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The City of Marseille and the Department of Bouches-du-Rhône united to help the Marseille Opera House
Faced with the crisis linked to Covid-19, local authorities are uniting to help the world of culture. In this regard, the Marseille Opera will benefit the financial partnership assistance from the City and the Department of Bouches-du-Rhône.
This Thursday, Jean-Marc Coppola, Deputy City Hall in charge of Culture, Sabine Bernasconi, vice-president of Department of Bouches-du-Rhône, and Maurice Xiberras, director-general of the Municipal Opera and the Odéon theater, announced a tripartite partnership on a press conference held in the Municipal Opera of Marseille.
The Town Hall will fund the Municipal Opera of Marseille, one of the city jewels, with 26 million euros in total including an envelope of 1.2 million euros granted by the Department.
The world of culture is in crisis and deserves special attention from local authorities, united to support players in the sector who will have trouble recovering from the pandemic crisis.
Willingness to open up to the more all-inclusive public
During the strict anti-epidemiological period, the programming has necessarily had to be rethought, especially since the overnight curfew came into force affecting the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis.
A context in which the territorial representatives invite citizens to participate in the measures, vice-president of Department Sabine Bernasconi emphasized. “We are all aware of the importance of opening up the lyric repertoire. There is an issue of cohesion, because the Opera participates in the cultural education of young people, pays particular attention to the public of all ages. It is an awareness-raising effort that we promote by coming together.”
Continue to promote the territory
For his part, director-general of the Municipal Opera and the Odéon theater Maurice Xiberras did not forget to recall the Marseille residents’ involvement, wanting to be “authentically popular, through its prices and its programming. We also give pieces of training, which participate in the concerts outside the walls, in particular within the framework of the educational project Musician at the college. Thus far, the Opera is one of the biggest stages on the national territory, and has managed to deploy its shows around the world.”
A vast program achieving the offer of some 1,667 structures in Bouches-du-Rhône, contributing to the influence of the local cultural sphere. For the end of the year celebrations, the Department is also announcing that the traditional tour of Christmas carols will be maintained, carried by renowned vocal groups who will perform during 68 free concerts.
