Opéra Comique reopens with a fun season

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Olivier Mantei is a genius at communication and during the eighteen months renovation of Opéra Comique which he runs, he managed to keep his subscribers on alert all the time. His training with Accents and Laurence Equilbey and as an independent agent, with Peter Brook at Bouffes du Nord and as a music teacher in Morocco when he was young, … Read More

Sheila Hicks embroids Carnavalet

parisdiaArt, Performing arts3 Comments

There is something whimsical about Sheila Hicks’ woolen art “ApprenTissages” exhibited in the courtyard of Musée Carnavalet until October 2. At the inauguration, the boxwood and flower bushes gave a welcome freshness to an overheated Marais. Hôtel Carnavalet was designed in the Renaissance and finished in the 17 th century by Mansart, is closing for renovation soon and Festival d’Automne … Read More

From Warsaw with love

parisdiaHappy moments, Performing arts3 Comments

« What do you think of our country? » was the anxious question asked by my host after a four day tour of Warsaw and Krakow. Well this is not so easy to answer, since Poland is so different from the western world I know and yet, it is so familiar. What struck me the most, was the extreme kindness and … Read More

Pont Croix, chamber music at its best

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It was a magical evening thanks to the talent of very young musicians and the energy of Yves Petit de Voize. Brittany was warmer than ever and we had spent the day watching antique boats crossing from Brest to Douarnenez. The old Collégiale of Pont Croix, population 1 500, was packed with music lovers. And the Hermès quartet and French … Read More

Anna Karenine at Théâtre de la Tempête

parisdiaNon classé, Performing arts1 Comment

French newspapers are full of Golshifteh Farahani, the 32 year old Iranian actress who had to leave her country four years ago, in order to be free on screen. She was in Cannes for the film festival and spoke about Jim Jarmush’s « Paterson » in which she acts, she is on French screens in « Les Malheurs de Sophie … Read More

Sabine Devieilhe, a total star in Somnambula

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There are magical evenings that one only lives through a few times in one’s life and Monday night at Théâtre des Champs Elysées was one of them. My good friend Sophie de Ségur, who knows the opera world in and out, had warned me : do not miss Sabine Devieilhe’s « Somnambula » in April, she is a major singer ! And so obediently, … Read More

Soprano Chirara Skerath, a revelation

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There is something magical about discovering a new voice in a very intimate space. Twenty eight year old soprano Chiara Skerath was singing melodies by Poulenc and Reynaldo Hahn, Schubert and Ottorino Respighi at Eléphant Paname, a private house for the arts, on rue Volney in Paris. These evenings for 110 guests are organized  by former tenor Richard Plaza and … Read More

A concert from another time

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  There are still some genuine music lovers and dedicated artists in Paris, and my evening at Atelier von Nagel in the 11 th arrondissement was living proof of it. When I came out of the metro station, Rue des Boulets, and asked my way to 20 rue Bouvier, a nice lady with a stick, told me « we are … Read More