An Arts et Métiers engineer Arts et Métiers the Paris Opera

Behind the scenes at the Paris Opera, a very special school has been created.

A school that aims to train engineers in addition to the usual artists and artisans. Why? Simply to create increasingly complex sets.

The institution was founded on the initiative of Stéphane Lissner, General Director of the Paris Opera, and Myriam Mazouzi, now Director of the school. The Paris Opera Academy took over the existing opera workshop and expanded its offering by creating a wider range of training courses: training in singing, music (string instruments), and stage direction. Starting in the fall of 2016, training in the arts and crafts was added in order to train qualified professionals specializing in the various fields intrinsic to the Paris Opera (wig-making, makeup, costumes, tapestry, sets, etc.).

An Arts et Métiers engineer Arts et Métiers the scenes at the Opera

Interviewed by Le Monde, Maxime Darwich, 25, an engineer who graduated in 2016 from Arts et Métiersin 2016, is the first engineer trained bythe Paris National Opera Academy (ONP) and now works on set design for the Opera. Always drawn to music, this training allowed the engineer to combine his passions and find a "unique job" designing sets.

 What's impressive here is that in just one year, between the submission of the set design and the dress rehearsal, everything has been built. Maxime Darwich, engineer

However, as he explains, when it comes to engineers, this field remains primarily a niche area:

It's a niche market, with few opportunities, admits Maxime Darwich. There aren't
many engineers working in this field in France, nor are there many theaters with an in-house design office! At the Théâtre du Châtelet, for example, there is one engineer, but he works alone. At the Comédie-Française, there is one engineer in the technical department, but no design office.

Read the article in Le Monde.