By Robert Veel

Now entering its 75th year, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence is recognised as one of the world’s leading celebrations of opera and orchestral music. Established and upcoming singers team up with leading stage directors, conductors and orchestras to present refreshing interpretations of classic works together with a brace of recent works and at least one world premiere. It’s a classic European summer festival with a distinctly Mediterranean feel; hot days give way to balmy evenings. Performances are relaxed affairs, taking place from the early evening onwards.

What’s it like to attend the festival? How do you spend your days? What can you expect at performances? Limelight publisher Robert Veel has attended several Aix festivals and in 2022 he took a deep dive, researching venues, accommodation, restaurants and day excursions in order to create the program for Limelight Arts Travel’s Aix-en-Provence festival tour. Here’s a diary-style account of his experiences.

Day 1: Arrival and Mahler’s Resurrection

It was still early morning when our flight from Venice touched down at the Aéroport Marseille-Provence, but already the July sun was high in the sky, announcing another warm, cloudless day. Apart from a smattering of business travellers, everyone was dressed for the seaside, elegant linens and sun hats vying with shorts and sandals. Everyone had sunglasses. Across the road from the terminal we purchased tickets for the 40-minute, €10-Euro coach ride up to Aix. The bus leaves every 30 minutes, so there was no need to book. Leaving the coast we passed through the red, bauxite-rich hills which separate the sea from Aix, skirting the industrial town of Vitrolles whose unrelieved ugliness is crowned by a vast and decrepit architectural cube, sitting on the edge of a bauxite quarry. What was that building and why would anyone so desecrate this lovely Provençal landscape?

Once we had been disgorged at Aix-en-Provence’s gare routière, our mission was simple. Find our accommodation and then find the pool. Access to a swimming pool is a must for anyone attending the Aix-en-Provence festival. We’d found this out the hard way at previous festivals, staying at perfectly reasonable but airless hotels in the centre of the old town, sans swimming pool. This time we’d opted for a modest apartment hotel on the edge of town. As it turned out, so had several musicians from the Orchestre de Paris. Relaxing by the pool in the early afternoon, scores to Mahler’s Second Symphony open, clarinettists and cellists hummed and tapped their way through some of the more challenging passages of the work.

At 7pm we headed back to the gare routière for our pre-booked shuttle to the evening’s performance, taking place somewhere outside Aix. We were so excited just to be going to the performance – Esa-Pekka Salonen leading the Orchestre et Choeur de Paris in Mahler’s Second Symphony – that we hadn’t paid much attention to the details. Intriguingly the event was listed in the festival program as an opera, and had a director, the Italian Romeo Castellucci. The shuttle took the exact road we had taken on arrival that morning and 30 minutes later we found ourselves, together with a busload of similarly disoriented Festival-goers, disembarking outside the very architectural monstrosity that had made such an impression that morning.

The Stadium de Vitrolles, it turns out, was built for a local handball club in 1994 but closed in 2000 following the club’s bankruptcy. Whoever knew that handball was such a popular sport? This performance of a Mahlerian masterpiece in the stadium was part of a larger plan to resurrect a white elephant from oblivion. And what an extraordinary evening it proved to be! I’ll never be able to hear the symphony again without thinking of this performance in this venue. If this had been the only thing we’d seen at the 2022 Festival, the whole trip would still have been worthwhile. It would take many, many words to adequately explain the performance, but fortunately, France’s arte.tv recorded the event and you can view it online here.

A horse and stable boy dig up a corpse. The opening moments of Romeo Castellucci’s interpretation of Mahler’s Second Symphony, Aix-en-Provence, 2022 (photo: Monika Ritterhaus for Festival d’Aix-en-Provence)

Day 2: Raoul Dufy and Monteverdi’s Orfeo

After a leisurely start we strolled to the elegant Hôtel de Caumont, just off the equally elegant Cours Mirabeau, Aix’s grand avenue. In recent years this eighteenth-century aristocratic mansion has enjoyed a new life as an art centre, with a major exhibition timed to coincide with the Festival. The 2022 show, a survey of the painting of French modernist Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), did not disappoint. The ninety-plus works were assembled from private collections and the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris. Travelling with Georges Braque, Dufy undertook a pilgrimage to Provence in 1908 to pay artistic homage to Paul Cézanne, the most famous artistic name associated with Aix. (The Hôtel de Caumont has a small permanent exhibition dedicated to Cézanne, but you can also visit the artist’s studio on the outskirts of town and of course travel through the landscapes which he immortalised.)

