After obtaining a doctorate in Law, Gérard Mortier (1943-2014) began working as assistant director of the Flanders International Festival. He then directed the Salzburg Festival and the Paris National Opera. From 2010, he became artistic director of the Teatro Real in Madrid, a position he held until 2014.

Considered one of the most innovative contemporary opera directors, throughout his career he received numerous awards such as the Medal of Honor of Belgium or the INSEAD Innovation Award in 2007. Mortier was also a Commander of the Orders of Arts and Letters of France and a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts.