The Aix-en-Provence festival scales back to restore its finances

Individual controversies, abysmal deficit figures, sweeping judgments and blackbird bells in Aix... In recent days, the Aix Lyric Art Festival has been at the center of concerns. Its director, Pierre Audi, remains silent while awaiting the results of the flash audit that the festival itself triggered.

In question, a significant deficit for the 2023 edition. “The chairman of our board of directors, Paul Hermelin, former CEO of the IT services giant Capgemini, informed the ministry and the communities in February, and the audit was launched in mid-March,” indicates Stéphanie Deporcq, managing director. The amount has not yet been published “but it is well below the 4 million that the rumor spreads,” she continues. Especially since some increase these 4 million to 6, adding the loan of two million that the city granted in 2019-2020 for a contribution of equity in the form of an advance repayable over fifteen years. “At the time, our equity was zero and we needed a cushion to cover our current expenses. The festival being an association, the contribution of its own funds is the only way to strengthen its funds. Nothing to do with debt! »

The porte beau opera festival: it received the Best Festival prize at the International Opera Awards in 2023, and a host of other prizes for various of its productions, including Innocence by Kaija Saariaho. But its economic model is acrobatic. To have the right orchestras, good conductors, singers and directors competing for the best operas in the world, you have to plan around four years in advance. However, the festival is one-third financed by specific resources, namely sponsorship, which is not triggered at all that far in advance.

The 2023 edition – that of the alarming deficit – was that of the 75th anniversary. A milestone birthday. When Pierre Audi arrived, new director in 2018, sponsorship was 4 million, and represented 20% of the budget of 21.5 million euros. The brilliant man, with an ambitious artistic vision, declared that he wanted to make it the best festival in the world. In 2022, patronage reached 8 million, and represented 30% of a total budget of 27 million euros, a third of which comes from subsidies (4.6 million from the ministry, 1.6 from the city, 930,000 from the metropolis , the department 985,000 and the region, 1 million). Everything led to believe that an increase in patronage would accompany the 75th anniversary edition, with nine operas programmed, including three in concert version, seven guest orchestras and 75,000 spectators.

The ace! The economic crisis and inflation have been there. The patrons were not there. Or not enough. “We have loyal and highly supportive patrons, but we have been overconfident. We had anticipated a greater increase than it actually was,” says Stéphanie Deporcq.

The festival therefore promises to scale back, once it leaves the risk zone, and to maintain both local actions such as Aix in June, the Grande Parade, and its reputation for excellence. It is a small, easily responsive structure. For 2024, he postponed Sicilian Vespers to 2026; in 2023, he swapped the stage production of Meyerber's Prophet for a concert version since the Paris Opera had withdrawn from the project of which he was to be co-producer. “It’s symptomatic of a model that puts us on a tightrope. We turned to the State and the communities to help us think about a recovery plan,” says Stéphanie Deporcq.

In the meantime, in Aix, cultural stakeholders are worried. Who will pay the deficit of the opera festival and which cultural actors will pay the price? In these lean times, where every public aid is weighed, where each company fights tooth and nail to maintain its budget which is counted in tens of thousands of euros, the setbacks of the opera festival are frightening. Hence the escalation of disaster scenarios. We are in the South! The fact remains that for hotels and businesses, the festival is a windfall and in this way, it seems untouchable.