After a moment to enjoy the shade of the hôtel’s walled garden we continued to the medieval town centre, located to the north of Cours Mirabeau. Medieval Aix had its heyday under René of Anjou, who was Count of Provence from 1434-1480, just before Provence became part of the French kingdom. This is reflected in the significant architectural heritage of the old town, a typically medieval maze of winding streets.

But we hadn’t come for a history lesson, we had come for ingredients. We hit pay dirt at Aux Saveurs des Saisons, a boulangerie whose pleasant perfume told us that the late morning bake was fresh out of the oven. Armed with baguettes, plus cheese, salami and greens from a local market, we headed back to our accommodation for an afternoon of rest before our evening show. Tonight was the first of three evenings at the Grand Théâtre de Provence, a one-off concert performance of Monteverdi’s Orfeo. (The Festival program features a number of such one-off performances, as well as fully-staged operas.) The Grand Théâtre opened in 2007. It’s gloriously air-conditioned and every seat has great sight lines and acoustics. Argentinian baroque specialist Leonardo García Alarcón led his Cappella Mediterranea orchestra and soloists in a zesty performance, historically informed, but certainly not historically constrained. Since debuting at the Festival in 2013 Alarcón and his band have become regular participants, and it was interesting to see that the two excellent principle roles, Orpheus and Eurydice, were sung by alumni of the Académie du Festival d'Aix.

Day 3: Château La Coste and Strauss’s Salome

My travelling companion leaves very little to chance, and so even the slightest hint that something might be ‘interesting’ deserves the closest scrutiny. And so it was with Château La Coste. A historic vineyard and winery in one of the prettiest valleys in Provence, about 30 minutes north of Aix, it just happens to have a jaw-dropping collection of contemporary sculpture. Its central pavilion is designed by one of the world’s greatest living architects, Tadao Ando.

In many ways Château La Coste is very un-French. It’s owned by an Irish property magnate, Paddy McKillen, who isn’t afraid to challenge one’s expectations of what Provence should look like. We spent a delightful, energetic morning admiring works by the likes of Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin, Richard Serra, Andy Goldsworthy, Yoko Ono and Bob Dylan (yes, that Bob Dylan), all housed in structures designed by Frank Gehry, Oscar Niemeyer, Jean Nouvel, Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and of course Tadao Ando.

Sitting down to lunch in the glass-and-concrete restaurant overlooking the vineyards, however, we could be sure that we were still in Provence and not transported to New York or Tokyo. And faster than you could say Qu’est-ce que c’est le plat de jour?, an excursion to Château La Coste found its way into Limelight Arts Travel’s Aix Festival itinerary.

*Outstanding modern and contemporary art, in stunning surrounds, just outside Aix-en-Provence*

Back in town, we returned to the Grand Théâtre for a new staging of Richard Strauss’s Salome. Oscar Wilde’s text and Strauss’s highly-wrought music have always invited lavish stage interpretations, so this icy-cold, white-on-white staging by Andrea Breth was unexpected. Musically, it was excellent, with Ingo Metzmacher leading the Orchestre de Paris and a great cast, led by Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig, riveting in the title role. My travelling companion felt let down, wanting more excess and decadence in the banquet scene at Herod’s Palace and the Dance of the Seven Veils which follows. I liked it just fine.

Day 4: Hotel inspections and a world premiere

Time to get to work finding suitable accommodation for next year’s tour with Limelight Arts Travel. Apart from a swimming pool, my checklist included a central location within walking distance of most Festival venues, a four-star or higher rating, and of course sufficient rooms and availability to host a group. This narrowed down the choice to just two hotels, and I had appointments to inspect both.

First up was the Grand Hôtel Roi René, an M-Gallery hotel and part of the vast Accor group (Sofitel, Pullman, Mercure, Ibis etc). It was well located about 200 metres off Cours Mirabeau, in a quiet part of town. The rooms were very comfortable and it had great public areas and clearly a high level of service but the smallish pool, overlooked by neighbouring apartment blocks, was a little disappointing. The atmosphere of the hotel was refined but somewhat bland, a typical city business hotel.

