The Paris Opera is celebrating its 350 th anniversary this year and Henri Loyrette, former President of Orsay and of the Louvre, is in charge. Founded by Louis XIV and directed by Lully, the Académie Royale de Musique created on June 28, 1669, was meant to entertain and charm the public. It was the first permanent opera house of the … Read More
Marigny, a new restaurant on the Champs Elysées
Théâtre Marigny has just reopened after five years of rejuvenation by his new operator, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière and two architect-decorators, Jean-Michel Wilmotte for the public spaces and François Joseph Graf for the “Costes” restaurant. It is a huge aesthetical success, since modernity mixes with the 19 th century style of the theatre founded by Jacques Offenbach, in 1855. Ushers … Read More
Michael Jackson celebrated by painters at Grand Palais
We have all grown up and lived with Michael Jackson (1958-2009) who died much too young at 51 and has sold over a billion records to this day. But what I didn’t know was how much he had been portrayed by his contemporaries. The National Portrait Gallery in London and the Grand Palais have jointly organized an exhibition “Michael Jackson: … Read More
La Scala Paris, a theatre and a great lunch (and dinner) place!
A few theaters have changed hands in Paris this fall and La Scala is one of the most talked about. Ideally located near the République on bd de Strasbourg, it is surrounded by popular shops selling wigs and fake nails. Mélanie and Frédéric Biessy, a successful business woman and a famous theater producer, have undertaken the management of this magical … Read More
Geneva, a city full of surprises!
Once again I was drawn to Geneva by talented young people. Agathe Velay started a year ago a successful restaurant “La Vie des Champs”, which caters mostly to International professionals from La Croix Rouge Internationale or the UN. Irena Josifoska and Mladen Tcholitch are both laureates from “Petit Prince foundation” for Serbian musicians. Spending the week end with them was a … Read More
“Les Etés de la danse”, an American ballet festival
It was my first visit to the Seine Musicale, the large concert hall built by Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines on Ile Seguin in Boulogne and the occasion was a performance of the Pacific Northwest Ballet from Seattle. A large contingent of West coast benefactors made this evening very special as did my discovery of the new stage of … Read More
Maria Yanouchevskaïa remembered in style
It was a unique moment of emotion and talent listening to Macha Yanouchevskaïa’s friends and former pupils at the conservatory of Issy les Moulineaux. Macha was a dedicated cello teacher and taught chamber music to young teen agers who were all there to pay their respects to the musician they adored. She died in December 2015 and all the pieces … Read More
A summer opera festival at Baugé
Priscilla de Moustier has a beautiful salon in the Faubourg Saint Germain and she is generous enough to let young musicians use it. It was a lovely evening that she organized to announce this year’s festival of opera in Baugé, a little village between Le Mans and Saumur, where opera fans Bernadette and John Grimmett, have created sixteen years ago, … Read More