France
CD: Daphné – Bleu VeniseMonday, 31 January 2011
Bleu Venise might be recorded in LA with figures familiar from Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Peyroux and Melody Gardot albums, but this French music takes from the Anglophone world without sacrificing its identity. Daphné’s Bleu Venise is modern,... Read more... |
Rameau's Castor et Pollux, Theater an der WienMonday, 24 January 2011
For us Ramistes the brilliance came as no surprise. But did the genius come across to the uninitiated? This new production of Castor et Pollux, one of Rameau's finest tragédie en musique, was the Baroque composer's Austrian stage premiere.... Read more... |
Les Antliaclastes, Institute of Contemporary Arts/ A Guide to PuppetryMonday, 24 January 2011
The puppets appearing in LIMF this year are by no means all child-friendly - after the mild kiddy-horror of Teatro Corsario and their hand-manipulated Bunraku creatures, the return of the much more disturbing imagination of Patrick Sims, founder and... Read more... |
LPO, Nézet-Séguin, Royal Festival HallSunday, 23 January 2011
A programme of French music under the baton of the LPO’s talented young principal guest conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin should be a treat. Nézet-Séguin’s affinity for French textures and gestures has already been amply proved, as has the orchestra’s... Read more... |
True Stories: Rwanda After Genocide, More4Wednesday, 05 January 2011
In 1994 half a million Rwandan Tutsis were slaughtered over a period of six weeks. Among them were the four brothers and two sisters of Jean-Pierre Sagahutu. His mother was raped before she too was killed. His father, a doctor, was intercepted on... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Rennes: 32nd Trans Musicales FestivalSunday, 19 December 2010
The Breton capital Rennes is an attractive city. Move north from the train station, pass through a covered market with tripe and saucisse sellers, cross a canal and there's a series of Italianate squares and arcades. Further along is the quaint... Read more... |
A Flea in Her Ear, Old Vic TheatreTuesday, 14 December 2010
Most critics have their own indicator of shows they have enjoyed hugely; for my part, if I fail to take anything but the most basic notes it’s because I’m so engrossed in the story or I’m laughing too much. And so it proved last night, when I found... Read more... |
Sandrine Piau, Les Talens Lyriques, Wigmore HallSunday, 05 December 2010
Who was a greater composer of words: Schubert or Purcell? A toss-up, I think, after a revelatory concert at the Wigmore Hall by Les Talens Lyriques with the French soprano Sandrine Piau on Saturday. The sheer quality of the poetry Purcell set in his... Read more... |
Les Parents Terribles, Trafalgar StudiosMonday, 29 November 2010
This is the final production in the Donmar Warehouse’s 12-week season at Trafalgar Studios (which showcases the work of its resident assistant directors) and is a revival of Jeremy Sams’s translation of Jean Cocteau’s play - first seen in Sean... Read more... |
Of Gods and MenSunday, 28 November 2010
It has been one of the most surprising hits this year in French cinemas - a mostly male film which poses deep and pertinent questions about religion or, more specifically, religions. Its ultimate theme is the price of Christian devotion. Of Gods and... Read more... |
Steven Isserlis, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Viviane Hagner, Wigmore HallFriday, 12 November 2010
First, an admission. I have a blindspot for the chamber work of Fauré, Saint-Saëns and Ravel. I've tried my best, acquainted myself with the most stirring recordings of the finest pieces, got friends to hold my hand. But I've never been able to... Read more... |
My Afternoons with MargueritteSunday, 07 November 2010
These days Gérard Depardieu looks as though he wouldn't need much padding to play Obélix again. Though he continues to work with some of the biggest names in French cinema, it has been a while since he really surprised us, maybe because he's now... Read more... |
