Fête des Vignerons

The oldest object attesting to the existence of the Confrérie des Vignerons (Brotherhood of Winegrowers), a cup, dates from 1618. The Abbots-Presidents (presidents of the Council of the Brotherhood) are most often notables, members of the City Councils, lawyers, notaries or judges.

At the end of the 18th century, the Brotherhood, which was then composed of bourgeois landowners, decided to reward the work of the most deserving winegrowers. While at that time it was more common to reprimand negligent and lazy people, they decided to value the efforts made to improve farming methods. Experts of the Brotherhood note, judge and classify the winegrowers. Thus was to be born a ceremony of coronation of the best workers who are at the origin of the celebration. It then took place in the form of a procession.

In 1797, on the Place du Marché in Vevey, a platform with two thousand seats was erected. Under the chairmanship of Abbot-President Louis Levade, this first show was held on August 9, 1797.[5] In order to enhance the ceremony, a show is created consisting of a procession and a theatrical performance divided into four seasons presided over by the pagan deities, Pales, Bacchus and Ceres.

Poster of the 1889 Fête des Vignerons

Due to the unrest of the Vaudoise Revolution, then the Napoleonic Wars, the following years did not allow for a new celebration. It would take twenty-two years, in 1819, for a new celebration to be organized. The 1819 celebration took place from August 5 to 6 presided over by the same Abbot-President as the previous one. About 730 actors and performers participated in a 2000-seat arena. As the canton of Vaud had recently joined the Confederation, the theme of this first 19th century celebration glorified tradition and patriotism (the "Ranz des vaches" is sung for the first time).

The third Fête des vignerons took place from 8 to 9 August 1833 under the direction of Abbot-President Vincent Doret. About 780 actors and performers participated in a 4000-seat arena under the direction of dance master David Constantin. Music was composed by Samuel Glady in addition to songs from the traditional repertoire. This edition was the first to feature an original composition. Costumes were designed by Theophile Steinlen.[6]

In 1851, the fourth Fête des vignerons was held from 7 to 8 August under the direction of the Abbot-President François Déjoux. It was the first celebration whose music was entirely composed for the occasion (by François Grast) and thus forms a stylistic unity.[7] About 900 actors and performers participated in an 8,000-seat arena under the direction of Benjamin Archinard. This was the first time that the Ancients Swiss troop, previously intended to supervise the procession, marched.

François Grast also composed the music for the next Fête des Vignerons, which took place from 26 to 27 July 1865 under Abbot-President Louis Bonjour. About 1200 actors and performers participated in a 10,500-seat arena. Benjamin Archinard was dancing master as at the previous festival with Pierre Lacaze responsible for costumes and staging. As the celebration grew it became more difficult to finance and had to rely on a public subscription for one third of its budget.[8]

From August 5 to 9, 1889, the sixth Fête des Vignerons was held under the direction of the Abbot-President (and former President of the Confederation) Paul Ceresole. On this occasion, the show was staged by Ernest Burnat to the music of Hugo de Senger and brought together 1379 actors and performers in a 12,000 seat arena. This was the first time that the Ranz des vaches had been performed by a soloist, Placid Curtat, and not by a choir of armaillis.[9] The highly acclaimed performance of the soloist showed the symbolic function of this song in the festival and established the close link between Vevey and the heights of the Veveyse District and the Gruyère District.

Ancient Swiss costume, 1999

The seventh Fête des Vignerons took place from August 4 to 9, 1905. The Abbot-President at the time was the national councillor Emile Gaudard. René Morax wrote the libretto and directed the spectacle. Gustave Doret composed the music. The 1905 Fête des Vignerons was notable in that the procession become a secondary element as well as beng the first celebration not to restrict the participation of women and girls.[10] About 1,800 actors and performers participated in an arena with 12,500 seats.

