City: Paris| Date | Event | Composers, Works, Performers |
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| Tuesday 21-May-13 06:30pm |
 Château de Versailles: Royal Opera House, ParisLouis Dietsch : Le Vaisseau Fantôme and Der Fliegende Holländer - in concert |
Sonya Yoncheva, Soprano Bernard Richter, Tenor Eric Cutler, Tenor Mika Kares, Bass Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble Marc Minkowski, Conductor Yevgeny Nikitin, Bass-baritone: Dutchman Ingela Brimberg, Soprano: Senta Mika Kares, Bass: Daland Eric Cutler, Tenor: Erik Helene Schneiderman, Mezzo-soprano: Mary Bernard Richter, Tenor |
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| Château de Versailles: Royal Opera House, Paris, Place d’Armes, Entrance at the Gate of Honour, 78000 Paris, France Tuesday 21-May-13 06:30pm Louis Dietsch : Le Vaisseau Fantôme and Der Fliegende Holländer - in concert Louis Dietsch composed "Le Vaisseau Fantôme" (The Phantom Ship) the year before Wagner's "Der Fliegende Holländer" and unusually they will be played on the same evening. The first opera will last about 1 hour 40 minutes, and after an interval the second will last 2 hours.Tickets €35 - 120.Sonya Yoncheva, Soprano Bernard Richter, Tenor Eric Cutler, Tenor Mika Kares, Bass Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble Marc Minkowski, Conductor Yevgeny Nikitin, Bass-baritone: Dutchman Ingela Brimberg, Soprano: Senta Mika Kares, Bass: Daland Eric Cutler, Tenor: Erik Helene Schneiderman, Mezzo-soprano: Mary Bernard Richter, Tenor | ||
| Tuesday 28-May-13 08:00pm |
Opéra Bastille, Paris Shostakovich / Mahler |
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| Opéra Bastille, Paris, 120 rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris, France Tuesday 28-May-13 08:00pm Shostakovich / Mahler | ||
| Wednesday 29-May-13 08:00pm |
Salle Pleyel, Paris The art of singing with Matthias Goerne |
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| Salle Pleyel, Paris, 252, rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France Wednesday 29-May-13 08:00pm The art of singing with Matthias Goerne | ||
| Monday 3-Jun-13 09:00pm |
Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris Magdalena Kozena sings Mozart Versailles Festival |
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| Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris, Place d'Armes, Paris, France Monday 3-Jun-13 09:00pm Magdalena Kozena sings Mozart Prices: 130/100/75/50 €Image credit: © Agathe Poupeney | ||
| Wednesday 5-Jun-13 08:00pm |
Palais Garnier (Opéra de Paris) Torsten Kerl / Boris Block |
Wagner, Lieder Korngold, Lieder Zemlinsky, Lieder |
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| Palais Garnier (Opéra de Paris), 75009 Paris, France Wednesday 5-Jun-13 08:00pm Torsten Kerl / Boris Block Wagner, Richard (1813-1883), Lieder | ||
| Wednesday 5-Jun-13 08:00pm |
Salle Pleyel, Paris Verdi Chorus |
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| Salle Pleyel, Paris, 252, rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France Wednesday 5-Jun-13 08:00pm Verdi Chorus | ||
| Thursday 6-Jun-13 08:00pm |
Salle Pleyel, Paris Verdi Chorus |
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| Salle Pleyel, Paris, 252, rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France Thursday 6-Jun-13 08:00pm Verdi Chorus | ||
| Friday 7-Jun-13 08:00pm |
Palais Garnier (Opéra de Paris) Percussion and dance |
Programme not known |
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| Palais Garnier (Opéra de Paris), 75009 Paris, France Friday 7-Jun-13 08:00pm Percussion and dance Programme not known | ||
| Saturday 8-Jun-13 07:00pm |
Salle Pleyel, Paris Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra |
Benzecry, Rituales Amerindios (Illapa) |
| More info... | ||
| Salle Pleyel, Paris, 252, rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France Saturday 8-Jun-13 07:00pm Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | ||
| Saturday 8-Jun-13 09:00pm |
Château de Versailles: Grand Trianon, Paris Music for King's gardens: William Christie Versailles Festival |
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| Château de Versailles: Grand Trianon, Paris, Allée de la Reine, 78000 Versailles Paris, France Saturday 8-Jun-13 09:00pm Music for King's gardens: William Christie Parc et jardins In 2013, as part of the year dedicated to Le Nôtre – gardener to Louis XIV – to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his birth, William Christie will be conducting two exceptional concerts on 8 & 9 June at the Grand Trianon of the Palace of Versailles. William Christie, as we all now know, is passionately dedicated to gardening, plants, flowers, horticulture and everything to do with gardens. On his estate in Vendée he has devoted years of work to producing an outstanding reconstruction of the French-style formal garden, which last year became a musical garden thanks to the festival that he inaugurated there. When we spoke with William Christie about the 400th anniversary of the birth of Le Nôtre, he immediately volunteered to pay musical homage to this designer of genius. "Music for the King’s Gardens" was the title that he found for this project, with the concerts to be given pertinently but somewhat exceptionally under the Peristyle of the Grand Trianon. Between the Main Courtyard and the Gardens designed by Le Nôtre, in the warmth and fading light of the summer evening, the Peristyle will recover the splendour and intimate atmosphere that Louis XIV so admired in it. This marble colonnaded portico surrounded by plants will be the magnificent setting for works of music composed by contemporaries of Louis XIV and Le Nôtre. Le Nôtre regarded gardens as the continuation of architecture by other means. For William Christie, they are also the most sumptuous setting for performing baroque music which evokes the open air, the pastoral world, hunting, nature in all its metamorphoses... So he decided to present three outstanding works here. First of all, two works that are directly linked to the work of Le Nôtre in the Gardens of Versailles: Lully composed "La Grotte de Versailles" in direct reference to the Thetys Grotto which held the splendid sculpture group of Apollo and the Nymphs (now to be seen in the Grove of Apollo’s Baths). This celebrated Italian-style grotto, of which only engravings remain, was perhaps the most precious ornament of the Gardens of Versailles in their early state. Built in 1666, it was demolished in 1684 to make way for the extension of the palace. In 1668, Lully and Quinault dedicated a vocal and instrumental work to it. A few years later, Lalande composed "Les Fontaines de Versailles", a mini-opera in six scenes, performed in Versailles on 5 April 1683. This also paid homage to the most famous ornaments of the Gardens of Versailles, these fountains whose spectacular water features have come down through the centuries without losing their celebrity. "Louis brings in the new season accompanied by games and love” reads the libretto: could one imagine a finer homage to the spring and the King? William Christie will combine these two works by musicians who were closest to the King, in an evocation of the gardens of Louis XIV. When Charpentier composed his pocket-size opera Actéon in 1684, it was not for the King, but for the Duchesse de Guise, whose musical entertainment he directed. The work was a success and has continued to be performed many times until our own day. Charpentier, who probably sung the title role at its first performance, based the libretto on the account in Ovid’s Metamorphoses of the passions and the misadventures of the young hunter Actaeon, who loves Diana, the goddess of hunting and virginity, whom he unexpectedly sees bathing in the forest which is her domain. To punish his indecent curiosity, she transforms him into a stag who is then devoured by his own hounds. A baroque parable of the ravages of love, Actéon is one of the masterpieces of the composer and of all the music of the late 17th century. We can be sure that William Christie and his Arts Florissants, in this ideal setting, will give these works a truly memorable rendition.... | ||
| Sunday 9-Jun-13 09:00pm |
Château de Versailles: Grand Trianon, Paris Music for King's gardens: William Christie Versailles Festival |
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| Château de Versailles: Grand Trianon, Paris, Allée de la Reine, 78000 Versailles Paris, France Sunday 9-Jun-13 09:00pm Music for King's gardens: William Christie Parc et jardins In 2013, as part of the year dedicated to Le Nôtre – gardener to Louis XIV – to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his birth, William Christie will be conducting two exceptional concerts on 8 & 9 June at the Grand Trianon of the Palace of Versailles. William Christie, as we all now know, is passionately dedicated to gardening, plants, flowers, horticulture and everything to do with gardens. On his estate in Vendée he has devoted years of work to producing an outstanding reconstruction of the French-style formal garden, which last year became a musical garden thanks to the festival that he inaugurated there. When we spoke with William Christie about the 400th anniversary of the birth of Le Nôtre, he immediately volunteered to pay musical homage to this designer of genius. "Music for the King’s Gardens" was the title that he found for this project, with the concerts to be given pertinently but somewhat exceptionally under the Peristyle of the Grand Trianon. Between the Main Courtyard and the Gardens designed by Le Nôtre, in the warmth and fading light of the summer evening, the Peristyle will recover the splendour and intimate atmosphere that Louis XIV so admired in it. This marble colonnaded portico surrounded by plants will be the magnificent setting for works of music composed by contemporaries of Louis XIV and Le Nôtre. Le Nôtre regarded gardens as the continuation of architecture by other means. For William Christie, they are also the most sumptuous setting for performing baroque music which evokes the open air, the pastoral world, hunting, nature in all its metamorphoses... So he decided to present three outstanding works here. First of all, two works that are directly linked to the work of Le Nôtre in the Gardens of Versailles: Lully composed "La Grotte de Versailles" in direct reference to the Thetys Grotto which held the splendid sculpture group of Apollo and the Nymphs (now to be seen in the Grove of Apollo’s Baths). This celebrated Italian-style grotto, of which only engravings remain, was perhaps the most precious ornament of the Gardens of Versailles in their early state. Built in 1666, it was demolished in 1684 to make way for the extension of the palace. In 1668, Lully and Quinault dedicated a vocal and instrumental work to it. A few years later, Lalande composed "Les Fontaines de Versailles", a mini-opera in six scenes, performed in Versailles on 5 April 1683. This also paid homage to the most famous ornaments of the Gardens of Versailles, these fountains whose spectacular water features have come down through the centuries without losing their celebrity. "Louis brings in the new season accompanied by games and love” reads the libretto: could one imagine a finer homage to the spring and the King? William Christie will combine these two works by musicians who were closest to the King, in an evocation of the gardens of Louis XIV. When Charpentier composed his pocket-size opera Actéon in 1684, it was not for the King, but for the Duchesse de Guise, whose musical entertainment he directed. The work was a success and has continued to be performed many times until our own day. Charpentier, who probably sung the title role at its first performance, based the libretto on the account in Ovid’s Metamorphoses of the passions and the misadventures of the young hunter Actaeon, who loves Diana, the goddess of hunting and virginity, whom he unexpectedly sees bathing in the forest which is her domain. To punish his indecent curiosity, she transforms him into a stag who is then devoured by his own hounds. A baroque parable of the ravages of love, Actéon is one of the masterpieces of the composer and of all the music of the late 17th century. We can be sure that William Christie and his Arts Florissants, in this ideal setting, will give these works a truly memorable rendition.... | ||
| Monday 10-Jun-13 08:00pm |
Opéra Bastille, Paris Verdi Requiem |
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| Opéra Bastille, Paris, 120 rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris, France Monday 10-Jun-13 08:00pm Verdi Requiem | ||
| Tuesday 11-Jun-13 08:00pm |
Opéra Bastille, Paris Verdi Requiem |
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| Opéra Bastille, Paris, 120 rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris, France Tuesday 11-Jun-13 08:00pm Verdi Requiem | ||
| Wednesday 12-Jun-13 08:00pm |
Salle Pleyel, Paris Khatia Buniatishvili plays Liszt |
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| Salle Pleyel, Paris, 252, rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France Wednesday 12-Jun-13 08:00pm Khatia Buniatishvili plays Liszt | ||
| Friday 14-Jun-13 |
Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris The Royal Serenade Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris, Place d'Armes, Paris, France Friday 14-Jun-13 The Royal Serenade Just before the Night Fountains show, relive the flamboyant days of the reign of Louis XIV by viewing the apartments of the king to the sound of a serenade. Under the gold and reflections of the Hall of Mirrors, as the sun sets, cross the Palace Of Versailles and join the dance! You will be accompanied by the music of a group of baroque musicians and dancers of La Compagnie Baroque for a grand French ball. Please check website for times | ||
| Friday 14-Jun-13 09:00pm |
