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Le
Marais for musicians |
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By S.Hoffman, F.Pichon and P.Fonquernie. ©Photos by
Patrick Henry.
For music lovers, especially those who enjoy classical music,
le Marais is a heavenly enjoyable district. In almost every church you can listen
to organ concerts every day for free. For a few euros, take a seat in their
grand décor and enjoy special events of the classical masterpieces of
Marc Antoine Charpentier, Mozart, Chopin, Rameau, Lully-- musician of King Sun
Louis XIV-- and many more. All, in their time, happened to be residents of this
wonderful district. For those who prefer a jazzy atmosphere, cabaret style or
just music in the street or on the grass, there are many options for you to
enjoy…
 Churches
concerts
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Cathedrale Sainte Croix des Arméniens
10 Rue Charlot
75003 Paris
M°: Filles du Calvaire
“Les heures musicales du marais” invites you to make new discoverys
from classical to contemporary, almost everyday…sometimes for free!
Sainte Chapelle
Palais de Justice
4 Boulevard du Palais
01.53.73.78.51
75004 Paris
M°: Cité
Paris’ most magnificent Gothic Church, built in 11th century. The stained
glass windows are amazing! Classical concerts and recitals every week
Notre Dame De Paris
Ile de la cite
75004 Paris
M°: Cité
Listen to the “Messe” (mass) at 5 pm, just to be there once, even
if you’re not Christian, is an unforgettable experience
Eglise Saint Gervais
Rue des Hopitalières Saint Gervais
75004 Paris
M°: Hotel de Ville
Newly renovated, this baroque church is worth visiting
Eglise Notre Dame des Blancs Manteaux
12 rue des Blancs Manteaux
75004 Paris
01.49.53.05.07
M°: Rambuteau
Folkloric and classical music concerts
Eglise Saint Louis en l’Ile
Rue Saint Louis en L’ile
75004 Paris
M°: Sully Morland
The most prestigious for musicians to play in, located in the island Saint Louis.
Mozart or Fauré requiems and Bach concertos are often played here.
Cloitre des Billettes
22 Rue des Archives
75004 Paris
08.92.68.36.22
M°: Hotel de Ville
Paris’ oldest cloister is also a place for concerts of all kinds…
Check in newspapers and weekly guides for details.
Eglise Saint Merri
Rue Saint Martin
75004 Paris
M°: Hotel de Ville
Every Saturday, this beautiful 15th century gothic church offers free classical
concerts. Just come at 9 p.m., and tip as much as you like!
Cabarets
and music rooms
Caveau de la République
1 boulevard Saint Martin
75003 Paris
M°: République
Réservations: 01.42.78.44.45
Jazz and humoristic bands for a traditional French ambiance
Centre Culturel Suisse
38 rue des Francs-Bourgeois
75003 Paris
M°: Saint-Paul, Hôtel de Ville ou Rambuteau
Réservations : 01.42.71.38.38
http://ccsparis.com
Théatre du Tambour Royal
94 rue du Faubourg du Temple
75011 Paris
M°: Goncourt
01.48.06.72.34
A friendly theatre that often presents American style comedies and musicals,
just one metro stop north of Le Marais.
Centre Historique des Archives Nationales
Hotel de Soubise
60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois
75003 Paris
01.40.20.09.34
Mostly classical concerts in one of the nicest Hôtels (mansion) of the
Marais. Saturdays at 6 p.m.
Carnavalet Concerts
At Musée Carnavalet
Every Saturday and Sunday around 4 p.m.
23 rue de Sévigné 75003 Paris
http://www.paris.fr/musees/musee_carnavalet/
Centre Culturel Suédois
11 rue Payenne 75004 Paris
M°: rambuteau / saint-paul
Réservations: 01.44.78.80.20
Classical and modern concerts in the courtyard and garden just next to Carnavalet
Museum, check Web site for dates
www.si.se
Baisé Salé
58 rue des Lombards
75001 Paris
O1.42.33.37.71
A new jazz concert every day, check program in Zurban or Pariscope (weekly city
guides)
Music
in the streets
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Street bands playing jazz music often hit the streets of
Le Marais, especially on week-ends, and often play American jazz classics from
Luis Armstrong to Dina Washington… you’ll see people dropping coins
from their windows to give them a tip. Walk along rue de Bretagne and Rue Charlot,
you may just meet them!
