The Paris Festival, whose vocation is to offer prestigious concerts to as many people as possible in emblematic places in the capital, returns from June 16, following a previous edition which had to adapt to the pandemic. The 5th edition is no exception to the rule and offers an exceptional selection until June 29. Here are all four appointments on the program.
The King’s Singers at Saint-Germain-des-près Church on June 16
© Rebecca Reid
We no longer present this a cappella vocal formation, famous throughout the world. Created in 1968 by former students of King’s College Cambridge, it is made up of 6 members – 2 countertenors, a tenor, 2 baritones and a bass – and traditionally offers a repertoire combining jazz, pop, gospel and traditional songs. For their exceptional visit to Paris, they will offer the public an anthology of arias by John Tavener, Igor Stravinsky, Robert Parsons, Félix Mendelssohn and Maurice Duruflé.
All in the sublime Saint-Germain-des-Prés church, which will reveal all the beauty of its painted decorations following its renovation in 2020. An extremely rare event that is worth the detour.
Les King’s SingersJune 16, 8:30 p.m., Saint-Germain-des-Prés Church, Paris 6th.
soprano marie perbost at the museum of romantic life on june 22
© Marieperbost.net
An appropriate repertoire for the Musée de la Vie Romantique, performed by a soprano who excels in the lied. For this second evening of the Paris Festival, Marie Perbost, designated Lyrical Artist Revelation in 2020 at the Victoires de la Musique Classique, will perform in the Hotel Scheffer-Renan (Paris 9th) some of the most beautiful tunes from the romantic repertoire and song. lyrical, invoking in turn the composers Reynaldo Hahn, Franz Schubert, Kurt Weill, André Messager or, among others, Marie Dubas.
Nicolas Chesneau, recognized as a conductor as much as a singer, will officiate this time at the piano to accompany the soprano. An ideal evening to revive the most beautiful hours of this place, which often saw George Sand come to visit, as a neighbor, the Dutch painter Ary Scheffer, who lived there.
Marie Perbost, soprano, Nicolas Chesneau, pianoJune 22, 8:30 p.m., Museum of Romantic Life, Paris 9th.
david fray and victor julien-laferrière at the Eiffel Tower on June 27
© F.Berthier/Warner; N.Maeterlinck/Belga/AFP
An evening among regulars. Accustomed to the place, since the Festival de Paris returns to the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, in an ideal tempo, once morest a backdrop of the sun setting over the capital during the concert. A regular at the Festival too, with the return of pianist David Fray to the selection.
While he will once once more be at the head of his festival L’Offrande musicale, which aims to promote the cause of disability in his native lands, the Hautes-Pyrénées, from June 29, he will come to perform on the keyboard a program that he knows like the back of his hand, and that he transmits with all his sensitivity and his sense of nuance.
Schubert – the closest to his sensitivity in his words – Beethoven and Brahms will resonate in the heart of the iron lady, accompanied by one of the most brilliant cellists of his generation, Victor Julien-Laferrière, who has already been able to make his talent speak within the largest orchestral formations.
David Fray, piano, Victor Julien-Laferrière, celloJune 27, 8:30 p.m., Eiffel Tower, Paris 7th.
jakub jósef orlinski at the Sainte-Chapelle on June 29
© Jiyang Chen
A grand ending. The sublime Sainte-Chapelle, nestled in the heart of the Ile de la Cité, will resound from the top of its 15-meter windows the incomparable voice of countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński. For the last concert of this 2022 edition, one of the most visited national monuments will be open to the Polish singer, now a must in the lyrical galaxy, and known for his ability to get out of the box to better address all audiences, like his talents as a Breakdance dancer.
Accompanied by the baroque ensemble “Il Giardino d’Amore” by his compatriot Stefan Piewniak, he will offer a royal selection, with tunes by Antonio Vivaldi and Georg Friedrich Handel. What to enjoy in the best conditions of the unequaled purity of his voice.
Jakub Józef Orliński, The Garden of LoveJune 29, 8:30 p.m., Sainte-Chapelle, Paris 1st.