Château de Versailles: Stroll in the gardens / Promenade dans les jardins illuminés, Paris Fountains Night Show Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Stroll in the gardens / Promenade dans les jardins illuminés, Paris, Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles Paris, France Friday 14-Jun-13 09:00pm Fountains Night Show As night falls, the Royal Garden of Louis XIV becomes a land of astonishing sights and sounds. Visitors discover a world of colourfully illuminated groves and playing fountains. THE FOUNTAINS NIGHT SHOW (stroll in the garden - no seats) As night falls, the Royal Garden of Louis XIV becomes a land of astonishing sights and sounds. Visitors discover a world of colourfully illuminated groves and playing fountains. This year, once again, lighting and scenographic artists will be taking over the gardens, introducing thousands of lights and some astonishing installations : laser beams streaking the night sky, the spectacular crushing of the giant Encelade. Parade Design will roll out a graceful and other-worldly trail through the Bosquet de la Girandole and the Bosquet du Dauphin. Groupe F will engulf the Tapis Vert in monumental flames and stage the firework display that, against the backdrop of the Grand Canal, will bring to a close this mysterious evening wonderfully enhanced by the masterpieces of French baroque music interpreted by Reinhard Goebel and his orchestra, the Musica Antiqua Köln. Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Saturday 15-Jun-13 08:45pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Opening concert: Benjamin Grosvenor Festival Chopin à Paris |
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| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Saturday 15-Jun-13 08:45pm Opening concert: Benjamin Grosvenor Tickets 34€ , 27€ for students or members of the Société Chopin Liszt, Franz (1811-1886), 6 Chants Polonais (after Chopin Op. 74), S 480: Mädchens Wunsch (Zyczenie)/Souhaits d’une jeune fille no.1 Liszt, Franz (1811-1886), 6 Chants Polonais (after Chopin Op. 74), S 480: Meine Freuden (Moja pieszczotka)/Mes joies, no.12 Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Sunday 16-Jun-13 02:00pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Open-Door Piano Festival Chopin à Paris |
Works by Chopin |
| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Sunday 16-Jun-13 02:00pm Open-Door Piano Between 14:00 and 19:00, 8 young pianists play Chopin. Free with park entry ticket (€5). Price type: Free Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Sunday 16-Jun-13 08:00pm |
Château de Versailles: Royal Opera House, Paris Cecilia Bartoli - Mission: Liaisons Dangereuses Versailles Festival |
Works by Steffani |
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| Château de Versailles: Royal Opera House, Paris, Place d’Armes, Entrance at the Gate of Honour, 78000 Paris, France Sunday 16-Jun-13 08:00pm Cecilia Bartoli - Mission: Liaisons Dangereuses It’s the secret history of an unknown composer....In June 2012, between two sumptuous recitals in Versailles (Handel, and Sacrificium) from which the audience emerged enthusiastic and fascinated by the Diva, Cecilia Bartoli mysteriously filmed in the Palace and the park over five days and nights a series of sumptuous airs from the repertoire of opera and sacred music in the company of Diego Fasolis and his extraordinary Barocchisti. Exceptional performances and dizzying feats of interpretation resounded in the Hall of Mirrors thanks to the magic of Cecilia Bartoli… And a shadow made its presence felt there: that of the composer of these magnificent arias, unknown to the general public and whose name had been kept secret even from the musicians who played the scores! This intriguing and splendid project will soon be revealed by Cecilia Bartoli in Versailles after an international tour and the broadcasting of images for the celebrations. Return to the Palace of the team that dreamed up this project, with their principal mission to bowl the audience over and reach its heart, as it always does, but this time after Vivaldi and Handel, by producing a thrilling experience worthy of the celebrated Liaisons Dangereuses! Image credit: © Agathe Poupeney Works by Steffani, Agostino (1653-1728) | ||
| Monday 17-Jun-13 09:00pm |
Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris Marie-Nicole Lemieux - Furia Versailles Festival |
Haydn, Symphony no. 82 in C major “The Bear” (finale) |
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| Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris, Place d'Armes, Paris, France Monday 17-Jun-13 09:00pm Marie-Nicole Lemieux - Furia Prices: 130/100/75/50 €Image credit: © Agathe Poupeney | ||
| Thursday 20-Jun-13 08:00pm |
Salle Pleyel, Paris Frank Peter Zimmermann plays Shostakovitch's Violin Concerto no. 1 |
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| Salle Pleyel, Paris, 252, rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France Thursday 20-Jun-13 08:00pm Frank Peter Zimmermann plays Shostakovitch's Violin Concerto no. 1 | ||
| Thursday 20-Jun-13 08:45pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Candlelight Concerts: Pietro de Maria Festival Chopin à Paris |
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| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Thursday 20-Jun-13 08:45pm Candlelight Concerts: Pietro de Maria Tickets 27 € Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750), Well-Tempered Clavier 1: Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV846 Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750), Well-Tempered Clavier 1: Prelude and Fugue No. 21 in B Flat Major, BWV866 Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Saturday 22-Jun-13 |
Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris The Royal Serenade Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris, Place d'Armes, Paris, France Saturday 22-Jun-13 The Royal Serenade Just before the Night Fountains show, relive the flamboyant days of the reign of Louis XIV by viewing the apartments of the king to the sound of a serenade. Under the gold and reflections of the Hall of Mirrors, as the sun sets, cross the Palace Of Versailles and join the dance! You will be accompanied by the music of a group of baroque musicians and dancers of La Compagnie Baroque for a grand French ball. Please check website for times | ||
| Saturday 22-Jun-13 09:00pm |
Château de Versailles: Stroll in the gardens / Promenade dans les jardins illuminés, Paris Fountains Night Show Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Stroll in the gardens / Promenade dans les jardins illuminés, Paris, Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles Paris, France Saturday 22-Jun-13 09:00pm Fountains Night Show As night falls, the Royal Garden of Louis XIV becomes a land of astonishing sights and sounds. Visitors discover a world of colourfully illuminated groves and playing fountains. THE FOUNTAINS NIGHT SHOW (stroll in the garden - no seats) As night falls, the Royal Garden of Louis XIV becomes a land of astonishing sights and sounds. Visitors discover a world of colourfully illuminated groves and playing fountains. This year, once again, lighting and scenographic artists will be taking over the gardens, introducing thousands of lights and some astonishing installations : laser beams streaking the night sky, the spectacular crushing of the giant Encelade. Parade Design will roll out a graceful and other-worldly trail through the Bosquet de la Girandole and the Bosquet du Dauphin. Groupe F will engulf the Tapis Vert in monumental flames and stage the firework display that, against the backdrop of the Grand Canal, will bring to a close this mysterious evening wonderfully enhanced by the masterpieces of French baroque music interpreted by Reinhard Goebel and his orchestra, the Musica Antiqua Köln. Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Sunday 23-Jun-13 11:00am |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Concert-Conference: Alkan's "Les Quatres Ages" Festival Chopin à Paris |
