Rouen cathedral sublimated by immersive sound and light

“It’s very different,” says Father Alexandre Gérault, the rector of Notre-Dame de Rouen. “The building is no longer just a canvas on which images are projected. This show is more attached to finding the spirit of the place ”. And it is true that the result is stunning. In music and carried by the strength of a live choir, the sequence of projections magnifies the architecture of this masterpiece of Gothic art. He underlines the lines of his nave, vibrates his choir. And even transforms the stone to the hole to reveal a stubborn celestial vault or a sky of lightning. The building itself tells the first person without knowing what the spectator will remember. What does it matter. Immersed in each painting, evoking a painful past or a stage of its construction, the canvases of Monet or the beauty of its stained glass, the Spirit is caught up in the explosions of colors, materials and sounds. With an apotheosis a final bouquet worthy of July 14.

“Rediscover this jewel”

Six months of work and twelve nights of installation were necessary for the technical Luminiscence teams to obtain such a result. It must be said that Lotchi, the company at the origin of this concept, is not at its first try. Launched in Bordeaux in 2023, he exported himself to Nice, Lille or Saint-Eustache in Paris before arriving in Lyon or Reims in the coming weeks. “Each time, it is a different creation since we work on the history of the building to inspire us in the design of videos. And obviously on its architecture that we model in 3D to dress it and make it live. But being able to create such a spectacle in one of the most beautiful cathedrals in France is quite exceptional. It was also one of our dreams when we embarked on this adventure, ”says Romain Sarfati, one of the co -founders of Lotchi who received an enthusiastic reception from the parish team approached there is already Several months. “A cathedral is above all a place of life,” insists Father Alexandre Gérault. “This show is an opportunity for Rouennais to rediscover this jewel whose beauty we sometimes forget by dint of seeing it. And it is also, for everyone, an opportunity to cross its doors, whether we have faith or not ”.

Proposed from Wednesday to Saturday, at the rate of two sessions of about time per evening for a maximum gauge of 700 seats, the sound and light will benefit from a version with orchestra every weekend from February 21. And even if unlike the summer projections that are free, spectators must this time get their hands in the pocket, with prices ranging from 20 to 55 €, the first booking figures meet the expectations of Romain Sarfati: “Not far from 15 000 places have already been sold in ten days. And if the success is confirmed, we do not refrain from extending a few weeks, “already projects the young man after a preview where the public has split a standing ovation more than ‘encouraging.