On October 5, 2021, Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, Minister of Culture, received representatives of the lyrical sector to present the mission on the politics of lyrical art in France.

This mission, entrusted by the Minister of Culture in October 2020 to Caroline Sonrier, director of the Lille Opera, had as objectives to draw up an inventory of opera production in France and to propose a frame of reference for opera practice in France in XXIth century.

Caroline Sonrier, with the assistance of Emmanuel Quinchez, has very widely associated professionals in the sector and local authorities, consulting, in particular, nearly two hundred people.

Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin warmly thanks the authors of this work, which offers an unprecedented overview of the lyrical sector, characterized by its heterogeneity and diversity. Their report details the contours of the support of the State and local authorities to opera houses, as well as the challenges they face: public relations, place of creation, employment, diversity and sustainable development. It concludes with recommendations for each of the actors of the French lyrical ecosystem.

This report proposes a common basis for the State, local authorities and professionals and will allow the dialogue between all these parties to build a unified and renewed framework for the Opera of the XXIth century.

Following this presentation, the Minister of Culture proposed to reflect on five priority areas of work:

- the establishment of a permanent system of observation of the lyrical world,

- supporting the careers of artists and professionals in the sector by understanding the career paths as a whole,

- the opening and accessibility of opera to the greatest number, both as regards the question of audiences and as regards the links between opera houses and their territory,

- the development of support for the establishment, in particular through the strengthening of residences,

- the implementation of objectives shared with all actors in the world of culture in favour of diversity, equal treatment between women and men and the fight against all forms of discrimination.

Beyond these concrete lines of work, a simplification of the labelling system defined by the Ministry of Culture will be studied, with the aim of making the lyrical policy of the State more readable and coherent.

 

Summary of the report here