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| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Sunday 23-Jun-13 11:00am Concert-Conference: Alkan's "Les Quatres Ages" Coffee and croissant from 10:30. Free with park entry. Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Sunday 23-Jun-13 04:30pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Weekend Recitals: Pierre Reach Festival Chopin à Paris |
Alkan, Grande Sonate, "Les Quatre Ages," Op.33 ("Quasi Faust"; "Un Heureux Ménage"; "Prométhée enchaîné") |
| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Sunday 23-Jun-13 04:30pm Weekend Recitals: Pierre Reach Tickets 17 € Alkan, Valentin (1813-1888), Grande Sonate, "Les Quatre Ages," Op.33 ("Quasi Faust"; "Un Heureux Ménage"; "Prométhée enchaîné") Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Sunday 23-Jun-13 08:00pm |
Palais Garnier (Opéra de Paris) Chamber Music Concerts |
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| Palais Garnier (Opéra de Paris), 75009 Paris, France Sunday 23-Jun-13 08:00pm Chamber Music Concerts | ||
| Monday 24-Jun-13 08:45pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Candlelight Concerts: Frédéric Chiu Festival Chopin à Paris |
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| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Monday 24-Jun-13 08:45pm Candlelight Concerts: Frédéric Chiu Tickets 27 € Wagner, Richard (1813-1883), Polonaise Wagner, Richard (1813-1883), Piano Sonata in A sharp major "Ankunft bei den schwarzen Schwänen", WWV 95 Wagner, Richard (1813-1883), Albumblatt für Ernst Bendikt Kietz, for piano in E major (Song without words), WWV 64 Liszt, Franz (1811-1886), La Lugubre gondole Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Thursday 27-Jun-13 08:00pm |
Opéra Bastille, Paris Messiaen / Mozart / Nielsen |
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| Opéra Bastille, Paris, 120 rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris, France Thursday 27-Jun-13 08:00pm Messiaen / Mozart / Nielsen | ||
| Thursday 27-Jun-13 08:30pm |
Château de Versailles: Chapelle Royale, Paris Bach: Easter and Ascension oratorios Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Chapelle Royale, Paris, Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles, 78000 Paris, France Thursday 27-Jun-13 08:30pm Bach: Easter and Ascension oratorios For almost 50 years now, Sir John Eliot Gardiner has explored the riches of Western choral music with the choir that he founded, the Monteverdi Choir.This fervent passion for vocal music, the expression of the soul, is expressed above all for Gardiner in the interpretation of the works of Bach, the summit of the baroque style and the cornerstone of sacred music. Hundreds of concerts and dozens of recordings have been dedicated by the Monteverdi Choir to the Cantor of Leipzig. His crazy but brilliant idea, the Bach Pilgrimage of 2000, took Gardiner and his singers on a long tour to perform and record the entire sacred cantatas of Bach in the most prestigious places of the history of Europe. It resulted in memorable concerts, immortalised by the CDs issued in their wake: the finest Bach collection imaginable. In September 2011, Gardiner chose the Royal Chapel of Versailles to perform the Motets of Bach: this was a sumptuous concert, whose recording in London a few weeks later testified to the musical perfection achieved by the composer in terms of both baroque rhetoric and religious depth (a CD unanimously hailed). In June 2012, the concert devoted to sacred music of the English Renaissance left the audience speechless at such perfection, including the long encore of processional litanies that the Monteverdi Choir pursued in the sacristy, revealing the immemorial meaning of the holy place. This time, in June 2013, the choice of Sir John Eliot Gardiner goes to two outstanding works of the liturgical compositions of Bach: the Easter Oratorio and the Ascension Oratorio. The first, composed for Leipzig in 1725, describes the surprise of the Apostles before the empty tomb: the miracle of the Resurrection. The second, also composed for Leipzig a decade later, in 1735, evokes the mystical ascent of the body of Christ into Heaven, his definitive victory over death. Marking two of the most crucial moments of the Christian liturgy, these two works allowed Bach to draw on all his evocative genius, while remaining firmly anchored in the faith of the Lutheran tradition. As for each concert of Gardiner in the Royal Chapel, addressing God familiarly is the musical challenge... Image credit: © Agathe Poupeney | ||
| Thursday 27-Jun-13 08:45pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Candlelight Concerts: Claire Désert Festival Chopin à Paris |
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| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Thursday 27-Jun-13 08:45pm Candlelight Concerts: Claire Désert Tickets 27 € Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Friday 28-Jun-13 07:30pm |
Château de Versailles: Chapelle Royale, Paris Jodi Savall: Magnificat Jubilate Versailles Festival |
Works by Bach J.S. (Magnificat) |
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| Château de Versailles: Chapelle Royale, Paris, Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles, 78000 Paris, France Friday 28-Jun-13 07:30pm Jodi Savall: Magnificat Jubilate Image credit: © Agathe Poupeney Works by Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750) (Magnificat) | ||
| Saturday 29-Jun-13 |
Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris The Royal Serenade Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris, Place d'Armes, Paris, France Saturday 29-Jun-13 The Royal Serenade Just before the Night Fountains show, relive the flamboyant days of the reign of Louis XIV by viewing the apartments of the king to the sound of a serenade. Under the gold and reflections of the Hall of Mirrors, as the sun sets, cross the Palace Of Versailles and join the dance! You will be accompanied by the music of a group of baroque musicians and dancers of La Compagnie Baroque for a grand French ball. Please check website for times | ||
| Saturday 29-Jun-13 04:30pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Weekend Recitals: Anastasya Terenkova Festival Chopin à Paris |
Liszt, Mephisto Waltz |
| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Saturday 29-Jun-13 04:30pm Weekend Recitals: Anastasya Terenkova Tickets 17 € Liszt, Franz (1811-1886), Mephisto Waltz Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Saturday 29-Jun-13 07:00pm |
Château de Versailles: Chapelle Royale, Paris Jodi Savall: Magnificat Jubilate Versailles Festival |
Works by Bach J.S. (Magnificat) |