From August 1 to 9, 1927, the eighth Fête des Vignerons was presided over by the same Abbot-President as the previous one, Emile Gaudard, then Switzerland's delegate to the League of Nations.[11] The production was directed by Edouard Vierne (René Morax declined the invitation), replaced by A. Durec a few weeks before the event, while the music was composed as at the previous celebration by Gustave Doret with a libretto by Pierre Girard.[12] The costumes and scenery were designed by Ernest Bieler and the choreographer was Georges Meriadec.[13] About 2,000 performers participated, gathered in a 14,000-seat arena inspired by a medieval city surrounded by a wall and towers.

In 1955, the Fête des vignerons took place from August 1 to 15, presided over by the Abbot-President David Dénéréaz. In a context of increasing entertainment possibilities, barely a decade after the end of the Second World War, the organisation became more professional: it was the first festival to have an international focus,[14] more than doubling its capacity compared to the previous one (the first performances were not entirely sold out, but additional ones were organised following their success). The show was directed by Oscar Eberlé to music by Carlo Hemmerling and a libretto by Géo H. Blanc.[15] 3,850 performers participated in a 16,000-seat arena. The 1955 edition was the first to organize night performances.

From July 30 to August 14, 1977, the tenth Fête des Vignerons was presided over by the Abbot-President Philippe Dénéréaz. It was directed by Charles Apothéloz with music by Jean Balissat and a libretto by Henri Debluë. The sets and costumes were designed by Jean Monod. André Charlet directed the choirs and orchestra.[16] 4,250 performers participated in a 15,776-seat arena organized around a large solar clock with four cardinal points indicating the four seasons.[17]

The 1999 Fête des Vignerons took place from July 29 to August 15. Presided over by the Abbot-President Marc-Henri Chaudet, it was directed by François Rochaix with music by Jean-François Bovard, Michel Hostettler and Jost Meier. The libretto was by François Debluë (nephew of the 1977 librettist Henri Debluë) while Jean-Claude Maret directed the scenography and Catherine Zuber was responsible for the costumes.[18] The show featured "Arlevin", a winemaker representing the crowned winemakers (the coronation only took place during the first performance).[19] 5,050 performers participated in a 16,000-seat arena. On August 11, the audience was able to see, during the show, the only total solar eclipse of the decade.

• Models of amphitheatres from the second half of the 20th century
• 
  1955
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  1977
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  1999

Fête des Vignerons 2019

On December 1, 2016, the Fête des Vignerons was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the intangible cultural heritage of Humanity. It is the first Swiss tradition to be included.

The twelfth Fête des Vignerons was held from July 18 to August 11, 2019. It was presided over by Abbot-President François Margot[20] and was directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca.[21] The music was composed by Maria Bonzanigo (musical director), Jérôme Berney and Valentin Villard, while the libretto was the work of Stéphane Blok and Blaise Hofmann.[22] The scenography was by Hugo Gargiulo,[23] Bryn Walters was the choreographer and the costumes were designed by Giovanna Buzzi. Among the approximately 6,000 actors and performers, there were nearly 1,000 singers (local choirs, choir-percussionists, children)[24] conducted by Caroline Meyer and Céline Grandjean[25] in an arena of 20,000 seats.[26] The traditional song Ranz des Vaches was performed by eleven armaillis[27] (traditional cow-herdsmen[28]), rather than a soloist as had been done since 1889.

The 2019 spectacle traced the activities of winegrowers through the seasons, seen through the eyes and imagination of a small girl called "petite Julie". The opening scene is set during the grape harvest. Julie's grandfather is playing cards and drinking wine outside a winegrowers' hut (locally known as a "capite"[29]). During the spectacle, Julie's grandfather teaches her about the mysteries of grapevines, the beauty of the landscape and the culture of wine-making. She repeatedly encounters the Three Doctors, clownish local worthies and experts of the Fête. Reality is transformed into a dreamlike fairy world through Julie's imagination and she is accompanied on her adventures by a beautiful dragonfly.[30]