Right from the bid-for-tender phase, we put forward the idea of photographing real people from Saint-Étienne (the “Stéphanois” as they are known) for the new season’s communication campaign. We wanted to avoid the bank of images effect – the kind of stereotyped portraits of people with fake smiles. Alongside the opera’s communications team and our favourite photographer from Lyon, Ghislain Mirat. we organised a photo shoot inside the Opera. On a voluntary basis, all staff members were invited to have their portrait taken. The day was highly rewarding and motivating. Three quarters of staff members entered into the spirit, from the people who work at reception to the Director, not forgetting the faces hidden behind the curtain, the smiles of the dressmakers, happy children and a few drifters walking by!

They had no idea at that point what the project was going to look like. So they were both surprised and proud to discover they had become icons of their own Opera House. It might need to be reminded that the Opera had been through some tricky months of political and administrative upheaval and team morale was pretty low. We hope this very unique campaign put a smile back on people’s faces when they went to work. That was our objective in any case!

To illustrate the "young audience", that are obviously the children of staff who are loaned to the game! And what a game for them, it was a real gang of "scoundrels smiling" and a treat for the photographer!