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| Château de Versailles: Chapelle Royale, Paris, Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles, 78000 Paris, France Saturday 29-Jun-13 07:00pm Jodi Savall: Magnificat Jubilate Image credit: © Agathe Poupeney Works by Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750) (Magnificat) | ||
| Saturday 29-Jun-13 09:00pm |
Château de Versailles: Stroll in the gardens / Promenade dans les jardins illuminés, Paris Fountains Night Show Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Stroll in the gardens / Promenade dans les jardins illuminés, Paris, Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles Paris, France Saturday 29-Jun-13 09:00pm Fountains Night Show As night falls, the Royal Garden of Louis XIV becomes a land of astonishing sights and sounds. Visitors discover a world of colourfully illuminated groves and playing fountains. THE FOUNTAINS NIGHT SHOW (stroll in the garden - no seats) This year, once again, lighting and scenographic artists will be taking over the gardens, introducing thousands of lights and some astonishing installations : laser beams streaking the night sky, the spectacular crushing of the giant Encelade. Parade Design will roll out a graceful and other-worldly trail through the Bosquet de la Girandole and the Bosquet du Dauphin. Groupe F will engulf the Tapis Vert in monumental flames and stage the firework display that, against the backdrop of the Grand Canal, will bring to a close this mysterious evening wonderfully enhanced by the masterpieces of French baroque music interpreted by Reinhard Goebel and his orchestra, the Musica Antiqua Köln. Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Sunday 30-Jun-13 04:30pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Weekend Recitals: Nima Sarkechik Festival Chopin à Paris |
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| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Sunday 30-Jun-13 04:30pm Weekend Recitals: Nima Sarkechik Tickets 17 € Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Tuesday 2-Jul-13 08:45pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Candlelight Concerts: Pascal Amoyel Festival Chopin à Paris |
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| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Tuesday 2-Jul-13 08:45pm Candlelight Concerts: Pascal Amoyel Tickets 27 € Liszt, Franz (1811-1886), Isolde’s Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, transc. for piano, S 447 Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Thursday 4-Jul-13 08:45pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Candlelight Concerts: Karol Beffa Festival Chopin à Paris |
Beffa, Improvisations based on themes suggested by the audience |
| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Thursday 4-Jul-13 08:45pm Candlelight Concerts: Karol Beffa Tickets 27 € Beffa, Karol (b. 1973), Improvisations based on themes suggested by the audience Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Thursday 4-Jul-13 09:30pm |
Château de Versailles: Plaine de la Reine, Paris The Royal Carousel of Versailles Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Plaine de la Reine, Paris, 78000 Versailles Paris, France Thursday 4-Jul-13 09:30pm The Royal Carousel of Versailles For the first time since 1686, Versailles will be recreating its Royal Carrousel. Horses, baroque costumes and music from operas made this spectacular show the most popular of all the court’s entertainments, and the only one intended for a wide audience. The glories of the Royal Equestrian Show blaze out once more! or the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of André Le Nôtre, it seems appropriate to look into a form of spectacle which has now disappeared, but which was perhaps the main form of entertainment in France for several centuries, before the invention of Opera – the Carousel. Carousels were of Italian origin. The word stems from the contraction of two Latin words "carrus-soli", which means "cart of the sun". Inherited from the medieval tournament, the carousel was half-way between equestrian parades and Italian war games. The King, along with members of the high nobility, used to take on allegorical roles. The Carousels replaced tournaments, which were outlawed in France after the tragic death of Henry II in 1559 during a joust with the Count of Montgomery. The recreation of a Royal Carousel – the first since the reign of Louis XIV – will therefore be emblematic: set in the glorious centuries of monarchy, this spectacle bringing together the Kingdom's best horsemen on the most renowned horses of the royal and princely stables, for an allegorical evocation of the majesty of the combating King and his "knights", will be an equestrian and pyrotechnic event worthy of the great Royal Carousels which left their mark in the History of France. The Royal Carousel of 1662 will serve as a reference: it was held on 5 and 6 June, in the courtyard of the Palais des Tuileries, in front of 10 to 15 thousand people gathered in temporary stands. A grand stand was built for the Queen Mother Anne of Austria, Queen Marie-Thérèse and the ladies of the court. The participants were divided into five quadrilles named after the nations which were considered as the most prestigious and the most exotic in the 17th century: Romans (headed by King Louis XIV himself), Persians (headed by Monsieur), Turks (headed by the Prince of Condé), Indians (headed by the Duke of Enghien) and American Indians (headed by the Duke of Guise). The horsemen competed in ring tilts and head competitions: the ring tilts consisted in passing the lance through a hanging ring, while the head competition involved spearing a head (that of a Turk, Moor or Medusa) placed at a certain height, on the end of one's lance. The Marquis of Bellefonds won the head competition while the Count of Sault won the ring tilt. It was at the Carousel of 1662 that Louis XIV chose the Sun as his emblem and adopted the motto "Nec pluribus impar". The former Frondeurs represented planets or elements of nature, whose fate is totally dependent on the light of the sun. Another famous Carousel opened the great festivities of the Plaisirs de l'Ile Enchantée (Pleasures of the Enchanted Island) held at Versailles in May 1664: "The King, representing Roger, followed them on one of the world's most beautiful horses, whose fire-coloured harness glittered with gold, silver and precious stones. His Majesty, like all the horsemen in his quadrille, was armed like the Greeks and wore a silver breastplate richly decorated with gold and diamonds. His apparel and all of his actions were worthy of his rank; his helmet was incomparable; and never did a freer demeanour, nor a more belligerent one, place a mortal above other men." The 2013 version of the Great Royal Carousel of Versailles, to be staged by Jean Philippe Delavault, will bring together the essential elements of the Carousels of the past: firstly the magnificence of the horses, chosen to evoke those of the French Court, like the numerous Andalusian and Lusitano horses which were the glory of the Grande Ecurie. Then the expert horsemen, the King and the Nobles, each at the head of a quadrille, performing an allegorical spectacle where the virtues of the monarch are fully brought out to light: the Sun and Apollo will incarnate the King. Baroque music will accompany the spectacle, made up of sumptuous costumes to adorn the horsemen of the Belgian Riding Academy and the acrobats, before a fireworks finale worthy of Versailles, produced by Groupe F which has been producing the great shows of Versailles since 2007. Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Friday 5-Jul-13 09:30pm |
