"Gérard Mortier has set himself a mission: he wants to save opera" - Peter Sellars, 1991
On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his passing, delve into the vision of Gerard Mortier, General Director of the Paris Opera from 2004 to 2009, with this documentary recounting his journey.

A decade in Brussels, a second in Salzburg, Gerard Mortier has made his name. Public enemy no. 1 for the defenders of a certain operatic tradition, he is an unavoidable reference for the modernity of musical theatre.

Gerard Mortier expresses himself through his choices. His approach: to push the "opera" genre to its limits. By making it "explode" (Mussbach, Neuenfels), or on the contrary, by giving it an extremely refined form (Chéreau, the Herrmanns).

What should we retain, preserve and pass on from a work of art? Its ideas or its letter? Should we respect the latter to the point of conservatism, or hammer away at the former at the risk of tearing it apart? The history of Western culture, with its repertoire of masterpieces, has been grappling with this question for a century. And opera perhaps more than any other.

One thing is certain: the productions launched by Gerard Mortier are conceived in a different way, according to a different approach: beyond being an art form for entertainment, Gerard Mortier wanted to give them a meaning. He defended a humanist idea of opera, which resonates with the approach of the founders of the Salzburg Festival. He wanted to evangelise his audience, get them to think, transform them. There is a 'seriousness' to his approach. Gerard Mortier speaks of "opera theatre".

The film shows how Gerard Mortier's ideas are put into practice in his productions, and how this can lead to success or failure. Putting the work carried out over 10 years in Brussels into perspective enables us to understand the evolution of such a contradictory vision. But beyond the seductive rhetoric, what is the price of such an approach: its cost and its political stakes? Is it possible to accept the contradictions of this approach, between the bold and the refined?

A coproduction Arte - RTBF (Belgian television) and Bel Air Media - 2001
Director: Andy Sommer