Thursday
Fine weather at last in Paris – let’s hope the audience turns out in force for tonight’s concert. The Orchestre national de France will be paying tribute to Gabriel Fauré with a concert to commemorate the centenary of his death. It’s one of the highlights of our Palazzetto Bru Zane Paris Festival, which launched a week ago.
But first, we have a studio recording in the west of Paris of Bizet’s Mélodies and some of his piano music (performed by Adèle Charvet, Florian Caroubi and Nathanaël Gouin), as he will be our featured composer next year. It’s always exciting to be involved in the intimate musical life of an artist, to not only understand their thoughts but also their emotions: their stress, their doubts, their fatigue, and to help them to perform to their full potential. Occasionally there’s a crisis, but there won’t be this time.
Friday
Yesterday’s Fauré concert was a great success, but we can’t celebrate for too long as we’re back in the studio for a second day of our Bizet recording. Getting across to the other side of Paris in the run-up to the Olympic Games is a challenge, to say the least. Several colleagues have arrived from Venice for this evening’s performance of ‘Light Music’ works by Flannan Obé and his merry band, evoking the café-concert of the 1900s. The Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord is a perfect setting for that type of music, which requires close contact with the audience, and I feel very lucky to be able to move seamlessly from the Romantic mélodies of Bizet to the saucy chansons of the Roaring Twenties. The diversity of this repertoire is amazing!
Saturday
A close friend, who is also a very talented artist, will soon be leaving us. At only 35, she’s losing her battle with cancer. At such times, music seems paradoxically both futile and one of the finest expressions of humanity and civilisation, offering a glimpse of a better world. We often used to joke about the incredible number of projects we would embark on together, and the unknown operas to be recorded, one of which her voice would have been perfect for, but now we’ll have to cope with our sadness when we do them without her. While I was visiting her at the hospital, I witnessed an outpouring of love and support for her, with many of her visitors representing the world of opera: two (usually elusive) directors, stage managers, pianists, chorus members and fellow soloists—a small company in itself. (Rest in peace my dear Jodie Devos.)
Sunday
I wake up early to a bright city, with blue skies and sunshine. I go for my usual Sunday morning coffee on the terrace of a typical little café in Montmartre, just a few minutes from where I live. The discussions at the bar, the people hurrying by and cyclists struggling up the steep street remind me of an opera set in which the supers have been asked to move about without causing a distraction. As always, I have my tablet with me so that I can read or reread scores. Today I’ve brought with me Médée by Cherubini. Drawing on newly rediscovered sources, we’ll be presenting it in a few years’ time. There are discussions to be had and decisions to be made: Do we include recitatives? What about additional orchestration? Should it incorporate a ballet?
In the afternoon, it’s my turn to go to the Bouffes du Nord. We’ve come a long way since the show was first staged in mid-autumn last year at the Ferme de Villefavard, surrounded by fields.
Monday
I have a meeting with the conductor Fabien Gabel about next week’s concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Quite a few rarities – who knows Mel Bonis, Fernand de La Tombelle and Théodore Dubois? – and even a revival of Mélodies by Massenet, alternating singing and declamation. There’s always a certain amount of suspense involved when waiting to find out whether it was all worth it, but I’m not too worried this time. It will be nice to be back at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, where there’s always a good reception, and what a privilege to have a dress rehearsal all to yourself, in an auditorium with 1,500 empty seats!. I feel lucky to be able to spend so much time in some of the world’s finest theatres and concert halls – in Venice, Paris, Munich, Brussels, Budapest, and Milan.
Tuesday
Today our festival comes to the salon of the Bibliothèque musicale La Grange-Fleuret, in partnership with ProQuartet, with excerpts from 10 completely unknown chamber works – even we don’t know them! The enthusiasm shown by the members of certain trios and quartets is really heart-warming. For others, of course, their preference would be to work on Mozart or Brahms, which is understandable. But a little curiosity does no harm, and these days, when you have to be able to stand out from the rest and make a name for yourself in the media, I really think that one of the solutions lies in getting off the beaten track. Anyway, everyone seemed delighted, and my colleague Étienne Jardin (Director of Research and Publications) captivated the audience with his accompanying talk.
Wednesday
I am meeting with the executive committee today. Urgent matters will have to be set aside while we look ahead to 2027 and discuss what is likely to be of interest to audiences in a few years’ time, as well as trying to guess who the artists of tomorrow will be. We then work out who will be involved in sorting out the programming, musicological research, the publication of books and scores, and so on. In the evening, we head to the Opéra Bastille for a performance of Spontini’s La Vestale. Our recording with Marina Rebeka and Christophe Rousset lasts two-and-a-half hours; this evening’s programme announces almost four hours… Suspense…