Château de Versailles: Plaine de la Reine, Paris The Royal Carousel of Versailles Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Plaine de la Reine, Paris, 78000 Versailles Paris, France Friday 5-Jul-13 09:30pm The Royal Carousel of Versailles For the first time since 1686, Versailles will be recreating its Royal Carrousel. Horses, baroque costumes and music from operas made this spectacular show the most popular of all the court’s entertainments, and the only one intended for a wide audience. The glories of the Royal Equestrian Show blaze out once more! or the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of André Le Nôtre, it seems appropriate to look into a form of spectacle which has now disappeared, but which was perhaps the main form of entertainment in France for several centuries, before the invention of Opera – the Carousel. Carousels were of Italian origin. The word stems from the contraction of two Latin words "carrus-soli", which means "cart of the sun". Inherited from the medieval tournament, the carousel was half-way between equestrian parades and Italian war games. The King, along with members of the high nobility, used to take on allegorical roles. The Carousels replaced tournaments, which were outlawed in France after the tragic death of Henry II in 1559 during a joust with the Count of Montgomery. The recreation of a Royal Carousel – the first since the reign of Louis XIV – will therefore be emblematic: set in the glorious centuries of monarchy, this spectacle bringing together the Kingdom's best horsemen on the most renowned horses of the royal and princely stables, for an allegorical evocation of the majesty of the combating King and his "knights", will be an equestrian and pyrotechnic event worthy of the great Royal Carousels which left their mark in the History of France. The Royal Carousel of 1662 will serve as a reference: it was held on 5 and 6 June, in the courtyard of the Palais des Tuileries, in front of 10 to 15 thousand people gathered in temporary stands. A grand stand was built for the Queen Mother Anne of Austria, Queen Marie-Thérèse and the ladies of the court. The participants were divided into five quadrilles named after the nations which were considered as the most prestigious and the most exotic in the 17th century: Romans (headed by King Louis XIV himself), Persians (headed by Monsieur), Turks (headed by the Prince of Condé), Indians (headed by the Duke of Enghien) and American Indians (headed by the Duke of Guise). The horsemen competed in ring tilts and head competitions: the ring tilts consisted in passing the lance through a hanging ring, while the head competition involved spearing a head (that of a Turk, Moor or Medusa) placed at a certain height, on the end of one's lance. The Marquis of Bellefonds won the head competition while the Count of Sault won the ring tilt. It was at the Carousel of 1662 that Louis XIV chose the Sun as his emblem and adopted the motto "Nec pluribus impar". The former Frondeurs represented planets or elements of nature, whose fate is totally dependent on the light of the sun. Another famous Carousel opened the great festivities of the Plaisirs de l'Ile Enchantée (Pleasures of the Enchanted Island) held at Versailles in May 1664: "The King, representing Roger, followed them on one of the world's most beautiful horses, whose fire-coloured harness glittered with gold, silver and precious stones. His Majesty, like all the horsemen in his quadrille, was armed like the Greeks and wore a silver breastplate richly decorated with gold and diamonds. His apparel and all of his actions were worthy of his rank; his helmet was incomparable; and never did a freer demeanour, nor a more belligerent one, place a mortal above other men." The 2013 version of the Great Royal Carousel of Versailles, to be staged by Jean Philippe Delavault, will bring together the essential elements of the Carousels of the past: firstly the magnificence of the horses, chosen to evoke those of the French Court, like the numerous Andalusian and Lusitano horses which were the glory of the Grande Ecurie. Then the expert horsemen, the King and the Nobles, each at the head of a quadrille, performing an allegorical spectacle where the virtues of the monarch are fully brought out to light: the Sun and Apollo will incarnate the King. Baroque music will accompany the spectacle, made up of sumptuous costumes to adorn the horsemen of the Belgian Riding Academy and the acrobats, before a fireworks finale worthy of Versailles, produced by Groupe F which has been producing the great shows of Versailles since 2007. Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Saturday 6-Jul-13 |
Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris The Royal Serenade Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Galerie des Glaces, Paris, Place d'Armes, Paris, France Saturday 6-Jul-13 The Royal Serenade Just before the Night Fountains show, relive the flamboyant days of the reign of Louis XIV by viewing the apartments of the king to the sound of a serenade. Under the gold and reflections of the Hall of Mirrors, as the sun sets, cross the Palace Of Versailles and join the dance! You will be accompanied by the music of a group of baroque musicians and dancers of La Compagnie Baroque for a grand French ball. Please check website for times | ||
| Saturday 6-Jul-13 08:00pm |
Château de Versailles: Chapelle Royale, Paris Mozart: Requiem Versailles Festival |
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| Château de Versailles: Chapelle Royale, Paris, Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles, 78000 Paris, France Saturday 6-Jul-13 08:00pm Mozart: Requiem Image credit: © Agathe Poupeney | ||
| Saturday 6-Jul-13 09:30pm |
