Orfeo and Qays are two poets of legend who celebrate love and unity through music. Their songs resonate from East to West and back. An ancient Greek myth intertwines with an oriental love story; Orfeo & Majnun is an intercultural and interdisciplinary project. It includes a parade in the streets of Aix-en-Provence with animal puppets and a performance streamed live on OperaVision from Aix’s famous Cours Mirabeau.

Stage director Vincent Huguet takes up eternal themes—liberation and courage, devotion and doubt, tragedy and acceptance—to stage three histoires sacrées (sacred histories) written by Marc-Antoine Charpentier more than 300 years ago. The economical use of a small instrumental ensemble over Latin vocal lines creates space for sublime surprises: more than abrupt mood changes or an unexpected fortissimo, we become attuned to the slightest dissonance, the delicate softness of instruments in unison, the briefest moments of silence. After three centuries, the drama of the work hits just as potently in the 21st century.