In his first year as director of the Nice Opera, Bertrand Rossi is experiencing a very special year. However, the former manager of the Rhine Opera reflected on the adaptation the performance industry must face during the presentation of the 2020-2021 season. (The interview was conducted on October 15)
With the health crisis, what is the situation at the Opera?
Since the famous closing weekend, we have been able to relaunch performances and the season has started. We have already presented the ballet outdoors at the Théâtre de Verdure and then the operetta festival. At the beginning of the month, we also started the first ballet production at the opera. It was the first time we opened our doors. All this gives us quite a bit of confidence for the future.
A health protocol has been implemented?
We have implemented a very, very strict health protocol. I was inspired by the Salzburg Festival in Austria, which already launched a major opera “Electra” last summer. I brought the same health protocol to Nice. Artists, technicians, musicians, etc., each have their own color-coded zones. This protocol was approved by the CHSCT (Health, Safety and Working Conditions Committee) of the city. For the public, everything is already in place to ensure social distancing. We have hand sanitizer at the entrance, temperature checks, and in the auditorium, spectators are spaced one seat apart to maintain a one-meter distance between groups of people. Out of 1,083 seats under normal conditions, we can accommodate about 350 people.
Is that already a good thing?
Yes, what matters is to perform. We certainly will not make the revenues initially planned, but the important thing is to reconnect with the audience even if we have never really left them because we have been present digitally. This connection with the audience remains crucial, and we realize, from the figures we’ve had recently for the ballet and my opera director colleagues across France have noticed as well, there is still a drop in attendance.
In your opinion, what is this due to?
To me, there are two things: the lack of awareness about the reopening of the opera and also the fear of buying a ticket without knowing if it can be refunded. And then there’s also a fear of saying, well, I prefer to stay at home because you never know what might happen. I really want to reassure the public by saying that the opera has reopened and the season will take place. The performances currently being rehearsed will be presented, and most importantly, safety will be ensured for both the audience and the artists.
How are the artists you are working with experiencing this period and apprehending the future?
The in-house artists, whether the choir, the ballet, or the orchestra have never lost contact because I really encouraged them to be present at external events. They continued to work all the time. However, the situation becomes more complicated for freelance artists who have seen most of their contracts canceled without income. Foreign artists do not necessarily have a freelance system, so they are very eager to perform but not at any cost because safety rules must be respected above all.
Several collectives have been vocal for several weeks, explaining that they feel abandoned by the government. Do you think more could be done?
I think it’s easy from where we are. To give an image, it’s like when you’re a football fan, you criticize the coach, it’s the first person you’re going to sanction. In this situation, it’s the same, this virus was unexpected, we didn’t know it, it moves so fast… We adapt as the situation evolves. Of course, governing is about forecasting, but when faced with a pandemic that we barely know, I think you have to know how to adapt. All the measures we had to take have been taken. The important thing is for life to resume. We are responsible for ourselves and need to be careful.
A word to encourage the public to return
We are in a daring, ambitious season, with well-known repertoire performances and others less known or even unknown, like Akhnaten (on November 1, 3, 5, and 7), for instance, which has never been performed in Paris. This show was a great success in New York and will be one of the flagship titles of the season.
