The appointment of a "huge artist, hailed all over the world" is "a sure promise of audacity, joy, surprises and impertinence", reacted in a tweet the mayor PS Anne Hidalgo.
The institution, known for having been a temple of musical comedy and opera, has been without artistic direction since the dismissal in 2020 of Ruth Mackenzie and the departure in July 2022 of Thomas Lauriot dit Prévost.
In addition to giving back a strong artistic identity to this jewel of the town hall of Paris, Olivier Py will have to take up the challenge of cleaning up finances, the deficit amounting to 4 to 6 million euros, according to sources.
The Châtelet receives 15 million euros from the City and generates 10 million in own revenue.
Under the leadership of Olivier Py, the Festival d'Avignon reached a record attendance rate (95.5% in 2019), a figure slightly down in 2022 after two years of health crisis (92%).
First artist to have directed the head of the festival since its founder Jean Vilar, he claimed in the city of the popes a "theater of the verb", "popular" and "concerned about the world".
Born on July 24, 1965 in Grasse (Alpes-Maritimes), Olivier Py had previously been director of the National Dramatic Center in Orléans and then patron of the Odéon in Paris.
Known for his taste for the baroque and the flamboyant, he continued during his mandates to write and direct, both in theater and opera.
© 2023 AFP