Thomas Desmed

What does your job consist of?

My role, and that of my team, is to coordinate the artistic and technical aspects of a production, both during rehearsals and performances. This involves the day-to-day management of the broad guidelines already established by the various technical departments. We intervene in the final stage of the process to harmonize all these rough scores, following the indications of the director and the conductor. Our role is to facilitate the work on stage rather than direct it, with each contributor and technician remaining fully responsible for his or her own area. Our job can be compared to that of a signalman who has to send the right train on the right track at the right time. Success depends above all, however, on each driver’s ability to get his or her engine to its destination.

In addition, we make sure that rehearsals and shows run smoothly in terms of timetables, the presence of contributors, safety and sometimes discipline, but always moderately and with the aim of making the work more efficient, safer and above all more enjoyable.

Did you always want to work in opera?

No, it happened by chance, although I was always open to the artistic world thanks to my education and some experiences during my youth. I was a mediocre student and I very quickly gave up my art history studies to work with my uncle, who was a second-hand dealer. After my military service, I started looking for work and a friend told me that La Monnaie needed someone to do a small job as a dresser that very evening. That was thirty-seven years ago and I never left.

‘This possibility of evolving has allowed a lot of people to have a full career at La Monnaie, as they progressed in their functions.’

What has been your career path at La Monnaie?

I started my career as a dresser, which I did for several years, although I knew I didn't want to do that for the rest of my life. I was very interested in working as a prop maker or stage manager. I got on well with Jean-Pierre Stevens, the head of stage management at the time, who gave me the opportunity to do an internship on the set. That is how I continued as a stage manager. In 2013 the position of head of stage management became available and I took my chance. I have held this position ever since.

La Monnaie is a place where you can still learn trades for which there is little or no formal training. Here, you can learn on the job, and I took advantage of that, like many others. It is this possibility you have of evolving that has allowed a lot of people to have a full career here as they progressed in their functions.

Since you started, which productions have really stood out for you and why?

More than any particular production, it is the pleasure of having watched the masters of stage direction at work: Haneke, Grüber, Stein, Berghaus, Bondy, Warlikowski and maybe one or two others … That has been a great privilege. Not forgetting the great conductors, several of whom have been our musical directors. Sometimes, all it takes is a professionally rewarding working relationship to retain a moving memory of a production. The operas I saw in my early days amazed me, but as time has passed, I have become harder to surprise. I have enjoyed all aspects of productions like Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa, both the opera itself and working with the teams.

What is a typical work week like for you?

In production, a typical day starts at around 9 a.m., when we check with the technical teams that everything will be ready to start the rehearsal at 10 a.m. If necessary, we give them the final instructions on how the rehearsal will run. We make sure the artists arrive according to the programme drawn up the day before and we provide support to the director and the technical services to ensure that the rehearsal runs as smoothly as possible.

We manage the various breaks and ensure the presence of the artists at secondary activities (fittings, coaching, etc.). We also note down in the score any actions when the cue needs to be given during the show (set movements, artist entrances, special effects, etc.). We don’t just take notes passively; we are also involved in developing these actions with the other technical managers and assistants.

At the end of the afternoon, we help draw up the next day’s schedule with the directing team, the music staff, the assistants and the artistic planners. It is currently our job to distribute this schedule to the relevant people, both internal and external.

When rehearsals start on stage, we usually work in the afternoons and evenings, but also in the mornings, with lighting sessions which we actively participate in as it will be our job to give the cue for the lighting effects during the show.

During the home stretch, about ten days before the premiere, there are also note sessions – that is, a time for exchanging artistic and technical criticism – after the rehearsals, fortunately with enough to eat since these are very long days, with all the accumulated work that has to be managed.

Translation: Patrick Lennon