Pierre Audi in Three Acts / stage by Anish Kapoor
Documentaries about art, music and literature
Three Acts
Opera as an artform can be approached from various angles – the music, the singers, the stage design. Then there is the story, the emotion, the ideas. How does one combine these elements into an event which opens the door to fantasy and dreams?
In Three Acts, world-renowned opera director Pierre Audi gives us a glimpse behind the scenes. As we watch him prepare for a rendition of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra in Tokyo (with stage design by visual artist Anish Kapoor), he shares his vision for the genre. According to Audi, the dramatic world on stage can bring us more in touch with contemporary issues than reading the news ever could. In the theatre you offer hope, he says. ‘You help people find a connection with themselves.’
Pierre Audi
The influence of director Pierre Audi (1957) on contemporary opera can hardly be overstated, having directed more than eighty stage productions and reinterpreted existing works in often fresh, innovative, and adventurous ways. Born in Beirut, Audi started his career in Oxford and London before moving to Amsterdam in 1988 to become artistic director of the Dutch National Opera, a position he held for thirty years.
He devoted his career to leading opera into modernity. Audi is known for experimenting with form, and using minimalist and abstract decors in which the music and poetry are allowed to unfold. A true ambassador of the artform, he aims to make opera matter today. And never fails to emphasise that opera is for everyone.
Acclaims
- Director of more than eighty operas
- Director of Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (2019-present)
- Former artistic director of the Dutch National Opera (1988-2018), Holland Festival (2005-2014) and Almeida Theatre London (1979-1989)