Château de Versailles: Plaine de la Reine, Paris The Royal Carousel of Versailles Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Plaine de la Reine, Paris, 78000 Versailles Paris, France Saturday 6-Jul-13 09:30pm The Royal Carousel of Versailles For the first time since 1686, Versailles will be recreating its Royal Carrousel. Horses, baroque costumes and music from operas made this spectacular show the most popular of all the court’s entertainments, and the only one intended for a wide audience. The glories of the Royal Equestrian Show blaze out once more! or the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of André Le Nôtre, it seems appropriate to look into a form of spectacle which has now disappeared, but which was perhaps the main form of entertainment in France for several centuries, before the invention of Opera – the Carousel. Carousels were of Italian origin. The word stems from the contraction of two Latin words "carrus-soli", which means "cart of the sun". Inherited from the medieval tournament, the carousel was half-way between equestrian parades and Italian war games. The King, along with members of the high nobility, used to take on allegorical roles. The Carousels replaced tournaments, which were outlawed in France after the tragic death of Henry II in 1559 during a joust with the Count of Montgomery. The recreation of a Royal Carousel – the first since the reign of Louis XIV – will therefore be emblematic: set in the glorious centuries of monarchy, this spectacle bringing together the Kingdom's best horsemen on the most renowned horses of the royal and princely stables, for an allegorical evocation of the majesty of the combating King and his "knights", will be an equestrian and pyrotechnic event worthy of the great Royal Carousels which left their mark in the History of France. The Royal Carousel of 1662 will serve as a reference: it was held on 5 and 6 June, in the courtyard of the Palais des Tuileries, in front of 10 to 15 thousand people gathered in temporary stands. A grand stand was built for the Queen Mother Anne of Austria, Queen Marie-Thérèse and the ladies of the court. The participants were divided into five quadrilles named after the nations which were considered as the most prestigious and the most exotic in the 17th century: Romans (headed by King Louis XIV himself), Persians (headed by Monsieur), Turks (headed by the Prince of Condé), Indians (headed by the Duke of Enghien) and American Indians (headed by the Duke of Guise). The horsemen competed in ring tilts and head competitions: the ring tilts consisted in passing the lance through a hanging ring, while the head competition involved spearing a head (that of a Turk, Moor or Medusa) placed at a certain height, on the end of one's lance. The Marquis of Bellefonds won the head competition while the Count of Sault won the ring tilt. It was at the Carousel of 1662 that Louis XIV chose the Sun as his emblem and adopted the motto "Nec pluribus impar". The former Frondeurs represented planets or elements of nature, whose fate is totally dependent on the light of the sun. Another famous Carousel opened the great festivities of the Plaisirs de l'Ile Enchantée (Pleasures of the Enchanted Island) held at Versailles in May 1664: "The King, representing Roger, followed them on one of the world's most beautiful horses, whose fire-coloured harness glittered with gold, silver and precious stones. His Majesty, like all the horsemen in his quadrille, was armed like the Greeks and wore a silver breastplate richly decorated with gold and diamonds. His apparel and all of his actions were worthy of his rank; his helmet was incomparable; and never did a freer demeanour, nor a more belligerent one, place a mortal above other men." The 2013 version of the Great Royal Carousel of Versailles, to be staged by Jean Philippe Delavault, will bring together the essential elements of the Carousels of the past: firstly the magnificence of the horses, chosen to evoke those of the French Court, like the numerous Andalusian and Lusitano horses which were the glory of the Grande Ecurie. Then the expert horsemen, the King and the Nobles, each at the head of a quadrille, performing an allegorical spectacle where the virtues of the monarch are fully brought out to light: the Sun and Apollo will incarnate the King. Baroque music will accompany the spectacle, made up of sumptuous costumes to adorn the horsemen of the Belgian Riding Academy and the acrobats, before a fireworks finale worthy of Versailles, produced by Groupe F which has been producing the great shows of Versailles since 2007. Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Sunday 7-Jul-13 04:30pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Weekend Recitals: Lidijak and Sanja Bizjak Festival Chopin à Paris |
Chopin, Nocturne no. 13 in C minor, Op.48 no.1 (solo Lidija) Chopin, 3 Mazurkas, Op.63 (solo Sanja) Stravinsky, Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) (1913 version, arr. for piano 4 hands) |
| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Sunday 7-Jul-13 04:30pm Weekend Recitals: Lidijak and Sanja Bizjak Tickets 17 € Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek (1810-1849), 3 Mazurkas, Op.63 (solo Sanja) Stravinsky, Igor (1882-1971), Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) (1913 version, arr. for piano 4 hands) Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Sunday 7-Jul-13 07:00pm |
Château de Versailles: Chapelle Royale, Paris Via Crucis Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Chapelle Royale, Paris, Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles, 78000 Paris, France Sunday 7-Jul-13 07:00pm Via Crucis Over the past decade, the Austrian harpist Christina Pluhar has imposed a musical style forged from a range of experiences: period instruments with their warm timbre backing singers drawn from all the Latin world who produce melodic emotions and styles inspired by popular and ancestral traditions. This melting-pot of sonorities and temperaments, skilfully prepared and guided by Christina Pluhar, gives an astonishingly timeless result that echoes the deepest emotions expressed through the centuries, reviving the simplest and most direct piety, the rhythms of the popular dances that shaped the music of all the Mediterranean, and always the "meaning" of music, which celebrates each passion of our lives, each stage of humanity. The public has fallen under the spell of these swaying rhythms that enliven the most moving lamentations and the sheer perfection of the Arpeggiata ensemble, whose performances give an impression of improvisation and who regularly sing with the greatest artistes such as Philippe Jaroussky. Christina Pluhar has devised the Via Crucis programme to put into perspective works evoking the Passion of Christ from the 17th century seen through the prism of the living Italian and Corsican musical tradition. Holy Week is still celebrated with fervour in the Western Mediterranean, where the tradition of these ceremonies has been kept very much alive in Corsica, Sicily and all southern Italy. The Via Crucis, the Way of the Cross, which gives its name to the programme, is a traditional celebration in the form of a procession and hymns. The typically spectacular and poignant expression of redemptive suffering with which it is imbued is strikingly evoked in the intricate works of the first successors of Monteverdi that are presented here. The liturgical pieces from Italy in the years 1630-1650 which fervently celebrate the Passion are characterised by an almost schizophrenic hesitation between sorrow and exultation: between the Sorrow of the Virgin at the foot of the Cross and the Joy of the Resurrection so near, between the suffering of Christ on the cross and the exultation in the Revelation that has been accomplished. This celebration of redemptive suffering, of the meaning of pathos, and of edification through pain, are perfect illustrations of baroque religiosity. Via Crucis invites us to follow the stages of the Passion of Christ: we will hear Mary weeping and Jesus caught up in his agony, but we will also hear the angels in flight… The link-up between the works of the baroque period and those of the Italian and Corsican musical tradition crystallises the emotional impact of this commemorative ceremony celebrated by the Arpeggiata ensemble, with the contrasting voices of Raquel Andueza and Vincenzo Capezzuto, and the Corsican Barbara Furtuna vocal quartet. Coming to us from a still lively tradition, these pieces of music draw us into the rich heritage of popular piety which enchants us like the finding of a long-lost treasure. Image credit: © Agathe Poupeney | ||
