Wedding of Fire (Les Noces de Feu)

For the Grand Parc du Puy du Fou, ACTLD designed a pompous and romantic show and a journey into the 19th century – resulting in the “Les Noces de Feu” (Wedding of Fire) project. It brings together water and fire, passion and music with electroluminescent costumes and an impressive setting that rises from the depths of a pond. The music and the story are interpreted and arranged by the virtuoso sisters Camille and Julie Berthollet, Warner Classics. They tell the passionate story of a female violinist and a pianist. This nocturnal dream is accompanied by 30 underwater actors and actresses on a stage of more than 7000 square metres. Huge underwater sets and 80 costumes bring the magical universe to life. Every performance, which lasts on average 30 minutes, takes place in front of around 7000 people.

The greatest challenge was the “under-stage” management, to ensure that the stage set and the actors rise up out of the water and descend again. The highlights include a carriage emerging out of the pond, pulled by swans, as well as a pianist moving across the surface of the water with his piano. It is compounded by the fact that by day the set must remain underwater, as the site is then used for other
purposes. The COVID travel restrictions presented a further challenge. A new way of working, as contactless as possible, had to be developed. 85 percent of the production was developed and realised at night from a distance. Only 15 percent could be produced on site.