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| Christian Schiaretti | |
|---|---|
| Name | Christian Schiaretti |
| Birth date | 1944 |
| Birth place | Lyon, France |
| Occupation | Actor, Stage Director, Theatre Director, Teacher |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Known for | Direction of Comédie de Reims, Théâtre National de Strasbourg, promotion of contemporary and classical repertoire |
Christian Schiaretti
Christian Schiaretti is a French actor, stage director, and theatre director noted for his stewardship of major French institutions and his advocacy for both classical repertoire and contemporary playwrights. Over a career spanning several decades he led companies, directed landmark productions, and influenced generations of performers and directors through teaching and institutional innovation. Schiaretti's work is associated with regional theatre revitalization, contemporary dramaturgy, and cross-disciplinary collaborations that connect French theatre to European and international currents.
Born in Lyon in 1944, Schiaretti grew up amid the postwar cultural renewal that touched institutions such as the Comédie-Française, the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique and the regional theatres of Île-de-France. He pursued formal training at conservatoires and workshops associated with figures from the French theatre renewal, encountering methodologies linked to practitioners like Antoine Vitez, Jean Vilar, and international artists influenced by Bertolt Brecht, Jerzy Grotowski, and Peter Brook. Early exposure to festivals such as the Avignon Festival and the repertory of the Théâtre National Populaire informed his dual commitment to dramatic text and actor-centred work.
Schiaretti began as an actor in regional companies and in Parisian experimental ensembles that engaged texts by playwrights including Molière, William Shakespeare, Luigi Pirandello, Samuel Beckett, and Jean Racine. He appeared in productions staged in venues connected to the Théâtre de la Ville, the Théâtre du Rond-Point, and provincial houses where collaborations with directors recalling the practices of Gérard Philipe and Vladimir Kvint were common. His early stage work navigated classical verse dramaturgy and the contemporary theatre of authors such as Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, and Jean Genet, fostering an actor's sensitivity to prosody, rhythm, and ensemble dynamics that later informed his directing.
Transitioning to direction, Schiaretti assumed leadership roles that included the directorship of the Comédie de Reims and the Théâtre National de Strasbourg (TNS), where he engaged institutional reform, repertoire programming, and international exchange. His managerial approach drew on precedents from the Centre national de la danse, the Opéra National de Paris administrative models, and the decentralization policies that followed the cultural initiatives of ministers such as André Malraux and Jack Lang. He championed touring circuits linking the Festival d'Avignon, regional festivals, and European festivals in cities like Berlin and Rome, embedding institutional missions within broader networks such as the European Theatre Convention.
Schiaretti's catalogue includes productions of canonical works and contemporary plays staged with designers, composers, and choreographers from across Europe. He mounted versions of Molière comedies, Corneille tragedies, and Shakespeare plays alongside contemporary pieces by Heiner Müller, Thomas Bernhard, and French dramatists associated with the Nouveau Théâtre. Collaborators have included set designers trained in studios linked to Wim Vandekeybus, composers with ties to Pierre Boulez's circles, and directors influenced by Claude Régy and Antoine Vitez. His co-productions involved institutions such as the Comédie-Française, the Théâtre du Châtelet, and European houses in Munich, London, and Madrid, fostering intercultural casts and multidisciplinary stagings that blended text, music, and movement.
Throughout his career Schiaretti has received recognition from national and regional cultural bodies, including distinctions associated with the Ministry of Culture (France), and honours comparable to appointments within the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the Légion d'honneur cultural lists. His companies won festival prizes at events like the Festival d'Avignon and awards granted by professional associations such as the SACD and the Association Française d'Action Artistique for programming and international outreach. Peer recognition has come through laurels conferred by theatres including the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe and civic institutions in cities where he produced major seasons.
Schiaretti has taught directing, acting, and dramaturgy at conservatoires and drama schools tied to the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique, regional conservatoires in Strasbourg and Lyon, and universities engaged in performance studies such as Université Paris VIII. His pedagogy reflects the lineage of Jacques Copeau and Jules Romains-era training while integrating contemporary practice influenced by Eugenio Barba, Grotowski, and Peter Brook. Former students and assistants have gone on to lead companies, win directing prizes at the Festival d'Avignon and to teach at institutions like the École nationale supérieure des arts et techniques du théâtre.
Schiaretti's legacy is visible in the revitalization of regional theatre networks, the cross-pollination between classical and contemporary repertoires, and the cultivation of directors and actors who bridge institutional and independent scenes. His tenure at houses such as the Comédie de Reims and the Théâtre National de Strasbourg contributed to models of cultural decentralization and international cooperation mirrored by successive directors at the Comédie-Française and other national theatres. The influence of his dramaturgical choices resonates in programming trends at festivals like Avignon and in the curricula of conservatoires that emphasize polyvalent training incorporating text, movement, and collaborative design.
Category:French theatre directors Category:French male stage actors Category:People from Lyon