| Sunday 7-Jul-13 09:30pm |
Château de Versailles: Plaine de la Reine, Paris The Royal Carousel of Versailles Versailles Festival |
See More info... for programme details. |
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| Château de Versailles: Plaine de la Reine, Paris, 78000 Versailles Paris, France Sunday 7-Jul-13 09:30pm The Royal Carousel of Versailles For the first time since 1686, Versailles will be recreating its Royal Carrousel. Horses, baroque costumes and music from operas made this spectacular show the most popular of all the court’s entertainments, and the only one intended for a wide audience. The glories of the Royal Equestrian Show blaze out once more! or the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of André Le Nôtre, it seems appropriate to look into a form of spectacle which has now disappeared, but which was perhaps the main form of entertainment in France for several centuries, before the invention of Opera – the Carousel. Carousels were of Italian origin. The word stems from the contraction of two Latin words "carrus-soli", which means "cart of the sun". Inherited from the medieval tournament, the carousel was half-way between equestrian parades and Italian war games. The King, along with members of the high nobility, used to take on allegorical roles. The Carousels replaced tournaments, which were outlawed in France after the tragic death of Henry II in 1559 during a joust with the Count of Montgomery. The recreation of a Royal Carousel – the first since the reign of Louis XIV – will therefore be emblematic: set in the glorious centuries of monarchy, this spectacle bringing together the Kingdom's best horsemen on the most renowned horses of the royal and princely stables, for an allegorical evocation of the majesty of the combating King and his "knights", will be an equestrian and pyrotechnic event worthy of the great Royal Carousels which left their mark in the History of France. The Royal Carousel of 1662 will serve as a reference: it was held on 5 and 6 June, in the courtyard of the Palais des Tuileries, in front of 10 to 15 thousand people gathered in temporary stands. A grand stand was built for the Queen Mother Anne of Austria, Queen Marie-Thérèse and the ladies of the court. The participants were divided into five quadrilles named after the nations which were considered as the most prestigious and the most exotic in the 17th century: Romans (headed by King Louis XIV himself), Persians (headed by Monsieur), Turks (headed by the Prince of Condé), Indians (headed by the Duke of Enghien) and American Indians (headed by the Duke of Guise). The horsemen competed in ring tilts and head competitions: the ring tilts consisted in passing the lance through a hanging ring, while the head competition involved spearing a head (that of a Turk, Moor or Medusa) placed at a certain height, on the end of one's lance. The Marquis of Bellefonds won the head competition while the Count of Sault won the ring tilt. It was at the Carousel of 1662 that Louis XIV chose the Sun as his emblem and adopted the motto "Nec pluribus impar". The former Frondeurs represented planets or elements of nature, whose fate is totally dependent on the light of the sun. Another famous Carousel opened the great festivities of the Plaisirs de l'Ile Enchantée (Pleasures of the Enchanted Island) held at Versailles in May 1664: "The King, representing Roger, followed them on one of the world's most beautiful horses, whose fire-coloured harness glittered with gold, silver and precious stones. His Majesty, like all the horsemen in his quadrille, was armed like the Greeks and wore a silver breastplate richly decorated with gold and diamonds. His apparel and all of his actions were worthy of his rank; his helmet was incomparable; and never did a freer demeanour, nor a more belligerent one, place a mortal above other men." The 2013 version of the Great Royal Carousel of Versailles, to be staged by Jean Philippe Delavault, will bring together the essential elements of the Carousels of the past: firstly the magnificence of the horses, chosen to evoke those of the French Court, like the numerous Andalusian and Lusitano horses which were the glory of the Grande Ecurie. Then the expert horsemen, the King and the Nobles, each at the head of a quadrille, performing an allegorical spectacle where the virtues of the monarch are fully brought out to light: the Sun and Apollo will incarnate the King. Baroque music will accompany the spectacle, made up of sumptuous costumes to adorn the horsemen of the Belgian Riding Academy and the acrobats, before a fireworks finale worthy of Versailles, produced by Groupe F which has been producing the great shows of Versailles since 2007. Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Monday 8-Jul-13 08:45pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Candlelight Concerts: Jean-Frédéric Neuburger Festival Chopin à Paris |
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| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Monday 8-Jul-13 08:45pm Candlelight Concerts: Jean-Frédéric Neuburger Tickets 27 € Liszt, Franz (1811-1886), Am stillen Herd, from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, transc. for piano, S 448 Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Wednesday 10-Jul-13 08:45pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Candlelight Concerts: François-Frédéric Guy Festival Chopin à Paris |
Wagner, Tristan and Isolde: Prelude to Act 1 (Transcr. for piano Liszt/Kocsis) Wolf, Paraphrase on Wagner's The Walkyrie (arr. Zoltan Kocsis) |
| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Wednesday 10-Jul-13 08:45pm Candlelight Concerts: François-Frédéric Guy Tickets 27 € Wagner, Richard (1813-1883), Tristan and Isolde: Prelude to Act 1 (Transcr. for piano Liszt/Kocsis) Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek (1810-1849), Nocturne in C sharp minor, "Lento Con Gran Espressione", Op. posth Wolf, Hugo (1860-1903), Paraphrase on Wagner's The Walkyrie (arr. Zoltan Kocsis) Open air: Outdoors | ||
| Saturday 13-Jul-13 04:30pm |
Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris Weekend Recitals: Florian Noack and Vassilis Varvaresos Festival Chopin à Paris |
Heller, Nuits Blanches, Op.82 (selections from) Wagner, Schmachtend (Languissant) |
| More info...Buy tickets! | ||
| Parc de Bagatelle: Orangerie, Paris, Bois de Boulogne, Grille d'Honneur, Allée de Longchamp, 75016 Paris Paris, France Saturday 13-Jul-13 04:30pm Weekend Recitals: Florian Noack and Vassilis Varvaresos Tickets 17 € Heller, Stephen (1813-1888), Nuits Blanches, Op.82 (selections from) Wagner, Richard (1813-1883), Schmachtend (Languissant) Open air: Outdoors | ||
