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40th anniversary : highlights
 
 

 

Three highlights will mark the 40th anniversary year : the special anniversary weekend at the Philharmonie de Paris, the 9th edition of the Academy of Le Jardin des Voix, and the 8th Festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie.

Anniversary weekend at the Philharmonie de Paris

Les Arts Florissants celebrates its anniversary in the Philharmonie ! Since 2015, Les Arts Florissants became a permanent resident of the famous parisian institution with which it has built a lasting and fruitful partnership. In honour of the Les Arts Florissants' 40th anniversary, one of the Philharmonie's themed weekends will be entirely dedicated to 'Arts Flo' festivities showcasing all of the Ensemble's key aspects: performance on period instruments, voice, transmission, etc. The weekend will include multiple concerts, as well as workshops, a film screening, a masterclass, a costume exhibition, and even a baroque ball !

Programme

Les Arts Florissants take over the Philharmonie de Paris, their place of residence since 2015, with three days of festivities: spectacular concerts, workshops, a film screening, a masterclass, and even a Baroque ball.

Friday, December 20th

Using the Swanen/Goujon 1749/1784 harpsichord from the Musée de la musique, William Christie, Paul Agnew teach baroque interpretation to the students of the Juilliard School, a partner of Les Arts Florissants since 2007, and of the Conservatoire de Paris, whose Department of Early Music they sponsored in 2018.

Saturday, December 21st

Discover baroque dancing in the family workshops of Les Arts Florissants ! 
In French only.

  • Festivities and costumes
    Musical promenade in the Musée de la Musique, with the singers and instrumentalists of les Arts Florissants
    2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Les Arts Florissants invite you to a Baroque celebration at the Museum !

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ensemble, which was founded in 1979 by William Christie, singers and instrumentalists play some of the finest pieces of baroque music in the different rooms of the Musée. These short concerts - 30 minutes - allow both young and old to discover the most famous musical works of Les Arts Florissants... while wandering through the Musée's collections, where director Robert Carsen has staged 40 costumes from the greatest opera productions of Les Arts Florissants ! A playful celebration of music and theatre.

The costumes will remain on exhibit until May 20th.

Film director Jarmila Buzkova brings us to Thiré, in Vendée, and introduces us to the six singers of the Jardin des Voix and a few young instrumentalists from the prestigious Juilliard School of Music in New York. Observing how William Christie shares his knowledge during the Academy of the Jardin des Voix and the Dans les Jardins de William Christie festival, she discovers the "art of giving" which has been lying at the heart of William Christie's work for 40 years !

A meeting with William Christie and Paul Agnew (6.30 p.m.) will follow the screening (in French).

40 years and still flourishing ! To celebrate its anniversary, Les Arts Florissants bring together some of the talents they have revealed throughout the years, and rediscovers the scores that have made its success story. The - young - 40-year-old ensemble remains enthusiastic and eager to share. For this concert, young musicians from the Juilliard School and the Arts Flo Juniors programme will join the ranks of the orchestra. 

Sunday, December 22nd

Discover baroque music in the family workshops of Les Arts Florissants ! 
In French only.

  • Fireworks
    Instrumental concert
    4.30 p.m. - Salle des concerts

What better than Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks to celebrate an anniversary with a bang? This score composed for the celebratory fireworks in London in 1749 is paired with the Water Music suites, written to accompany the barge party of King Georges I on the River Thames in 1717. A festive and spectacular programme.

  • Directed by William Christie
  • Orchestra : Les Arts Florissants, with the young musicians of the Juilliard School of New York and the Arts Flo Juniors programme
  • Contredanse
    Participatory ball
    7.30 p.m. - Salle des concerts

Les Arts Florissants invite the public, of all ages, to join in an evening of Baroque dancing. After a class taught by dancer Pierre-François Dollé, participants will be able to put their new skills into practice at a Baroque ball accompanied by the musicians of Les Arts Florissants.

Practical information

Bookings and information at www.philharmoniedeparis.fr

 

The Academy of Le Jardin des Voix, 9th edition

The Academy of Le Jardin des Voix has become an acclaimed event, highly anticipated by both the public, eager to discover the voices of tomorrow, and programmers looking to snatch up young talents for the international music scene. Le Jardin des Voix is indeed a flourishing garden. Among the careers it has helped to launch are its remarkable 'first blooms': Sonya Yoncheva, Lea Desandre, Marc Mauillon, Christophe Dumaux... along with many outstanding artists.

