La Voix dans tous les Sens

La Voix dans tous les Sens: Celebrating the Human Voice in Sens

Born from the passion of the ARDEV association (Art and Research for the Development of Vocal Expression) for vocal art, the La Voix dans tous les Sens festival has been one of the most unique cultural events in the Yonne region since 2016. Each spring, in the heart of the magnificent Théâtre municipal de Sens, the festival brings together professional artists, amateur singers, and curious audiences for four evenings around a shared love: the human voice in all its richness and diversity.

The ARDEV association, founded in 1998 in Paris before gradually moving to the Yonne region and then to Sens from 2016 onwards, has had a dual mission since its inception: to transmit the art of singing to as many people as possible and to disseminate the most varied vocal repertoires — from classical opera to musical theater, from cinema-concerts to spoken poetry. The festival is the most accomplished and festive expression of this mission.

An Atypical and Multidisciplinary Festival

What makes the festival original lies in its very conception: each edition offers four distinct shows, carefully chosen and staged by Françoise Galais, the association's artistic director, whose pedagogical and scenographic vision imbues the entire event with rare artistic coherence. The formats and universes change from one evening to the next, but the voice always remains at the center: lyrical voice, popular voice, voices of children and adults mixed, solo or collective voice.

Among the shows that have marked the festival's history are diverse creations:

• Bessie à Broadway (cinema-concert based on the silent film by Frank Capra, 1928), exploring the human values carried by music
• Le Mot et la Note, a poetic-musical evening in two parts mixing verbal jousting and staged recital
• Allons à l'Opéra, a family-friendly lyrical show presenting the great arias of Verdi, Puccini, and Offenbach, designed to introduce opera to children and newcomers
• Faisons un Opéra, le Petit Ramoneur, Benjamin Britten's chamber opera performed by professionals and amateur adult and child singers from the Voix en Scène singing school
• Atchafalaya, an opera by Isabelle Aboulker based on a Cajun story, performed by a troupe of 27 child soloists and choristers
• Music Hall, a journey from operetta to musical theater, including popular songs
• OPERATIK!, a show that reinvents opera codes with humor and modernity

The Voix en Scène Troupe, the Backbone of the Festival

At the heart of each festival edition is the Voix en Scène troupe, the vocal ensemble of the ARDEV association, which brings together professional and passionate amateur singers. This troupe, formed over the seasons in the association's singing workshops at the Espaces Culturels Savinien in Sens, gives the festival its most precious identity: the alliance of artistic excellence and popular accessibility.

It is this philosophy — sharing the voice, transmitting it, making it heard in all its plurality — that explains the growing loyalty of an ever-larger audience from Sens and the Yonne region who join the Théâtre municipal each spring for these unique evenings.

ARDEV, a Non-Profit Association

The ARDEV association, recognized as a non-profit organization (law of 1901, SIRET: 422 914 333 000 55), is not limited to the festival. Throughout the year, it offers individual singing lessons open to all levels, singing workshops in France and Italy, as well as occasional concerts and shows. Its actions contribute to the influence of vocal and lyrical arts in the Sénonais region, a territory where amateur musical practices hold a precious place in local cultural life.

Under the leadership of its president Marylène Dordonnat and its artistic director Françoise Galais, the association has built a coherent and ambitious artistic project over the years, rooted in the realities of a rural territory while opening up to collaborations with international artists.

A Human-Sized Festival in the Heart of an Art City

Sens, the former capital of the archbishopric, houses one of the first Gothic cathedrals in France, a nationally renowned archaeological museum, and a surprisingly rich cultural life for a town of 25,000 inhabitants. The Théâtre municipal, built in 1882 in the Italian theater style, with its 350 seats and warm acoustics, offers the festival an intimate and welcoming setting where each performance resonates with particular intensity. The proximity between the stage and the audience, the convivial atmosphere of the evenings, and the artistic quality of the offerings make La Voix dans tous les Sens a unique festival, far from large commercial productions, profoundly human and sincere.