A more regular place to listen to classical music in the streets
is along the Arcades of Place des Vosges and in the Gardens of Hotel Sully:
several baroque orchestras and quartets regularly play some fantastic pieces
of Vivaldi, Mozart and Albinoni there.
Agenda
for concerts and other events in le Marais
Check the great Web site maraiscomvivial.com for day by day and
hour by hour events and make sure your days are full of surprises and events.
The Web site is only in French as it’s dedicated to the French residents
of le Marais. Even if your French is basic, you should manage to understand
it enough to find out names, places and addresses,.
http://marais.evous.com/actualites/sorties-paris-marais/agenda_accueil.htm
Operas
Paris has three operas houses: Palais Garnier, the 1860’s
Paris Opera,designed by Charles Garnier (who also designed the Monte-Carlo Casino
and Opera House at same time) and Bastille Opera opened in 1986. Many consider
Bastille a neo-mussolinian architectural horror! Both are National operas. Le
Theatre du Châtelet, a Baroque Italian style theatre, is run by the City
of Paris. It is very difficult to get tickets for any of them... best idea is
to go at 10 a.m. and get in line for last minute availabilities. If you’re
lucky, you may manage to get quite a good seat in the side balcony at Bastille
Opera, walking distance to le Marais, for as little as 15 Euros. In most situations
it is wise to book online and get your tickets long in advance (for Palais Garnier
and Bastille).
 . . .
Opera de Paris - Bastille
7 Place de la Bastille ( same ticket office for Garnier opera tickets )
75012 Paris
www.opera-de-paris.fr
Theatre Musical de Paris – Le Châtelet
1 place du Châtelet
75001 Paris
M°: Châtelet
www.chatelet-theatre.com
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Last minute options
Like Leicester Square in London, you can buy theatre tickets
for that day at half price if you go to the Kiosque at place de la Madeleine,
Metro Madeleine, afternoon. This can be a great alternative and a way to discover
some places you would not necessary think of …
A production of Mozart's "The Marriage
of Figaro" staged in front of
the Château de Vaux Le
Vicomte.
Château
Operatics
©By Heidi Ellison from Paris Update (www.paris-update.com)
Watching an opera outdoors is an altogether different experience
from seeing one in a theater. What is lost in sound quality (since
amplification is necessary and the wind blows away some of the sound)
is often made up for by a special combination of factors that have
more to do with the setting and the weather than the production
itself. At last year’s outdoor performance of La Bohème,
for example, which was staged in front of the French Senate’s
(formerly Marie de Medici’s) palace in the Luxembourg Garden,
Mimi’s death scene was rendered unforgettable as the atmosphere
turned pink with the sunset and a flock of birds flew silently over
the stage.
Since 2001, a production company called Akouna has
been staging outdoor operas against the magnificent backdrop of
châteaux in and around Paris. The company’s mission
is to give young talents a chance to strut their stuff. The leading
roles for this year's production of Verdi's La Traviata have been
double-cast, with the American couple Malinda Haslett and Jonathan
Boyd alternating with Evelyn Bohen and Thomas Blondelle, both from
Belgium, as Violetta and Alfredo.
While the musical director David Levi is an old hand
at opera and musicals, many of the production’s backstage
roles are being played by newcomers to the world of opera this year.
First-time director Henry-Jean Servat, a journalist and author of
a number of books, has brought in the à la mode interior
decorator Jacques Garcia (the Hôtel Costes is his œuvre)
to create the opera's scenery, which includes two gigantic baroque
chairs and an enormous, elaborate gilt frame center stage. The red
squiggle against a black background inside the frame, which could
be interpreted as a profile of
A production of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro"
staged in front of the Château de Vaux Le Vicomte.
Violetta, is supposed to represent an AIDS ribbon,
the unspoken idea being that Violetta is dying from AIDS rather
than consumption, a nod to our times and Verdi’s wish that
the opera be staged in keeping with the era in which it was performed.
