La nature n’est plus un décor. Les cosmologies de l’opéra à l’aune des dérèglements de la Terre

The conference La nature n’est plus un décor. Les cosmologies de l’opéra à l’aune des dérèglements de la Terre, promoted by Université Paris 8, Institut universitaire de France, Théâtre national de l’Opéra-Comique, Istituto per il Teatro e il Melodramma della Fondazione Cini and Palazetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française, aims to investigate how lyrical opera has depicted and transformed the relationship between art and nature over time.

The initiative, hosted in the Sala Barbantini on 28 and 29 October 2025, focuses on three key moments: the appearance of the natural world in the opera genre, the Romanticism of the 19th century , and the period from the 1960s to the present day, when ecological emergencies have led to a renewed reflection on our connection with the natural world.

Scholars and artists are called upon to discuss the role of natural elements and climate in opera houses, both as expressive tools and as real events due to climate change. Through short speeches and round tables, the conference will feature conversations between music historians and theatre historians, philosophers and scientists, opening up new perspectives on the future of the genre. The city of Venice, with its history, its cultural wealth and the environmental challenges it faces on a daily basis, is the ideal venue for such a timely and necessary reflection.