Pierre Audi, Aix-en-Provence Festival Director, Dies⁢ at‌ 67

Pierre Audi, the Franco-Lebanese director ⁤who led the⁢ aix-en-Provence lyric Art⁤ Festival, has died‍ at the age‌ of‌ 67. The⁣ festival and the french Ministry of Culture confirmed⁢ his death Saturday, May 3.

The Aix-en-Provence festival team ‍released a⁤ statement expressing their⁤ “immense sadness” at Audi’s passing, which occurred overnight Friday,⁤ May 2, to Saturday, May 3, in Beijing. They noted that “the world of artistic creation ‍loses an immense artist and director.”

French ⁤Minister of Culture Rachida ⁢Dati posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Audi “had dedicated his ⁤life to artistic creation”‍ and “deeply renewed the language of the opera.”

A⁤ Champion‍ of Lyric Art

Audi, a Beirut native, assumed the general management ⁢of the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2019. The festival is⁢ a major⁢ international event for opera. His mandate‌ was ⁣renewed ⁣in late ​2021, extending until 2027. In the⁣ early 1980s,‌ Audi gained recognition for transforming the Almeida Theater in London into a ‌hub for artistic innovation.

An ‍Extraordinary Career

In a 2022 interview, Audi reflected on his early career, stating, “When I ⁣conceived the Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980,‍ it was⁢ in reaction against a certain type‌ of⁢ English theater.”

He later became the⁢ artistic director of the National Opera of ‍Amsterdam, a ​position he ⁢held for nearly 30⁢ years. During his tenure, he⁢ collaborated with visual artists such as Georg Baselitz and ⁤Anish Kapoor, creating many of⁤ his stagings.

Audi ‍expanded ​his reach in 2015, taking on the role of artistic director at the Park Avenue Armory in ‍New York. This multidisciplinary venue, spanning ⁣nearly 54,000 square ‌feet, hosted installations and monumental stagings. Audi noted in 2022 ⁤that productions⁤ by artists​ like Christian ‌Boltanski, ‌Ivo Van‌ Hove, and‌ Ariane ​Mnouchkine “would have been impractical to show them in ‌a conventional room.”

In⁣ 2021, Audi himself staged Samir Odeh-Tamimi’s ⁤ Arab ‌apocalypse at‍ the Aix festival. He was also slated to direct Puccini’s ​ Tosca at the Paris Opera later this year.

The⁢ Aix festival organizers added, “He‌ believed‌ deeply ⁤in the future of​ lyric art⁣ (and musical theater), art more than any other‌ capacity, according to him, to ​overcome all crises.”

The Associated Press contributed ‌to this report.