- The association Lyon Cathédrale offers an original sound and light show within the Saint-Jean cathedral in Lyon.
- The production was entrusted to Damien Fontaine, a regular at the Festival of Lights.
- Forty 1h20 performances will be given between October 20 and November 11.
Brand new. The Saint-Jean cathedral of Lyon, stripped of its scaffolding, now reveals multiple treasures that visitors or the faithful, penetrating inside the building did not necessarily detect. To celebrate the end of the works, a new show, mixing sounds and lights as well as extras, will be given next fall. A sort of “new kind of peplum” retracing the history of the first Christian martyrs. "But this is not a show made only for Catholics," said Father Jean-Sébastien Tuloup, the rector of the premises, straight away.
Forty performances will be provided between October 22 and November 11 inside the cathedral. "We thus wanted to remember the work of hundreds or even thousands of craftsmen, who with a single hammer and a single punch, built this building", continues the priest. The team saw things big and did not skimp on resources.
Damien Fontaine at the helm
The realization was entrusted to Damien Fontaine. Not really a stranger. The man, whom the whole world is snatching up, is a regular at the Lyon Festival of Lights. Remember it was he who had projected the history of the Builders on the facade of this same cathedral in 2009. He too, who had designed, still in the same place, Les Chrysalides in 2012, then awakened the ancient theater of Fourvière, 5 years later.
But this time things will be different. "Even if the chance makes that the calendar will be close to that of the Festival of Lights, we will not be in the configuration of a December 8 bis before the time," he says. The DNA of the project is the story of the city that is told. ” "I didn't want to write a history book or a catechism book," says the director, adding a few "romantic" ingredients.
A casting to recruit the extras
The show, which will be sold between 12 and 30 euros, will last 1 hour 20 minutes and will aim to completely "immerse" visitors. “The story begins in the 14th century when the builders finish installing the cathedral's astronomical clock. Clock next to which are the statues of Pothin and Irenaeus. A little boy, who discovers the construction site, will then ask who these two men are. The watchmaker will go back in time and train him in the year 175 ”, reveals Damien Fontaine in preview. And to add: “The Christian martyrs disturbed by their non-conformism. The cries they uttered are cries of resistance. For me, the title of capital of the resistance given to Lyon does not go back to the Second World War but to 2,000 years before ”.
In the meantime, the team launched a large cast on June 26 and 27 to recruit around 200 volunteers, the majority of whom were extras. No prerequisite is required. Registrations can be made on the site www.lyonneedelalumiere.com.
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