In 2019 was celebrated the 150th anniversary of the "Chorégies d'Orange" which boast to be the oldest European lyrical open air festival. How did the adventure start ?

The first person to imagine such a festival was probably the journalist and writer Anthony Réal. 

He tells in his "souvenirs" that, in 1840, due to the flood of the Rhône river, he had to remain several days in Orange. 

Every day he used to go and visit the antic theatre. 

There, he heard the caretaker declaiming famous poems or singing opera. Texts and arias sounded beautifully; the acoustic was excellent. 

Anthony Réal thought it would be a good thing to give performances, as Roman had done during the Antiquity.

The restoration of the theatre had recently happened, thanks to the studies and decisions of Auguste Caristie and Prosper Mérimée. 

The houses inside the theatre had been destroyed and rows of wooden seats fitted.

Anthony Réal was helped for the first festivals by members of the Felibrige, Félix Ripert and Paul Mariéton. They wanted to go back to Antiquity as well as to praise the Provençal traditions. 

The poster of the first performance, in August 1869, shows the outside of the great wall of the theater. 

On a long evening were given 3 spectacular shows : "Joseph" a biblical oratorio composed by Méhul, the third act of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet " and "Les triomphateurs", an Anthony Real's cantata. 

So, from the beginning, theatre and opera existed.

This first performance was a success. Famous artists had accepted to play in the open air, which was quite unusual.     

7000 spectators had come and the performance received flattering reviews. 

The main problem was the amount of expenses, far above the earnings. Even more seriously, in 1870, the war broke out between France and Germany and the festival was, therefore, interrupted and resumed some years later.

In contrast, with the 2019's festivities, 2020 has been a sad year. The shows were cancelled, due to the covid pandemic. 

Let's hope the festival can be given again during July 2021.