{"id":4073,"date":"2026-05-31T10:49:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T07:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/a-foretaste-of-aix-en-provence\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T10:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T07:49:16","slug":"a-foretaste-of-aix-en-provence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/a-foretaste-of-aix-en-provence\/","title":{"rendered":"A Foretaste of Aix-en-Provence…"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to Causeur<\/em>, the festival drew 30,000 spectators from across Europe last year alone, confirming the city’s status as a major destination for classical music and opera devotees. The 2026 edition marks a transition year following the sudden death of artistic director Pierre Audi<\/strong> on May 3, with American Ted Huffman<\/strong> now taking the helm.<\/p>\n

Aix-en-Provence has long since evolved into what Causeur<\/em> describes as a heritage and tourism showcase. The city’s iconic Cours Mirabeau, originally laid out on the line of former ramparts by Archbishop Michel Mazarin<\/strong>, brother to Louis XIV’s Prime Minister, remains its urban centerpiece. Renamed in 1874 after Honor\u00e9-Gabriel Riquetti de Mirabeau<\/strong>, the representative of Aix elected to the Third Estate in 1789, the avenue is now almost entirely pedestrianized and lined with luxury shops, restaurants, banks, and historic buildings.<\/p>\n

Opening with Mozart, Strauss, and Contemporary Works<\/h2>\n

The festival opens with Die Zauberfl\u00f6te<\/strong> (The Magic Flute), scheduled for nine performances through July 21 at the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre de l’Archev\u00each\u00e9. The production features a highly anticipated staging by young director Cl\u00e9ment Cogitore<\/strong>, working again with conductor Leonardo Garcia-Alarcon<\/strong>, the duo behind the triumph of Rameau’s Les Indes galantes at the Op\u00e9ra-Bastille.<\/p>\n

One day later, on July 3, the modern Grand Th\u00e9\u00e2tre de Provence will host Richard Strauss’s Die Frau Ohne Schatten<\/strong> (The Woman Without a Shadow) for five performances through July 12. The 1919 masterpiece, based on a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal<\/strong>, will be staged by Australian director Barrie Kosky<\/strong>, with the Orchestra de Paris conducted by Klaus M\u00e4kel\u00e4<\/strong>. The stellar cast includes tenor Michael Spryte<\/strong>, sopranos Vida Mikneviciute<\/strong> and Tamara Wilson<\/strong>, and baritone Brian Mulligan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Mozart returns with a revival of a 2019 staging of the Requiem<\/strong>, performed at the Archev\u00each\u00e9 starting July 4 for five evening performances by the Ch\u0153ur et Orchestre Pygmalion, which uses period instruments.<\/p>\n

Modern and Contemporary Opera Featured<\/h2>\n

The festival has not overlooked modern and contemporary creation, Causeur<\/em> reports. El Cimarron<\/strong> by Hans Werner Henze<\/strong> and Accabadora<\/strong> by Francesco Filidei<\/strong> will both be performed at the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Jeu de Paume. The same venue will also host concert versions of Verdi’s Les V\u00eapres siciliennes<\/strong> and B\u00e9la Bart\u00f3k’s Le Ch\u00e2teau de Barbe bleue<\/strong>. A wealth of concerts and recitals will be hosted at the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud.<\/p>\n

Before the festival proper begins, the Cours Mirabeau will host Parados<\/strong>, a free outdoor program of excerpts from the grand operatic repertoire conducted by Garcia-Alarcon, as a prelude to the ticketed events.<\/p>\n

A Tourist City Facing Urban Changes<\/h2>\n

The city’s transformation into a tourist destination has not been without controversy. The Cours Mirabeau, once accessible by car, is now blocked by what Causeur<\/em> describes as hideous metal bollards. The avenue has been entirely repaved with a type of grained granite that prevents even grains of sand from blowing on windy days.<\/p>\n

The legendary caf\u00e9 Les Deux Gar\u00e7ons<\/strong>, a classified monument, remains shuttered behind unsightly barriers following a probable criminal arson attack in 2019. The restoration work continues to drag on without completion.<\/p>\n

As elsewhere in France, pseudo-Italian gastronomy is steadily annexing the restaurant sector, according to the report. The city now boasts nearly a hundred hotels of all categories, mostly managed by investors or integrated into global chains.<\/p>\n

Transition Year Under New Leadership<\/h2>\n

The 2026 edition has been openly placed under the banner of empathy, compassion, and humanity, Causeur<\/em> notes. This transitional year will preview the intentions of new director Ted Huffman as the festival moves forward after Audi’s unexpected passing.<\/p>\n

The prestigious Mazarin quarter, located in the southern part of the city just off the Cours Mirabeau, concentrates a number of high-end establishments and boutique hotels. Rich with ancient fountains and aristocratic residences from the 17th and 18th centuries built according to the cardinal’s grid plan, the area remains a prime location for visitors attending the festival.<\/p>\n

With information from Causeur<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 78th annual Aix-en-Provence opera festival runs July 2-20 under new artistic director Ted Huffman, featuring Mozart’s Magic Flute and Strauss’s Die Frau Ohne Schatten.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":4072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[4370,4374,55,4371,4372,4373],"nfg_topic":[134],"class_list":["post-4073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-aix-en-provence","tag-cours-mirabeau","tag-france","tag-opera-festival","tag-pierre-audi","tag-ted-huffman","nfg_topic-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4073"},{"taxonomy":"nfg_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nfg_topic?post=4073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}