French
DeutschPierre Audi
Pierre Audi | |
|---|---|
 Audi in 1988 | |
| Born | 9 November 1957 Beirut, Lebanon |
| Died | 3 May 2025 (aged 67) Beijing, China |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1979–2025 |
Pierre Audi (9 November 1957 – 3 May 2025) was an English-Lebanese theatre director and artistic director.[1][2]
Early life
[edit]Audi was born on 9 November 1957, the eldest of three children born to Lebanese banker Raymond Audi and Andrée Michel Fattal.[3][4] Audi's family were originally from Saida, but he attended the French Lycée in Beirut. While still at school, he initiated a cinema club and invited speakers including the film directors Pier Paolo Pasolini and Jacques Tati.
For family reasons, he moved to Paris in France and there attended the Collège Stanislas de Paris.[4] At the age of 17, Audi together with his family moved to England. He studied history at Exeter College, Oxford. In his last year at Oxford during November 1977, he directed an Oxford University Dramatic Society production of Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare at the Oxford Playhouse.[5]
Almeida Theatre
[edit]In 1979, Audi founded the Almeida Theatre, an experimental theatre in Islington, North London He directed many productions at the Almeida Theatre in the 1980s.
Dutch National Opera and later functions
[edit]From London, Audi moved to Amsterdam, where he was the artistic director of the Dutch National Opera from 1988 to 2018.[6] Audi's productions with the Dutch National Opera included the first complete performance of the Ring Cycle in the Netherlands, the Lorenzo Da Ponte operas by Mozart, Francis Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites, Peter Greenaway's and Louis Andriessen's Rosa – A Horse Drama and Writing to Vermeer, Alexander Knaifel's Alice in Wonderland, and Claude Vivier's Rêves d'un Marco Polo. Audi commissioned the opera Life with an Idiot by Alfred Schnittke.
From 2005 to 2014, Audi also was the artistic director of the Holland Festival. In October 2015, he became the artistic director of Park Avenue Armory, while continuing his work as artistic director of the Dutch National Opera.[7] In September 2018, he left the Dutch National Opera after a thirty-year tenure, and became director of the Festival International d'Art Lyrique d'Aix-en-Provence.[8][9]
Death
[edit]Audi died suddenly at the age of 67 on 3 May 2025 in Beijing, where he had been working on a production.[10]
Distinctions
[edit]- Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion (2000)[6]
- Prince Bernhard Cultural Fund Award (2001)[6]
- Johannes Vermeer Award (2009)[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Pierre Audi's journey from Lebanon to Aix-en-Provence". Associated Press. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ^ Marie-Aude Roux (4 May 2025). "La mort de Pierre Audi, directeur du Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, qui avait réalisé plus de 100 mises en scène". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 5 May 2025.
- ^ Marie-Aude Roux (3 July 2019). "Pierre Audi : "Il va falloir prendre des risques"". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 3 May 2025.
- ^ a b Pierre Audi, One Fine Art.
- ^ Timon of Athens programme, Oxford University Dramatic Society, Oxford Playhouse, November 1977.
- ^ a b c d "Regisseur Pierre Audi overleden, dertig jaar chef van De Nationale Opera" (in Dutch). NOS. 3 April 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
- ^ Pogrebin, Robin (2 June 2015). "Pierre Audi Is Named Next Artistic Director of Park Avenue Armory". New York Times. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^ Spel, Mischa (24 June 2016). "Pierre Audi verruilt De Nationale Opera voor Festival International D'Art Lyriques in Aix". NRC Handelsblad. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "Pierre Audi Director of Dutch National Opera until September 2018". Opera Ballet. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ Ariane Bavelier (3 May 2025). "Mort de Pierre Audi, directeur du festival D'Aix". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 3 May 2025.
External Links
[edit]- Pierre Audi at IMDb
- Pierre Audi discography at Discogs
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