Le Jardin des Voix, in brief:

  • A biennal academy
  • 50 new talents discovered since 2002, from 16 different countries
  • 3 weeks of intensive residence in Thiré (Vendée), immersed in the Foundation Les Arts Florissants and the gardens of William Christie
  • 1 staged programme, performed as a preview at the festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie
  • 1 international tour

Mozart's La Finta giardiniera

For its 9th edition, in honour of Les Arts Florissants' 40th anniversay, the Academy has chosen to present its new 'blooms' in an interpretation of a single opera : La finta giardiniera – written by a 18-year old Mozart.

  • Directors of the Academy : William Christie & Paul Agnew
  • Musical direction : William Christie & Paul Agnew
  • Staging : Sophie Daneman

With the winners of the 9th edition of Le Jardin des Voix:

  • Mariasole Mainini (Sandrina)
  • Lauren Lodge Campbell (Serpetta)
  • Deborah Cachet (Arminda)
  • Théo Imart (Ramino)
  • Moritz Kallenberg (Il contino Belfiore)
  • Rory Carver (Il Podestà),
  • Sreten Manojlovic (Nardo)

Orchestra : Les Arts Florissants

Tour dates

  • 24 & 25 August Festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie (Thiré, France) PREMIERE
  • 2 & 3 November Théâtre Graslin (Nantes, France)
  • 5 November Opéra Royal de Versailles (France)
  • 12 November Théâtre impérial de Compiègne (France)
  • 14 November Philharmonie de Paris (France)
  • 17 November Tchaïkovski Hall (Moscou, Russie)
  • 19 November Theater an der Wien (Vienne, Autriche)

The international tour will continue in 2020.

Festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie

Each summer, in August, the Dans les Jardins de William Christie Festival draws an ever-growing number of festival-goers to enjoy outdoor and candlelit concerts and wander through an idyllic garden filled with surprises.

During one exceptional week, more than a hundred events take place in Thiré : 'promenades musicales' in the afternoons in the exceptional gardens of William Christie, as well as evening concerts on the floating stage of the Miroir d’eau or in the beautiful Thiré Church.

Created in 2012 by the Conseil Départemental de la Vendée and William Christie, the Festival was born of their shared desire to create a unique event combining music and gardens, and that would showcase the stunning Vendée village of Thiré, now the headquarters of the Les Arts Florissants - William Christie Foundation.

The Festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie in brief:

  • Almost 10 000 visitors each year
  • More than 100 concerts, workshops and discussions
  • More than 60 artists

Highlights in 2019

  • Mozart's La finta giardiniera – Le Jardin des Voix
    Premiere before international tour

A tale of disguises, love triangles and theatrics: posing as a gardener, the Marchioness Violante Onesti takes an elaborate gamble in the name of love, setting off surprising turn of events.

24 & 25 August 2019 – Le Miroir d’eau (Reflecting Pool stage)
See the dates of the international tour above

  • A baroque odyssey
    Premiere before the international tour

In honour of their anniversary, Les Arts Florissants and their conductors William Christie and Paul Agnew have imagined an anthology, a selection of airs among the greatest 'hits' of baroque music. Performed by exceptional singers and musicians who have marked the history of Les Arts Florissants, this odyssey offers a journey through the finest pages composed by Charpentier, Handel, Lully, Purcell and Rameau.

  • Direction : William Christie, Paul Agnew
  • With : Sandrine Piau, Lea Desandre, Christophe Dumaux, Marcel Beekman, Marc Mauillon, Lisandro Abadie
  • Orchestra et choir : Les Arts Florissants

Tour dates : 

  • 8 December Barbican Centre (London, UK)
  • 11 December ElbPhilharmonie (Hamburg, Germany)
  • 13 December Festspielhaus (Baden-Baden, Germany)
  • 21 December Philharmonie de Paris (France)

Practical information

  • Location : the Festival takes place entirely in Thiré (Vendée, France)
  • Nearest airport : Nantes Atlantique (100km away)
  • Nearest railway stations : Luçon (20km), La Roche-sur-Yon (40km), Nantes (100km)
  • Tickets : reservations open on June the 4th, 2019 at 10 a.m.
    Purchase tickets online : www.evenements.vendee.fr or www.vendee.fr
    Or by telephone : + 33 (0)2 28 85 85 70