The President of the Republic appointed Olivier Mantei Director of the Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique to the Council of Ministers on 24 June 2015, on the proposal of Fleur Pellerin, Minister of Culture and Communication.
Olivier Mantei will succeed Jérôme Deschamps, of whom he was the deputy director since 2009, and with whom he worked for the return of the Opéra-Comique to the rank of major opera institutions in France and Europe.
Olivier Mantei, a daring programmer and accompanist of artists, has presented a project that aims to build on the artistic heritage of his predecessor, while instilling a wind of renewal in the establishment. Thus, the Opéra-Comique will unite consecrated artists and young rising stars around a program consisting of the core repertoire of the Opéra-Comique but also contemporary works that will be the subject of an ambitious policy of commissions. Particularly committed to the renewal of forms, he will ensure that the lyric theatre closely associates the directors and creators of today, in order to make it an art of the present. To this end, he will also be keen to take advantage of digital technologies to develop new modes of creation and dissemination.
Drawing on his experience, notably at the head of the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, for which he is leaving the helm, he will explore an innovative opera production model. This is based on a strengthening of exchanges between the Opéra-Comique and the other opera houses in France and Europe, as well as an increase in operating cycles in order to make it available to the widest possible audience.
Upon taking office, he will also be in charge of the most important programme of work ever undertaken within the Salle Favart, in order to enable him to fully respond to the challenges of a 21st century opera houseth century.