Since I could not attend the two evenings at La Seine Musicale on July 4 th and 5 th, when “Napoléon” the silent film directed by Abel Gance, was projected with a full orchestra, Jean Lebrun, the writer and producer from France Inter and France Culture, whom I revere since I worked for him years go, has accepted to review … Read More
Montfort l’Amaury, a true discovery 40 mns from Paris.
The mission was to drive an old friend who needed to visit Maurice Ravel‘s house, le Belvédère, and pick up some paintings she had acquired on internet from gallery A Tempera, in Montfort l’Amaury. Little did we know that we would discover the most beautiful little town and the flamboyant church of St Peter’s, embellished by three successive queens of … Read More
Hugues R. Gall has left us
Born on March 18, 1940 in Honfleur from a Norman mother and a Bavarian father, Hugues R. Gall died in his sleep on May 25, in Nice, where he lived with dancer Eric Vu-An, who died exactly two weeks later. After studying at Sciences Po and completing a B.A. in German at the Sorbonne, his first professional steps were at … Read More
At Chimay, music reigns in the heart of Prince Philippe and Princesse Françoise
I had not been so moved by a concert in a private theater since I heard Natalie Dessay sing “the Queen of the night” aria at Château de Groussay in 2004… Last week, the occasion was the Royal Chamber orchestra of Wallonie performing Salieri, Mozart and Haydn in the ravishing theater of château de Chimay, in the South of Belgium. … Read More
Marie and Felix Bracquemond, Fondation Custodia, ADOR in Versailles… so much to see and so little time
On Tuesday April 30 at 2.30pm, Artcurial is auctioning Marie and Felix Bracquemond‘s drawings, paintings and Gobelins tapestries kept in the family until now. And also various services of plates, made by Creil et Montereau in 1866 and Haviland. This exceptional couple who met at the Louvre, were very close to the Impressionists. While Felix was mostly a printer (I … Read More
Théâtre des Champs Elysées moves at full steam!
On March 4, Bizet’s “Les Pêcheurs de perles” in concert version, created a surprise with the extraordinary performances of American tenor Jonah Hoskins as Nadir, baritone Joshua Hopkins as Zurga and the beauty of soprano Sandra Hamaoui as Leïla. She is engaged to be married to Benjamin Bernheim, the wonderful Franco Swiss tenor who will be singing “Werther” with her, … Read More
Societies of friends are the new (social) power…
Now that everyone spends their time sending text messages and posting on Instagram, physical social life has virtually disappeared from our lives. I find myself enjoying talking to my baker more and more while buying a baguette! But little by little, “the Friends of…” and “Cercle des Mécènes” have developed and created cultural salons focused on specific themes. In music, … Read More
A spectacular evening with Les Amis du Louvre
It was an exceptional evening Tuesday night at the Louvre organized for the patrons of Les Amis du Louvre. At the suggestion of Sylvain Bellenger, the former director of Museo Capodimonte in Naples, and organiser of the superb show “Naples in Paris”, a musical evening was organized with Giovanni Panebianco, President of the Paganini Prize created in 1954. It is … Read More