The path is set and clear: “The Opera is an artistic and cultural project that fully aligns with Nice’s bid for the title of European Capital of Culture in 2028.” This is the roadmap given by the Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, to the entire team (delegated officials, general and artistic directors) responsible for the musical institution.
Message received by Bertrand Rossi, who, after two years disrupted by the pandemic, presents an ambitious program full of new features. Firstly, some numbers for the concluding season: 341 curtain raises, positioning the Nice Opera just behind that of Paris. There will be 355 in the upcoming season, a new record.
Similarly, the number of spectators has significantly increased compared to 2018-2019 (the last full season): there were 85,000 against 55,000, with 12% of them under 26 years old.
10,000 schoolchildren attended performances and rehearsals.
Another sign of excellence: the Philharmonic Orchestra was invited to the Victoires de la Musique Classique, the Easter Festival in Aix-en-Provence, and will perform at the Chorégies d’Orange.
For 2022-2023, the season opening will begin in September with a novelty: the Metal Up the Opera Festival, which may irk purists but aims to “break down barriers between the arts and popularize opera in the noble sense of the word,” according to the vision of its general director Bertrand Rossi, who is always in search of a new audience. This show will be followed by the now traditional “Family Reunion,” which will bring together on stage the symphony orchestra, choir, and ballet.
The lyric season (from November to June) includes no fewer than 7 new productions. After a timid start in 2021-2022, the second stage at the Diacosmie (in Nice West) will grow with a parallel mini-season, designed for a family-oriented, younger, and less experienced audience.
The Philharmonic Orchestra will perform 14 concerts—including the “grand rendezvous” of the New Year’s concert—under the baton of principal conductor Daniele Callegari, in his second season, accompanied by associate conductor, Nice native Lionel Bringuier. Two new features here also demonstrate the spirit of openness: first, 7 of the concerts will be conducted by female conductors! Second, the Opera hall will be substituted on two occasions by a concert recital at *La Cuisine*, the new temporary theater in the west, and *Les Franciscains*, thanks to a perfect agreement with the TNN management, which oversees these two venues.
The chamber music concerts—21 on the program—will continue at the *Chagall Museum* and *L’Artistique*.
Finally, another novelty: the return of the Sacred Music Festival—in April—after years of absence, which will mainly take place at the *Cathedral of Sainte-Reparate*.
The choreographic season—with the Ballet directed by Eric Vu An, is also of high quality: 7 programs are offered, including the mythical ballet Coppelia with music by Leo Delibes, enchanting audiences during the year-end holidays.
Bertrand Rossi and his team are fully committed to spreading musical culture among the youth, the future spectators of tomorrow—with a focus on: schoolchildren in collaboration with the City, middle school students in agreement with the Department, high school students who will benefit from the Region’s e-pass, and university students who will have privileged access (free or at attractive rates) to approach a world that may not always be theirs but could become so, why not.
As can be easily seen, all the ingredients are gathered for an excellent season that will make the Nice Opera a main actor of the national cultural scene and a vector of Nice’s attractiveness.
