The ENGIE Foundation and the Paris Opera have organized, as part of their partnership, on 31 May at the Olivier Messiaen Amphitheater in the Bastille Opera a round table to highlight the careers of professionals from the worlds of sport and opera. These talents share many similarities in their quest for excellence, but can also learn from each other. Moderated by journalist Sylvère-Henry Cissé, this encounter was made to cross perspectives and highlight the existing synergies between sport and high-level artistic practice and to offer a new look at these extraordinary life paths, guided by a quest for excellence.

The ENGIE Foundation is a Paris Opera sponsor since 2009 and one of the founding sponsors of the Paris Opera Academy which supports each season about 30 young artists who begin their career (singers, musicians, stage directors) in perfecting their skills.

Engie is also supporting 10 top athletes preparing for the next Olympic and Paralympic Games as part of the Ministry of Sports' Performance Pact implemented in 2014, which enables young French hopefuls to take up this challenge. From these partnerships was born the wish to gather artists and athletes, to better explore these two worlds which presents many similarities, during an afternoon dedicated to discussions and testimonies on these special career paths. This pubic meeting was held on Tuesday 31 May at 3:30 pm in the Olivier Messiaen Amphitheater of the Bastille Opera.

With journalist Sylvère-Henry-Cissé as moderator, were brought together:

• Lise Nougier (Mezzo-soprano in residence at the Paris Opera Academy) 
•  Timothée Varon (Baritone, former artist in residence at the Paris Opera Academy) 
•  Stéphane Bullion (Etoile Dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet) 
•  Xavière Barreau (Sport doctor at the Paris Opera) 
•  Poema Newland (Kite surfing: European Champion 2021) 
•  Luka Mkheidze (Judo: Bronze medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics) 
•  Madeleine Malonga (Judo: Vice-Champion (<78kg) and Olympic champion at the mixed team event of Tokyo 2020) 
•  Fabien Lamirault (Para Table Tennis: 2x Paralympics Double Champion - Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020)

For 30 years, the ENGIE Foundation has been acting in favour of youth and the environment.
Since 1992, the ENGIE Foundation has been focusing on promoting access to culture for all, especially for the most vulnerable or remote populations. Culture is an exceptional tool for integration, enrichment, expression and openness to others: about 15 programmes promoting the access to culture are supported each year by the ENGIE Foundation in France and abroad.
In this context, the ENGIE Foundation is a founding sponsor of the Paris Opera Academy to support the young talents in residence, as well as the 10 Mois d'Ecole et d'Opéra programme, which allows 1,000 young people to discover opera and its jobs.

Créée en 2015, l’Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris articule ses missions autour de la Transmission, la Formation et la Création.

Son ambition est d’accompagner l’émergence des professionnels de demain. Près de trente artistes du monde entier sont accueillis en résidence pour achever leur formation, apprendre et grandir aux côtés de professionnels reconnus. Chanteurs, pianistes, chefs de chant, musiciens ou metteur en scène, tous travaillent ensemble, partagent des expériences communes et participent aux créations de l’Opéra de Paris. Le programme de transmission de l’Académie permet à l’Opéra national de Paris de continuer à être à la fois un conservatoire et un laboratoire pour tous les métiers liés à la création.

L’Académie a également une mission en matière d’éducation artistique. S’inscrivant dans une démarche citoyenne, l’Académie place la transmission au cœur de ses objectifs. Transmission d’une culture et d’un patrimoine, transmission de savoir-faire autour de métiers techniques et artistiques que l’Opéra s’emploie à faire connaître, à valoriser auprès de personnes venues d’horizons divers. Dans un cadre scolaire, familial ou encore associatif, des parcours d’initiation à l’opéra et à la danse sont proposés sous la forme de spectacles, de rencontres et d’ateliers de pratique artistique. Il s’agit pour les participants de découvrir une œuvre lyrique ou chorégraphique, d’en comprendre l’essence et de ressentir l’émotion qu’elle suscite, de découvrir enfin tout un monde professionnel qui unit les métiers artistiques et techniques.