Midi du Festival — FOCUS ON A PROFESSION: STAGE MANAGERS

Like invisible conductors, they coordinate, from the shadows, all the technical aspects of an opera production: they are the stage, lighting, machinery and audio-visual managers. In the early months of a project, they begin verifying that the staging (e.g. the construction, assembly and transport of the set) is feasible. During the performance, stage managers serve as the link between the artistic and the technical teams by giving the various ‘cues’ that tell performers to make their entrances or ensure that specific effects occur on time. The success of a production depends on their attention to detail and their ability to anticipate and adapt to unforeseen events on the big night. This panel discussion will give a voice to these driving forces of opera at the centre of artistic creation: At different stages of an opera production, how exactly do they organise with the other teams (stage management, the musical direction, production, and performing artists)? And why are these positions held predominantly by women at the Festival d'Aix? Finally, because the stage re-creates the universe on a human scale, it also reflects a certain vision of the world: How can art and science historians further enlighten us on this discussion topic?

WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF: Julie Serré (stage manager - Madama Butterfly), Nathalie Plotka (stage manager - Pelléas et Mélisande), Adrien Rigal (stage manager - Madama Butterfly) and Frédérique Aït-Touati (stage director and historian of science).