The artistic director of the festival, Paul Emmanuel Thomas, who has been leading it for seven years now, has prepared a very diverse program for us. It includes concerts, opera, chamber music, and soloists.
It is in the salons of the Palace of Europe that he presented to us the 12 concerts on the forecourt of the Basilica and the 9 concerts in the Palace of Europe. “Music rises toward the stars in a velvet sky.” This is how a spectator of the Saint Michael the Archangel Basilica described last year the atmosphere of a concert where he felt transcended. According to the artists, the venues and the audience are different here in Menton.
The lemon capital, the pearl of France, is, along with Aix en Provence, one of the oldest music festivals in France. The forecourt of the Basilica Saint Michael will open the festival on July 25 with the concert of Nations, which will continue until August 13. This year’s 70th edition spans three weeks, offering twelve evenings you can book to be able to tell your friends: “I was there!”
This year, three main threads run through the program: with the Berliner Philharmoniker on July 27; piano virtuoso Yuja Wang on July 28; and violinist Renaud Capuçon on August 12. The festival evolves year by year with a balance between tradition, innovation, and daring. With the damage the Cocteau museum suffered last fall, the concerts at 6 p.m. are being hosted in the Palace of Europe.
The alchemy of Menton is a simple recipe: the encounter between music, artists, and the audience. Thus, there are challenges and seemingly improbable associations, and yet!
On July 27, classical meets jazz, and what about this accordion quartet performing Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique? There is a concert at the Palace of Europe on August 9. The curtain will fall on August 13 with Bach, and in the meantime, on August 10, we will have listened to three countertenors in a baroque register.
This year, the off-series finds itself in a new location: the Esplanade des Sablettes. It is there that young talents hone their skills. Some have returned to Menton on the forecourt of the Basilica Saint Michael the Archangel. The off-series is a way to introduce the magic of music to a less-knowledgeable audience. The concerts there are free, offering an opportunity to become familiar with musicians, composers, and instruments.
Thierry Jan
