The Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses pyromelodic show will soon revisit the tales and legends of Puisaye

On the way to the 56th! One month before the Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses pyromelodic show which will take place on Saturday July 27, 2024, the professionals and volunteers involved are finalizing the preparations.

Since January, discussions have been held to determine the universe of the show. The annual theme will be that of the “Storyteller of the Locks”, a choice based on the tales and legends of Puisaye. “It is the only pyromelodic show organized entirely by volunteers,” congratulates the president of the town’s festival committee, Laure Sonveau. “It will be preceded by festivities, concerts and activities in the afternoon.”

Sequence of steps

Since 1967, fireworks have been set off by the town. Growing each year, it quickly became, in France, one of the longest and most impressive pyromelodic shows. As Thierry Lepretre, project manager and show designer for the Ruggieri company (Ruggieri and Lacroix), attests: “The company has been making fireworks for 285 years, and this show for more than fifty years. Preparation takes time, two people work on the creation, one creates the music and texts, and for three days, for the show, twenty people work on the pyrotechnics and ten on the sounds and lights.”

Step by step, the show takes shape. In order to offer nearly an hour of festivities, teams of professionals and volunteers work collaboratively from the first weeks. First, the theme. “It changes every year,” reports Laure Sonveau. “On our proposals or those of the company.”

And then, it’s time for the show. “We start with the theme to tell a story,” says Thierry Lepretre. “It’s very personalized, especially this year, so we do some research. Then, a scriptwriter creates the story, so with the texts, the lyrics. Then, we have to find the music that will fit.” Adventure, medieval, epic… The sounds must reflect the chosen universe, far from contemporary music.

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A show costing more than 250,000 euros

There will be 24 paintings in a fifty-minute show, to tell around eight local legends, “inspired by the surrounding villages”, adds Laure Sonveau. To the nearest hundredth of a second, the show is precise. “We alternate between dialogue, music, fireworks and always light shows, the audience is never in the dark.” On site, an actor embodying the voice of the scenario will travel to tell these stories.

“Once the script and music have been selected, the soundtrack designer makes his suggestions,” adds Thierry Lepretre. “Then we add all the pyrotechnics to adapt the fireworks to the soundtrack, match the music to the fireworks, the lighting effects to the dialogues, etc.” The final step, the secret of which is held by the professional. For the sky to convey the atmosphere and the world of the show, “it’s a question of habit, a feeling. Eventually, we know which effect is best suited to the type of music chosen.”

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With 250 volunteers mobilized on the day of the show and a total cost of 250,000 euros, the organizers hope to see 15,000 spectators. A bet subject to the weather variable.

Mila Gosseaume