The Dreamers

Presentation

Creation and diffusion of contemporary repertoire play a special role in the Festival d’Aix. Indeed, Aix regularly commissions new works from composers, programing at least one world premiere per year. Over the years, the Festival has demonstrated its ability to turn new works into major international successes, with works such as Written on Skin by George Benjamin (2012, World Premiere Award in 2013), Innocence by Kaija Saariaho (2021, Birgit Nilsson Prize 2025 received in recognition of the Festival d'Aix’s artistic excellence, notably for the premiere of Innocence), Picture a Day Like This by George Benjamin (2023), or Accabadora by Francesco Filidei (2026). These works have received critical acclaim and reached audiences well beyond Aix.
The Dreamers was initiated by a discussion between Pierre Audi and Hans Abrahamsen in 2021 and is inspired by one of Karen Blixen's Seven Gothic Tales, “The Dreamers”. It will be Abrahamsen’s second opera, and the first to be premiered in France.
In The Dreamers, Abrahamsen creates an opera interwoven with themes of memory, duality, and metamorphosis. The work is constructed as an interplay of temporal layers and nested stories, in which the characters attempt to reconstruct the past through dreams.
The figure of Pellegrina Leoni plays a central role in this exploration. From a former opera singer who lost her voice in a fire, she becomes a multifaceted, elusive character who refuses to be reduced to a single identity. Through her, the opera explores the relationship between the artist and the person, between the projected image and the inner self. The loss of the voice thus becomes the starting point for a reinvention of the self.
Staged by Claus Guth and conducted by Susanna Mälkki with the London Symphony Orchestra, the librettist and the entire artistic team will bring Abrahamsen’s vision to life, exploring the porous boundary between reality and the imagination, turning the narrative itself into a space of transformation.

Artistic Team

The artistic team has been selected for the excellence and international experience of its members, as well as for their recognised expertise in contemporary opera. Their complementary skills and artistic perspectives will contribute to the creation of a work of the highest artistic quality. Music - Hans Abrahamsen (Danish), Libretto - Hans Abrahamsen and Henrik Engelbrecht (Danish), Conductor – Susanna Mälkki (Finnish), Stage Direction - Claus Guth (German), Set Design - Étienne Pluss (Swiss), Costumes - Petra Reinhard (German), Lighting - Bertrand Couderc (French), Dramaturgy - Konrad Kuhn (German)

Co-producing Partners