Announcing the start of an eclectic artistic residency for composer Matteo Franceschini at the Opéra Grand Avignon in France. After garnering the Prix Nouveau Talent Musique, awarded by the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SACD) in June, and the premiere performances of Visions, with lyrics based on poetry by William Blake, in Milan (Festival Milano Musica) and Paris (Festival ManiFeste), Franceschini continues to stake his claim as a major force on the contemporary music scene in France.  

The residency

For the 2024-2025 season, the Opéra Grand Avignon will be showcasing the Franceschini opera Alice, based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which has been performed with several productions in Italy and France since its premiere in 2016.

Trailer of Alice (2016) by Matteo Franceschini

In addition, the program will feature performances of Gravity and The Act of Touch, works stemming from his experience composing under the nom de plume TOVEL, in which Franceschini investigates and shreds classical music codes, fusing them with electronic music in a context that defies categorization.

The Act of Touch (2018) by Matteo Franceschini aka TOVEL

Franceschini’s residency opened with Cantata, a world premier featuring the participation of 80 children from the Démos Avignon-Provence project and 150 children from the Maîtrise Populaire de l'Opéra Grand Avignon, performing alongside musicians from the Orchestre National Avignon-Provence and singers from the Chœur et Maîtrise de l'Opéra Grand Avignon, with musical direction by Débora Waldman.

photo: Matteo Franceschini © Amandine Lauriol