The Festival’s theme in 2023
Gaël de Kerret
Artistic Director of the Festival Valloire baroque
PARIS 1752, fever mounts at the Palais Royal
1752, Paris awakens.
Since the death of Louis XIV, the talk in Paris had been all about a renewal of ideas, sciences and Enlightenment. Then the Jesters’ Quarrel broke out. The Orchestra of the Versailles Royal Opera conducted by Stefan Plewniak will present the pretext of the quarrel: La serva padrona, a simple, miniature opera by the Italian Pergolesi, which in 1752 clashed violently with the prevailing French lyrical Tragedy, leading some to side with the King and others with Marie-Antoinette.
This was not a case of Italy versus France; indeed, the wonderful Meditations for Lent by Marc-Antoine Charpentier performed by the ensemble Les Surprises under the direction of Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas or the Concerti di Parigi by Vivaldi, again by Stefan Plewniak’s orchestra, amply demonstrate how fruitful the encounter of the two styles often was. Yet, the Quarrel started in Paris reflects the demand for a more “natural” music, removed from the dogmas of Versailles then refined to excess in opera.
In the aftermath of this period, the new French opera, so famous in the 19th century, progressively emerged, thanks to Gluck who came to Paris too, to promote the “grande ligne”. The haute-contre Reinoud Van Mechelen with the ensemble a nocte temporis in full will let us hear those new operas that triggered the great Parisian awakening.
It was indeed a duty for composers to go to Paris, as Mozart or Haydn also did. The ensemble les Folies Françoises with Patrick Cohen-Akenine and Béatrice Martin will get us acquainted with the “Black Mozart”, namely the chevalier de Saint-George, a professed Freemason.
In the second half of the 18th century, a multitude of new Parisian venues hosted musical inventions, such as the string quartet, a new format whose advent Aude Lestienne and the ensemble La Française will recreate, or a new instrument called pianoforte which Pierre Bouyer and Nicole Tamestit will celebrate.
The week will end on a flourish with a programme of violin concertos and opera overtures by all the great composers played in Paris in their time such as Rameau, Mondonville, Haydn, Leclair, whether at the Académie Royale de Musique or the Concert Spirituel, this time a performance by the ensemble Les Nouveaux Caractères directed by Sébastien d’Hérin.
Meanwhile, at Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, Solène Riot’s ensemble La Bellezza, and the artist Slamourai, will attract a new audience with music accompanied with “slammed” poems.
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