Directors, ballet masters, stage directors, choreographers, architects, ... Octave discovers the personalities that have marked the history of the Opera which continues to attract the great names of music and dance.
Born in Montevideo, into a family of music lovers that for many years built pianos in Germany, Carlos Ott bathed in music throughout his early years. After graduating from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of the Republic (Montevideo), he obtained a scholarship in 1971 allowing him to travel to the United States and Canada. In 1983, he won the international competition launched for the Opéra Bastille. Inspired by the Pompidou Center and the declarations of President François Mitterrand who wished to construct a great popular opera, Carlos Ott turned his back on the red and gold of the Palais Garnier. Instead, he imagined a theatre possessing an auditorium characterised by restraint and simplicity and above all designed to serve the imagination of stage directors and the performances of singers and musicians alike. Eager to build one of the most efficient operas in the world, he designed a made-to-measure machine that would accompany a production from set construction right up until the first night, including technical workshops and numerous rehearsal rooms. Carlos Ott is also the author of many major achievements, including the international airports of Ushuaia and Maldonado, the Edificio Plaza Libertad in Buenos Aires, and the Torre de las Telecomunicaciones in Montevideo. He is both Chevalier des Arts et Lettres and Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur.