“We hope that people will want to go to the show as much as they do on the terraces”

Between frenzy and caution. The actors of the Bordeaux cultural scene are obviously in heaven since the announcements of reopening, from May 19 next as far as they are concerned. “We are very excited to finally be able to replay normally and to welcome the public” thus launches Olivier Lombardie, general administrator of the Opéra de Bordeaux. But the health crisis has taught them to remain on the reserve, and all stress that they have clearly seen that the reopening stages would be conditioned by health developments, which is important.

“We still remember last December 15, which literally fell on our heads, since it was the date when we had to replay after the second confinement, and finally everything had been stopped, recalls Olivier Lombardie. Above all, we are waiting for the health protocol in its details, because we do not know if we will be on the same rules as at the start of the last school year, especially during the second level with a gauge of 65% of attendance from June 9. It will be important for us to be strict to reassure the public, especially during intermissions, when it will be necessary to avoid flows between spectators. “

“We will adapt to the curfew”

At TnBA (National Theater Bordeaux in Aquitaine), we “multiply the meetings” in recent days, to discuss in detail the protocol to come. “We are still awaiting clarification, but we had strict protocols last fall that we are going to put in place, and we will adapt to the curfew to allow people to return at the authorized times” insists Ariane Braun, general administrator.

On the artistic side, the two Bordeaux institutions have not stopped working since their closure last November, and ensure they are ready to offer shows from May 19, even if some will have to be reviewed. “We will be able to repeat Carmen [un des temps forts de la saison 2020-2021 de l’Opéra] for the premiere scheduled for May 30, but instead of the stage version initially planned, a concert version will be presented in the auditorium, with a single French cast, explains Olivier Lombardie. We will also rehearse the ballet Snow White by Angelin Preljocaj, which will be given at the beginning of July, a period in which we hope to be at 100% gauge. We will finally have the two great concerts of Paul Daniel, which will also close his musical direction. [il s’agit de la dernière saison à Bordeaux du chef d’orchestre]. They will end the symphonic season on a high note. “

Exceptional TnBA programming this summer

The TnBA also had anticipated this recovery, and can thus announce this Sunday that it will offer “exceptionally, a summer program until July 24, with rescheduled shows and more family shows in the Dom-Bedos square. »Reduced rates will be put in place for this particular program. “We hope that people will want to go to the show as much as to the terraces,” Ariane Braun says. Artists need it. “

There are the mastodons of the Bordeaux cultural scene. But there are also more modest formations. They too are bubbling with impatience, like the Revolution company and its director and choreographer Anthony Egéa, who will be able to offer his new creation all summer long, during the
Summer Scenes in Gironde and
Metropolitan summer.

“On a stage placed in the middle of the audience, the show will offer two pieces,” he explains. The first is called Uppercut, with three girls on pointe who will perform on urban music, with the idea of ​​bringing classical dance in front of the larger world. The second show, One Man Pop, is a solo, through a boy who proposes
popping, a traditional hip-hop dance usually seen in battles. “

“Bring people back to the room”

Anthony Egéa assures us that this resumption of shows, “is a breath of fresh air because if the situation had lasted this summer, it would have been very complicated for the artists. We were coming to the end. “

If the cultural scenes want to end their season in style, save what can still be saved, they are above all already looking to the future. Olivier Lombardie announces that the Opéra de Bordeaux will present its next season around June 17th. “It will be a very, very rich season, he warns, since we will add all the postponements of this year. The TnBA is expected to present its own in September. And Anthony Egéa warns for his part: “I will continue with a new creation, which will be called Explosion, with ten Popper on a stage, to reveal this spectacular dance to the general public. The health context impacted me artistically: this decline, this abandonment of culture, gave me even more energy. I want to put it in my eyes. “

It remains to be seen whether the public will be there. “I am not pessimistic, indicates Olivier Lombardie, but nobody knows how people will react, and we will have to bring them back into the room. Those who used to come will return, but regaining our exceptional pre-crisis attendance rates may take a little time anyway. We will have to scrutinize the general attitude of the population, especially hoping that we do not have other confinements. “