The Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo returned to the Cour d’Honneur of the Prince’s Palace on Sunday 26 July for the latest of its summer concerts, performing works by Manuel de Falla and Sergei Prokofiev in the presence of Prince Albert II. The evening was conducted by Charles Dutoit and featured the pianist Martha Argerich as soloist, with the soprano Alexandra Marcellier also taking part.

The concert opened with the Interlude and Dance from de Falla’s opera La Vida breve, a work rooted in the composer’s native Andalusia. Argerich then joined the orchestra for Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, one of the most frequently performed of his five concertos and a piece the pianist has named among her favourites. The programme closed with the ballet suites from de Falla’s Le Tricorne, or The Three-Cornered Hat, written for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.

A long-standing partnership

Dutoit and Argerich have performed together for decades, and their appearances at the Prince’s Palace are among the most anticipated of the OPMC’s summer season. The concert was one of several in the 2026 series to sell out well in advance, with the orchestra offering only a waiting list in the days before the performance.

About the series

The Concerts au Palais Princier were created by Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace and have been held in the Cour d’Honneur for more than 60 years. Each summer, the Prince invites the OPMC and leading international conductors and soloists to perform in the open-air setting. The 2026 season runs from 9th July to 6th August, with the orchestra led across the series by figures including Philippe Jordan, Simone Young and Juraj Valčuha.

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Photo credit: Frédéric Nebinger, Prince’s Palace