This Friday, July 4th, the Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur hosted the premiere of Une journée à l’Opéra, a creation by Étienne Guiol.
A visual and auditory work that transforms the building into a nest of emotions. A first immersive experience in a French opera house, blending technological innovation and poetry.
An opera reinvented, from floor to ceiling
With Une journée à l’Opéra, the videographer and artist Étienne Guiol offers a new way to explore a place rich in history. Through monumental projections, the Nice Opera is revealed as a living character, filled with shadows, lights, colors, and music. The show does not take place on stage; it is experienced in the space around the spectator.
“It’s a show exclusively in video, projected across the entirety of the hall,” explains Étienne Guiol. “I wanted to tell a story of a day at the Opera, with all the emotions one feels daily, even when there are no performances.“
A day, nine muses, and an artistic breath
This immersive journey is punctuated by a visual narration inspired by mythology. Nine muses, daughters of Apollo, wander through the opera and reveal to the audience the backstage of the creation: the rehearsals, moments of grace, and also the silences.
“These muses come down on stage, they narrate a day through symbols and sublime airs, sometimes known, sometimes new. It’s a journey full of emotion and beauty,” confides the creator.
Each part of the day—from morning to night—is represented through animated scenes, projected on columns, frescoes, and curtains. The stage curtain, usually technical, becomes here an artistic support.
An ambitious and collaborative project
Behind this daring work, six months of intensive work and more than forty people were mobilized. Étienne Guiol, trained in drawing, animation, and stained glass art, used his experience and his BK International studio, known for its monumental projections in France and abroad.
“It’s the first time an immersive show has been designed for an opera. I’m very proud. There is something here that doesn’t exist elsewhere,” he emphasizes.
The artist knows the venue well. He has already collaborated with the Nice Opera on notable productions, such as Philip Glass’s Akhnaten (2020) and Benjamin Britten’s The Noah’s Flood (2023).
A premiere dedicated to the press
The preview took place in the presence of journalists from across the country. In the hall, magic was at work: captivated faces, emotional silences, eyes lifted towards the moving frescoes. The audience was swept away in this opera without words but full of meaning.
“The opera is sometimes perceived as a closed place, with a certain image. With this show, I wanted to show that it can be open, free, accessible,” says Étienne Guiol.
With Une journée à l’Opéra, the Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur offers a poetic and technological interlude, driven by an artist who intimately knows the venue. An experience that might well mark a turning point in the way heritage is brought to life.
