 2022. Post-health crisis, in the digital age, the general and artistic director Dominique Pitoiset invites each of us to explore our sensitivity by confronting live performance.
“We are not robots, we are beings endowed with a strong emotional sensitivity, we are not here to consider programs that are only provided for ticketing consumerism”, declared Dominique Pitoiset at the start of the school year. the Dijon Opera, this Tuesday, September 13, 2022.
56,000 spectators in 2021-2022
However, the ticket office counts in the management of a public establishment. Also, Dominique Pitoiset revealed the attendance for the 2021-2022 season, the second season since his arrival in January 2021.
With 56,000 spectators, it is “more than the best years” before the health crisis, he comments.
The audience at the Dijon Opera has been relatively stable over the years, except for a season with a well-known lyrical title, such as “La Traviata” or Carmen”, which can then boost the ticket office.
The 2022-2023 season begins as an extension of the previous season with “late purchases”, that is to say “sales which fly away” a fortnight before a performance.
Several operas will be conducted by Debora Waldman
Current director of the Orchester national Avignon-Provence, Debora Waldman has been chosen as associate conductor, as “feminine artistic presence”, to conduct at least one opera per season until 2027. The people of Dijon know the conductor for directing “Don Pasquale” the previous season. A particularly acclaimed performance.
“[Debora Waldman] is an accomplished musician with extensive symphonic and lyrical experience. (…) We need conductors who know how to get the best out of the orchestra and who are very attentive to the singers”, explains Dominique Pitoiset
Initiator of the European Demos project, Debora Waldman was the first to conduct orchestras made up of children from working-class neighborhoods by reversing the pedagogy to treat the game through interpretation rather than music theory.
Energy independence objective
The Dijon Opera is a creative cultural establishment, the buildings are the property of the City of Dijon. The Auditorium is connected to the urban heating network of Dijon Métropole, the Grand Théâtre is heated by gas after having been heated by oil in the past.
“The ecological concern is at the forefront in all sectors and in the cultural sector. (…) We are thinking about it, this is one of the priorities of the house because it is the social responsibility of a public building”, indicates Bruno Hamard, deputy general manager.
The objective of the establishment is to move towards “a form of energy independence”, in particular thanks to the roof of the Auditorium whose area is “larger than that of a football field”.
In terms of resource conservation, a first reflection on the potential installation of solar panels on the roof and the exploitation of runoff water.
UN relamping with LEDs is planned for the Auditorium, a project that is already well advanced at the Grand Théâtre. Externally, the walls of the Grand Théâtre could be planted.
In addition, the integration of the principles of sustainable development and short circuits is adapted to the production of sets and costumes.
Jean-Christophe Tardivon
Start of the 2022-2023 season
The 2022-2023 season begins with the weekend of European Heritage Days. Next Saturday, September 17, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., in groups of fifteen people, visitors will be guided through the theater and will discover part of the backstage as well as the superb view of Dijon from the eighth level.
On September 17 in the evening, the circus artist Mathurin Bolze will be at the Auditorium for “Les Hauts Plateaux”, a show which includes numerous aerobatic sequences. From 10 years old, duration 1h15, project shared with the association Cirq’ônflex.
On September 18, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra Will be the first of the major orchestras to perform at the Auditorium, this time for a Russian programme.
On October 7, at the Grand Théâtre, as part of the “Chanter sa langue” project, “Emigrant” will be sung in Friulian, a minority language from the mountains north of Venice, to counter the emigration of a family from Italy to Switzerland.
On November 20, 22 and 24, “Stifelio”, a little-known opera by Verdi, tackles the subject of adultery in a religious community transposed this time to the Amish. “Theatrically, musically, dramaturgically, the work is formidable”, according to Dominique Pitoiset. Co-production with the Opéra du Rhin with “a very fine cast”.
On January 27 and 28, at the Grand Théâtre, the first city invited as part of the “District” project is Chicago. In two days, concerts and conferences will be offered to “show what music is today in Chicago” taking into account the political dimension of the fight against racial segregation. Conferences and screenings will be free.
The 2022 back-to-school file for the Dijon Opera
Opening of the Grand Théâtre for Heritage Days
The Dijon Opera opens up to new aesthetics in 2022-2023
Dominique Pitoiset, general and artistic director of the Dijon Opera, and Bruno Hamard, deputy general director