Servat also convinced fashion designer Franck Sorbier
to create sumptuous costumes for the opera and Swarovski jewelers
to lend the elaborate necklace worn by Maria Callas in the first
act of Luchino Visconti’s production of La Traviata at La
Scala in Milan. During the second and third act, the sopranos will
also be wearing necklaces worn by Callas in performances of La Traviata
and La Tosca.
This year, Akouna will stage La Traviata in four
stunning settings: in addition to the Senate, there will be performances
at the Château de Vaux Le Vicomte in Melun, the Domaine de
Sceaux and the Château du Champ du Bataille near Rouen. The
first is in Paris, the second and third reachable by public transport
within about 30-40 minutes, and the third about an hour from Paris.
Opéra en Plein Air: Tel: 08 92 70 79 20. www.operaenpleinair.com.
Prices range from 36 to 66 euros, with special VIP treatment at
180-250 euros. |
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Music
festivals
Fête de la Musique June 22
In 1982, Jack Lang, French minister of Culture under President François
Mitterand’s government, decided music should be promoted as a major art,
and that one day every year in France, at the beginning of summertime, should
be dedicated to music. Many years after, “Fete de la musique” has
grown and became a major event on the cultural calendar, not only in France
but almost everywhere in Europe. So, 22nd June is definitely a day you should
be in Paris and walk along the streets to listen to hundreds of bands, orchestras
and concerts of all types, of music from baroque to techno, for free!
Young talents festival in summertime
Hôtel de Soubise
60, rue des Francs-Bourgeois
75003 Paris
M°: Rambuteau
From classical to modern music, the new stars of music are playing for you…
Paris Jazz festival à l'hôtel
d'Albret
Hôtel d’Albret
31, rue des Francs-Bourgeois
75004 Paris
01.42.76.84.00
Open Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. , closed on weekends.
Free entrance
Open Air Classical Music festival at Parc
Floral
A fantastic open air space inside the Bois de Vincennes, Paris’ eastern
great Park. Check Web site for updated program every summer
www.parcfloral.com
Summer nights festival at Paris’
district 3 Local city hall
In June and July, every night a new open air concert – free access
Mairie du 3eme arrondissement,
Rue Eugène Spuller
75003 Paris
M°: Temple
Bastille Day – July 13 and 14
Check the Gallery “summertime in Paris” to see how you can really
have fun on Bastille day… parties and balls everywhere in town and the
not-to-be-missed “bal des pompiers,” where you’re sure to
meet the muscle man or French girl of your dreams!
Techno Parade - September
In order not to have Berlin be the only European capital to have its techno
delirium, once again Mr. Jack Lang launched the “Techno Parade”
in the streets of Paris. Every year, mid September, over half a million people
dance in the streets with the sounds and light shows of the best dj’s…
needless to say, if you’re over 25 or drive a car to get around the city,
you’d better stay home or choose more cosy options.
For more information on music festivals and all major cultural
events, visit
www.paris-touristoffice.com
Other addresses worth visiting outside le Marais
district
Cité de la Musique
221 avenue Jean Jaures
75019 Paris
M°: Porte de Pantin
01.44.84.44.84
Music school, museum and many daily shows and expos of all kinds, next to the
new science museum and park of La Villette.
Opéra de Paris – Palais Garnier
Place de l’Opéra
75009 Paris
M°: Opéra
www.opera-de-paris.fr
Even if you can’t get tickets, do not miss a daytime visit to it. It’s
probably Paris’ most wonderful representation of Napoleon III style.
Theatre des Champs Elysées
Avenue Montaigne
75008 Paris
M°: Iena
A sumptuous art deco theatre where opera stars have their recitals.
Check Pariscope for dates. Want to see Nathalie Dessay, Dame Kiri Te Kenawa
or Jessie Norman… check dates and book long in advance!
Paris Billet
Paris Billet offers free invitations or discounts on all kind of shows and musicals,
to visit before you queue at the theatre!
www.paris-billets.com/
Kiosque Madeleine
Place de la Madeleine
75008 Paris
M°: Madeleine
Like at Leicester Square in London, you can buy today's theatre tickets at half
price if you go to the Kiosque at place de la Madeleine, Métro Madeleine,
afternoon
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