Avignon's Festival Season Has Begun!

Part of the excitement of our timing of our month long sojourn in the South of France was being here for the 78th edition of the Festival d'Avignon. This 3-week-long event consists of 40 shows, with over 400 performances, entertaining over 130,000 spectators.

The day before the premiere, the look of the town has totally changed. Show posters are literally EVERYWHERE!
It definitely gives one the opportunity to learn what's happening around town.

To our delight, there were Festival pre-events to the Festival and we found one at the very amazing Bibliothèque Ceccano, an impressive 14th century fortified residence.
A solo performance by the incredibly talented cellist Emmanuel Cremer was like nothing we had ever heard.



"Under the aegis of Homer and his sirens, Emmanuel Cremer, delivers to us Cinq chants d'Athènes (5 songs of Athens) which cross time as well as space. This cello solo takes us into a very personal reading of an Odyssey that is built with a bow. The sea is sometimes rough, insistent, always on the verge of breaking (Infini sans terre), sometimes it is the calm that occurs at the peak of the storm and the song of the cello becomes one with the elements (Deli) but the destination is always sure. Cremer's Athenian reading is strangely between two worlds, Ancient and Modern." By the way, he really played as quickly as the image above.
After being blown away by a cellist, we dined on Rue des Teinturiers, a picturesque street paved with cobblestones. "It is appreciated in summer for the freshness that emanates from the canal (from the Sorgue) and the shade offered by its majestic plane trees. During the Festival, many cafés and restaurants offer a pleasant wait for the theater plays to begin. From morning until late in the evening, you can enjoy this exceptional atmosphere, whether you are a spectator or a simple onlooker. Discovering the history of this picturesque street and at the same time, that of its inhabitants, is to discover the entire history of Avignon..." There truly is history everywhere here!
For UNO fans, how cool is this order number?

And how is this for a musical interlude?
In addition to the Festival d'Avignon, there is the OFF Festival with more than 1,600 shows in 141 theaters all over town. A spontaneous creative endeavor born in 1966, around the Avignon Festival (which is also known as IN), the OFF Festival is one of the largest live performance festivals in the world. What's fun about OFF is the fact that its stars wander the streets, promoting themselves. This gal was a riot. The town is electric with all the excitement.

While meandering about, we were invited to attend a free performance at the very cool Episcène Theater. We were so glad we went. Oh my gosh!
Lève Toi stars Sarina, a blind Belgian singer, author and composer, who has had an atypical career path worth sharing. According to her webpage, "Since she was little, she feared being reduced by blindness and put in a box. It was her grandmother who gave her the first key to getting out of it: music. Today, she gives us a brand new show, something between stand-up and music."
The theater is very intimate and when it was time for Sarina to take the stage, the house lights were turned off leaving us completely in the dark. This introduction to our own blindness was a powerful message. Wow.

Through storytelling, Sarina combines historical and autobiographical anecdotes, sharing her personal stories and those of legendary singers who have also broken the glass ceiling. From Nina Simone to Billie Eilish, Josephine Baker and the Lebanese Fairouz. She pays tribute to those who have changed the world through their music. While we didn't understand exactly what she shared, we certainly got the message.
"Avignon's Got It Going On!"

posted under |

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Newer Post Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Get new Blog Posts to your inbox. Just enter name and email below.

 

We respect your email privacy

Blog Archive


Recent Comments