Month: April 2025

Nearly 400 guests filled the gilded halls of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on Monday 28th April for the premiere of Esultate, a landmark television documentary charting the extraordinary history of this iconic institution. Created by journalist Frédéric Laurent and his son Jérémie, the series is the first of its kind to bring the story of a major opera house to the screen, with its debut episode drawing an audience that included Prince Albert II and Princess Caroline of Hanover.

The first instalment of the four-part series, titled Esultate, L’Histoire de l’Opéra de Monte-Carlo, traces the origins of the opera house from its founding era in 1879 up until 1951. Spanning 64 minutes, it highlights the prolific creative period during which more than 80 operas premiered, many under the legendary directorship of Raoul Gunsbourg. “This series, which tells the story of an opera house, is unique,” said Frédéric Laurent. “There is no other history of a major opera house in the world told in television format. The richness of its content is exceptional.”

Meticulously researched and visually striking, Esultate draws on more than 180 opera excerpts, 700 illustrations, and dozens of interviews. Its production was made possible thanks in part to the support of Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer, which granted the Laurents access to its vast archives.

A total of 149 historic opera programmes were digitised for the project, offering unprecedented visual documentation of Monaco’s musical legacy.

Stéphane Valeri, President-Delegate of Monte-Carlo SBM, praised the filmmakers for their scholarly dedication and artistic passion. “I was immediately struck by the rigour and passion that drove Frédéric Laurent. He has accomplished a true labour of love — meticulous, demanding, and deeply documented. This film reminds us how much the Opera, always under the guidance of Monaco’s Princes and Princesses, has contributed to the international influence of our country in the arts and culture.”

This first screening, hosted inside the very venue it honours, was attended by top dignitaries including Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, Monaco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Jean-Louis Grinda, former director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. With the release of Esultate, Monaco celebrates not only a cornerstone of its cultural identity but also a new milestone in the storytelling of global opera history.

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Main photo source: MCSBM

A fascinating exhibition at Marius titled ‘The Art of Storytelling’ has brought to light the artistic partnership between Jean Cocteau and Raymond Moretti, whose collaborative works from 1960s represent a unique chapter in the French Riviera’s rich cultural history.

The event, which launched on 29^th April, featured insightful presentations by Marc Dimech from DM Agency and renowned local artist Anthony Alberti, known professionally as Mr. One Teas, revealing the intricate dynamics behind this historic artistic alliance. 

The unlikely pairing of these two artistic giants might never have materialised without the determined efforts of Louis Nucera, who served as a cultural facilitator in the pre-digital era.

“Louis Nucera was crucial in those days before we had social networks and Facebook,” explained Marc Dimech during his presentation. “Journalists would collect artists from the airport and bring them to other artists, essentially serving as agents.”

Cocteau, already established and renowned, initially showed little interest in collaborating with Moretti, who was known for his fondness of press coverage. In an exclusive interview with Monaco Life, Anthony Alberti elaborated on this hesitant start: “At the beginning, Cocteau wasn’t really looking to meet Moretti and to make something with him. Nucera was the one pushing him. Finally, they got to meet, and something clicked.”

Their first encounter took place at Villa Paradiso in the Montée de Signé, where Moretti’s studio has been established by Jean Médecin, then mayor of Nice, and an avid collector of Moretti’s work. Later, their sessions moved to the more conveniently located Victorine Studios.

The artistic synergy of two masters

“In 1962, they were working together on a special series, and they created many works – a kind of spontaneous writing and unique way of creating,” explained Alberti.

Their creative sessions lasted five hours and were invariably accompanied by jazz music, with Dimech noting, “they would play jazz records because they always worked with music.”

Rather than diving directly into their collaborative canvases, Moretti would prepare extensively. “Moretti would create at least a hundred preparatory works with drawings, watercolours, collages—everything we can imagine today, they were avant-garde,” Dimech revealed.

One of their most significant works, initially titled ‘La Promenade des Anglais’, was later named ‘L’Âge du Verseau’ (The Age of Aquarius), reflects the spiritual current of the time that spoke of civilisational transformation in response to environmental concerns and war threats.

The exhibition highlights the playful nature of their creative partnership, with each artist working on different sections of the canvas while often imitating the other’s style. 

“Often, they would copy each other—Moretti would do Cocteau’s style and Cocteau would do Moretti’s style. It was a game between them,” said Dimech. 

Alberti pointed out one of his favourite pieces: “I love the upside-down painting, because when they were working together, one was on one side of the table, the other on the opposite side, and they were both creating something on their own side. So, what I love is, you have this kind of result, where you can put it on one way or on the other way and it will still look great.”

As their collaboration deepened, so did their understanding of each other’s artistic sensibilities. Alberti described their remarkable connection: “They were really connected in the way that when, for example, at the end of his life, Cocteau was creating the church of Jesus, he asked Moretti to make it for him. And when Cocteau was asking for a special blue, actually, Moretti knew already which kind of blue Cocteau was looking for.”

This understanding ultimately transformed what began as a mentor-mentee dynamic. “I think maybe Cocteau and Moretti had a kind of master-teacher student relationship, but at the end, they were equal, both on the same level,” noted Alberti.

The exhibition includes lithographs created from their preparatory works, produced 10 years after their original collaboration. Cocteau drew directly on the lithographic plates, incorporating his signature into the design, while Moretti later added colour and signed in pencil as a mark of respect for his colleague.

Cocteau’s health deteriorated toward the end of their collaboration, with Dimech explaining that “Cocteau was increasingly physically tired and would give instructions to Moretti by mail, saying ‘finish the orange lady’s hair’, for example. Moretti completed the final five percent of the work following Cocteau’s death.”

‘The art of storytelling’ is a new event series being hosted at Marius. This inaugural exhibition, which featured Anthony Alberti and Marc Dimech at its launch, offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience this extraordinary artistic partnership that merged spiritual exploration with technical mastery, creating an enduring artistic legacy.

Monaco Life is produced by a team of real multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok.  

Photo of Marc Dimech and Anthony Alberti by Monaco Life