The second possibility was the Aquabella, at the opposite end of the old town, adjacent to the former Roman baths. The location was a little better, close to the outdoor Théâtre de l'Archevêché, the original Festival venue, and a downhill walk along the edge of the old town to the Grand Théâtre de Provence. This hotel felt much more like a resort, with guests relaxing in sun lounges around the large swimming pool encircled by a section of Aix’s medieval walls. The atmosphere of the hotel was decidedly more relaxed, with a flow of spaces between indoors and outdoors and casually-dressed guests dropping in at reception on their way to and from the pool. The rooms were a little simpler than the Grand Hôtel Roi René, but perhaps a little more in line with the overall feel of Aix in the summertime. In spite of their clear differences, I felt that both hotels were suitable, so it came down to a question of availability and the booking flexibility for a group.

*Inside the walls: the Hôtel Aquabella’s swimming pool (photo: Hôtel Aquabella, Aix-en-Provence)*

By now it was lunchtime and getting hot. We decided to call in at one of Aix’s Vietnamese restaurants on our way back to the apartment. As well as the full range of French dining options, Aix is large enough to have a diverse selection of cuisines, including Vietnamese, Japanese, Moroccan and Italian. Our salad and rice-paper rolls, washed down with a local beer, were just the ticket for a hot summer day.

Having commenced our musical feast with a solid offering of Mahler, Monteverdi and Richard Strauss, it was time to go out on a limb. Or perhaps I should say, go out on a limbo, for tonight we were in for an opera to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Dante’s Divine Comedy, rightly described in the Festival guide as ‘a monument of European culture’. Pascal Dusapin was commissioned to write Il viaggio, Dante by the Aix Festival for 2020, but work was delayed by COVID-19. Kent Nagano led the orchestra and choir of the Opèra de Lyon.

Dante’s three-part poem has inspired composers over the centuries but most, such as Tchaikovsky in his ‘Francesca da Rimini’ suite, stick to a single episode from this 13,000-line epic. Dusapin instead opted to present an interpretation of the entire poem. Inevitably this meant that we were rushed through sections of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven as we accompanied Dante on his journey through the afterlife, but Dusapin nevertheless found the musical space to introduce us to some of the remarkable individual characters who populate Dante’s work, and made very effective use of the chorus to explore the human condition in this tale of damnation and redemption. It’s a very accessible and dramatic score, the very stuff of opera, but unless you had taken the time to familiarise yourself with Dante’s narrative before the performance you would have left a bit bewildered, as many of the audience seemed to be.

Day 5: Cassis, more Monteverdi and Rossini

Being so close to the Mediterranean in the height of summer, a trip to the seaside seemed obligatory. We chose the former fishing village of Cassis, thanks mainly to alluring depictions of Cassis in the ninteenth century that we had seen in paintings by Signac, Derain and Matisse, and the town’s popularity among the British, including Winston Churchill and Vanessa Bell, in the twentieth century. (By the way, the liqueur Crème de Cassis comes from Burgundy and has nothing to do with the seaport.) Cassis is surrounded by nature reserves on both sides and overlooked by some of the highest cliffs in the Mediterranean. We stopped long enough for a coffee and ice cream before taking a 45-minute cruise to Les Calanques, the deep limestone inlets that pierce the coast between Cassis and Marseilles. After an evening of Dante and contemporary opera, a morning of untaxing sightseeing like this felt just right. Following the cruise we returned to Aix via the highly scenic Route des Crêtes across Cap Canaille, to enjoy the views back to Cassis and Les Calanques, 400 metres below.

*Les Calanques de Cassis, an iconic Mediterranean landscape seen from the water on a private boat cruise*

Tonight we had booked performances at 5pm and 9.45pm. This is not recommended but unavoidable if your time is limited. The gorgeous eighteenth-century Jeu de Paume theatre was our first venue this evening, but our second encounter with Leonardo García Alarcón and the Cappella Mediterranea. This time it was a fully-staged production of Monteverdi’s last surviving opera, L’incoronazione di Poppea. There’s plenty of opportunity for sensuality in Monterverdi’s score for this tale of ancient Roman excess, and let’s just say that Ted Huffman’s production did not miss a beat. Minimalist staging contrasted with maximalist lust, and within 20 minutes American soprano Jacquelyn Stucker (Poppea) appeared almost fully naked on stage, pleading with Nero not to leave the bedroom. Stucker’s musical and theatrical appeal was matched by the buff English countertenor Jake Arditti as Nero. The second half of the performance opened with Nero and Poppea joined on the dining table by the Roman poet Lucan (handsome young American tenor Laurence Kilsby) for a threesome. None of them seemed particularly bothered by the corpse of the philosopher Seneca lying downstage in front of the table, forced to poison himself in the previous act.

After such high jinks it was almost inevitable that the second show for the evening, Rossini’s Moïse et Pharaon, would be a letdown. After a quick dinner at a friendly Moroccan restaurant (with the cast of Poppea at the next table) we headed to the outdoor Théâtre de l'Archevêché. Created from the courtyard of the archbishop’s palace, this is the original Festival venue. It was selected for the first Festival in 1948 precisely because it was a little grungy and so different from a traditional theatre. Performances start as the sun sets and the temperature gets a little more comfortable. Moïse et Pharaon was another reliable offering from the Opéra National de Lyon, but not even the score of Rossini’s grand opera seria and the parting of the Red Sea could erase the raciness of Poppea just a few hours earlier. Although a new production for the Aix Festival, Moises felt tired and staid compared to the other works we had seen.

*An evening performance in the Archbishop’s Palace*

Day 6: Musée Granet and Mozart

The previous 24 hours had given us a lot to think about, so we decided to keep things light for our last full day. The city of Aix’s principal art institution is the Musée Granet, opened in 1838 in the former church and priory of the Knights of St John of Malta. It made for a perfect morning out. The permanent collection is a roll-call of significant French and European artists, including Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Degas, Renoir, Gauguin, Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, and of course local hero Cézanne. For the summer of 2022 there were two temporary exhibitions focusing on Italy, one with a significant collection of works from Munich’s Neue Pinakothek.

The Festival d’Aix-en-Provence has long had a reputation for excellence in the operas of Mozart, so we were looking forward to tonight’s Idomeneo at the Théâtre de l'Archevêché. After an afternoon relaxing by the pool and a light Japanese supper (an appropriate choice as we were soon to find out), we took our seats at 9.30pm. This time we had brought along cushions, having remembered that the wooden seats in this outdoor theatre do get a little uncomfortable after a few hours. Raphaël Pinchon was in the pit, leading Pygmalion, the fine period music ensemble he had created in 2006 while still a student at the Paris Conservatory. From the opening bars of the overture, confident, classical and crisp, I was convinced. In this, the sixth new production we had seen in as many days, an all-Japanese production team led by director Satoshi Miyagi had transposed the Trojan War setting of Mozart’s opera to post-World War II Japan. The Trojan princess Ilia, daughter of Priam, whose armies have just defeated Idomeneo and the other Greeks, becomes an American heiress. Her mere presence in a defeated Japan is irksome, and not helped by the fact that the Emperor’s son happens to be in love with her. The principal characters are wheeled around on stage on podiums and their costumes and movements are highly stylised in the manner of Noh theatre. The cast, led by American tenor Michael Spyres in the title role, was exceptional. Unsurprisingly the unconventional and stylised production upset the traditionalists, who made their displeasure felt when the production team came on stage at the curtain call. The rest of us made sure that our cheers of appreciation drowned out the malcontents’ booing. What would an opera festival be without at least one outbreak of incivility?

*A mixed response at curtain call for Idomeneo, 2022*

Day 7: Departure

After such an enriching week, it was important not to kill the mood with a rushed exit. We opted for an afternoon departure, spending the morning poolside, croissant in hand, debating the merits of the performances we’d seen and the reactions of the audience. The lovely thing about taking an extended operatic break from reality at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence Festival is that the deep satisfaction you feel lasts so much longer than it does when you spend a single night out at a single performance. Writing this article some five months afterwards, I’ve forgotten all about the heat and am thinking back fondly on what an unforgettable experience it was. Roll on, Aix 2023!

Limelight Arts Travel is delighted to present its inaugural tour to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in July 2023, an 11-day celebration of lyric opera with seven performances, running the gamut of classical icons of the repertoire to contemporary world premieres, and led by music historian Robert Gay.

An Aix diary: A week at a celebrated opera festival

ROBERT VEEL

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The Aix-en-provence opera festival

An Aix diary: A week at a celebrated opera festival

ROBERT VEEL

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The Aix-en-provence opera festival

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