At the Rocher Mistral, homemade shows

As for the Saint-Vidal project, Vianney d'Alançon took up the pen to create the Rocher Mistral shows.

Behind these more or less static paintings made of original music, lights and featuring about fifty intermittent dancers and actors hides a solid team of designers.

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“The choice of the theme, the writing, the scenario and a big half of the direction are decided by Vianney and his wife, Laure. We, behind, we formalize the project on the technical side, ”

explains Damien Boissinot, project and infrastructure director at Rocher Mistral. Vianney d'Alançon, a young entrepreneur who is ultra-present at every stage of creation, clearly knows how to surround himself. Damien Boissinot cut his teeth at Puy du Fou as a volunteer, where he met his wife and collaborator, Charlotte. He then worked at Disney, where he created the

Parade

and later in Kynren (England) under the leadership of the international branch of Puy du Fou. He follows Vianney d'Alançon from the Auvergne project.

We could have done the same work of reconstruction in black boxes (…), but, in a castle, there is a historical impact (…) which requires you not to alter it.

Charlotte Boissinot, infrastructure collaborator at Rocher Mistral

The couple, already at the helm of the fortress of Saint Vidal, lead the technical and creative team.

continues Damien Boissinot. Charlotte Boissinot adds:

A point of view shared by Nicolas Vauché, choreographer and collaborator of Caroline Darnay in the production, for whom the work with the floors and the general movement of dancers and actors focused on the idea of ​​lightness and elevation.

"90% of intermittents are from the region"

Apart from these creative companions from outside the region, the Rocher Mistral works almost exclusively with locals.

, announces Nadège Saraiva, head of the artistic team and herself from Aix.

The music, composed especially for the project, was partly entrusted to Jake Bright (collaborator of the Boissinot couple) and Fabien Barcelo. The Aix musician has reconstructed Provençal themes, such as the

He added parts played on the galoubet tambourine, a 24-note Provençal flute, which is juxtaposed in his compositions with parts played by a symphony orchestra and with harpsichord and harp pieces recorded by students from the Aix Conservatory. The only failure in the Provençal painting is the impossibility of working for the recordings with the Orchester d'Avignon, with whom the site hopes to collaborate next year. It was replaced by the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra. All these artists play the paintings that punctuate the visit of day and night.

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The two big shows will wait until 2022. The pandemic, it is explained, has created a delay.

Originally planned for the opening, a large historicizing fresco inspired by Mistral, Daudet, Bizet and Lamartine with XXL reconstructions (water features, Avignon bridge) and performed by some 500 volunteers, was to be given in front of stands of 2,000 people outside.

A second smaller space, with 1000 seats anyway, should have depicted Napoleon's passage through Provence before the Hundred Days.

One way can be a little crude to connect the small to the big History.

explains Guillaume Gratia, communications and volunteers manager. Among the 500 expected volunteers, more than a hundred have already been mobilized. But whatever! The team hopes to succeed in recreating the “estrambord”, the enthusiasm of Provence.