Author and composer, Breton Alan Simon is the creator of rock opera records and shows, including the Celtic-inspired Excalibur series. Born in Nantes on July 3, 1964, he began composing at the age of 20 and, after Murray Head's "SOS World", went on to record the children's musical tales Le Petit Arthur (1995) and Les Enfants du Futur (1996). In 1999, he launched the Excalibur series, the first episode of which, La Légende des Celtes, was successfully staged at the Palais Omnisports de Bercy in Paris, with contributions from Fairport Convention, Dan ar Braz, Roger Hodgson, Tri Yann, Gabriel Yacoub and Didier Lockwood. This will continue with four further releases in 2007(L'Anneau des Celtes), 2012(Les Origines), 2017(The Dark Age of the Dragon) and 2021(Move, Cry Act, Clash!). In between these shows, featuring other musicians such as Jon Anderson, Alan Parsons and Barclay James Harvest, Alan Simon has produced similar rock opera projects such as Anne de Bretagne (2008), Tristan et Yseult (2014) and Chouans (2018), which have given rise to spectacular performances. Alan Simon also produced the album Open the Door for Roger Hodgson (2000) and invited a host of artists on the charity and ecological album Gaïa (2003), including Midnight Oil, Zucchero, Anggun, Jane Birkin and Césaria Evora. He is also the author of the feature film O Gengis (2005) and several video clips for Merzhin, Siobhan Owen, Kohann and Jesse Siebenberg. In 2019, he will direct the film Monsieur Constant, with Jean-Claude Drout, Cali and Jean-Yves Lafesse, for which he will compose the music. Before the release of this project in 2023, Alan Simon and Jean-Jacques Chardeau will write the libretto for the rock opera The Magical Musical Man, which will premiere in 2019 with John Helliwell, Christian and Francis Decamps from the group Ange, and Jerry Goodman from the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
