On 28th July 1948, several opera lovers gathered around Gabriel Dussurget and presented Così fan tutte in the cour de l'Archevêché, the first opera of the Festival d'Aix. The repercussions were considerable; it was the start of an incredible adventure for which we are now celebrating the first six decades.
This 2008 Festival d'Aix pays tribute to the founders and all those who came after them. It bears the signs of the great moments which have thrilled hundreds of thousands of festival goers. It covers four centuries of operatic production while also scrutinising our world and its future.
Rather than select "one" commemorative moment, the whole festival will be a joyful celebration, through operas, concerts, exhibitions, meetings, courses and master classes.
As part of "2008, European Year of Intercultural Dialogue", the Festival d'Aix will pay particular attention to cultural meetings, comparisons and mixes which are increasing in our towns, moving borders and changing reference points. Contrasting views from Peter Sellars and Abbas Kiarostami about Mozart, comparisons of the Baroque and modern production, of opera and the visual arts, of classical music and traditional cultures from the Mediterranean, dialogues between Pascal Dusapin and Claudio Monteverdi, between the Arab oud of Moneim Adwan and the Sephardic poetry of Françoise Atlan, exchanges between some of the greatest artists of our time and dozens of young singers and musicians from all over the world.
It is precisely because all the Festival's artistic work is based on the exchange of views and interactivity with the spectator that we chose a work by Lynette Wallworth as the 2008 Festival image. The presentation of some of her installations will provide a link with the presence during the first years of the Festival of Derain, Balthus, Cassandre, Masson and other great visual artists.
We would like to dedicate this sixtieth Festival to the audiences, to all the festival goers who over the years have brought it enthusiasm and loyalty, and to all those who today we are inviting to join us. Because the audience is not external to the work of art, it is at the heart of any genuine artistic approach. That is the meaning of the celebration which we are inviting you to experience and share, more of you than ever, beneath the Provencal sky.
Bernard Foccroulle
Director General
