Since 1970, the Monte-Carlo Spring Arts Festival has showcased talented performers and creatives from the worlds of art, music, dance, cinema and theatre.
This year celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Monte-Carlo Spring Arts Festival is back with a full line up of exciting options. Visitors can expect to see exhibits, concerts, talks, classes, workshops, screenings, shows, and even a mystery tour.
The full programme is as follows.
Friday 13th March

• 30 pm: Opening of the exhibition “Inuit throat singing and games of Arctic Quebec” (Auditorium Rainier III)
• 30 pm: Opening concert by the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Kazuki Yamada with soprano Véronique Gens (Auditorium Rainier III)

Saturday 14th March

• 30 pm: Talk by musicologist Nicolas Southon on four composers: Aubert, Decaux, Ferroud and Samazeuilh (One Monte-Carlo Amphitheatre)
• 30 pm: Concert by pianist Aline Piboule, performing pieces by Aubert, Decaux, Ferroud and Samazeuilh (Opéra Garnier)

Sunday 15th March
Mystery tour, departing from Nice (outside the Maison du Département de Nice, avenue des Phocéens) and from Monaco (Stade Louis II, Hôtel Riviera Marriott side).
Wednesday 18th March

• 30pm: Talk by musicologist Annick Dubois ‘Awakening and development of the French violin in the baroque period: Jean-Féry Rebel (1666-1747) and Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1794)’ (Oceanographic Museum)
• 30pm: Baroque concert conducted by Patrick Cohën-Akenine, with Olivier Baumont on harpsichord, Hae-Sun Kang on contemporary violin, Patrick Cohën-Akenine on baroque violin, and the baroque orchestra Les Folies Françoises (Oceanographic Museum)

Thursday 19th March

• 30pm: Concert by the Quatuor Modigliani with Sayaka Shoji on violin, Nicholas Angelich on piano, Olivier Baumont on harpsichord. Works by the composers Thierry Pécou, Camille Saint-Saëns and Ernest Chausson (Oceanographic Museum)

Friday 20th March

• 30pm: Talk by musicologist Jean-Claire Vançon ‘From dance to character pieces: the subtle art of the French harpsichord’ (Oceanographic Museum)
• 30pm: Harpsichord concert by Olivier Baumont. Works by composers Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, Louis Couperin, François Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Claude Balbastre (Oceanographic Museum)

Saturday 21st March 

• 30am: Meeting with Andreas Staier, harpsichord player, led by musicologist David Christoffel (Opéra Garnier)
• 2pm to 5pm: Masterclass with Andreas Staier (Oceanographic Museum)
• 30pm: Concert by harpsichord player Pierre Hantaï performing pieces by Louis and François Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Antoine Forqueray, Jacques Duphly and Claude Balbastre (Oceanographic Museum)

Sunday 22nd March

• 6pm: Concert by harpsichord player Andreas Staier performing pieces by Jean-Henri d’Anglebert, François and Louis Couperin, Jean-François Dandrieu and Antoine Forqueray (Salle des arts, One Monte-Carlo)

Wednesday 25th March

• 6pm: Concert by the students of the Académie Rainier III and neighbouring conservatoires, performing pieces by Gérard Pesson (Auditorium Rainier III)

Thursday 26th March

• 9am to 12pm: Workshop on “Music, sailing and volumetrics: rewriting soundscapes” by Zack Settel and Luc Martinez (MonacoTech)
• 30pm: Talk on “Quebec between memory and modernity” by Denise Bombardier, journalist and author, followed by a show by the Compagnie Cas Public, a blend of dance, music and theatre, to the theme of Beethoven’s 9thsymphony (Salle des Etoiles, Sporting d’été)

Friday 27th March 

• 9am to12 pm: Workshop on “Music, sailing and volumetrics: rewriting soundscapes” by Zack Settel and Luc Martinez (MonacoTech)
• 6pm: Screening of the film “Les Belles-Sœurs” by Michel Tremblay, René Richard Cyr and Daniel Bélanger (One Monte-Carlo Amphitheatre)
• 30pm: Concert by the Ensemble Masques led by harpsichord player Olivier Fortin. Pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach (Salle Empire, Hôtel de Paris)

Saturday 28th March

• 3pm: Presentation of the interactive 3D app Walkthrumusic with Luc Martinez and Zack Settel (Salle Omnisports, Lycée Technique et Hôtelier)
• 4pm: Talk by Monique Savoie on “The Montreal Society for Arts and Technology, 25 years of 360° innovation” (Auditorium, Lycée Technique et Hôtelier)
• 5pm: Idem Altera, dance show. Design by Zack Settel and Peter Trosztmer with Osman Zeki, technological artist (Salle Omnisport, Lycée Technique et Hôtelier)
• 30pm: Talk by Jean-Jacques Nattiez, ethnomusicologist on “What is the throat singing of the Inuit women of Quebec?” (Salon Prince Jacques Ier, Hôtel de Paris)
• 30pm: Concert in two parts with soprano Hélène Guilmette and pianist Martin Dubé, traditional Inuit songs by Beatrice Deer, Evie Mark and Akanisie Sivuarapik

Sunday 29th March 

• 30am: Meeting with Marc-André Hamelin, pianist, led by musicologist David Christoffel (Café de la Rotonde, Opéra Garnier)
• 3pm: Guided tour of the exhibition of Inuit art by Jean-Jacques Nattiez, ethnomusicologist (Auditorium Rainier III)
• 30pm: Concert by Marc-André Hamelin performing pieces by Franz Schubert and Samouïl Feinberg (Salle des Arts, One Monte-Carlo)
• 30pm: Concert by the group Le Vent du Nord (Espace Léo Ferré)

Thursday 2ndr April 

• 30pm: Concert by Quatuor Mona, mezzo-soprano Victoire Bunel and pianist Guillaume Bellom (Opéra Garnier)

Friday 3rd April 

• 30pm: Concert by pianist Nicholas Angelich performing pieces by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel (Opéra Garnier)

Saturday 4th April  

• 30am: Meeting with mezzo-soprano Sophie Koch (Café de la Rotonde, Opéra Garnier)
• 30pm: Talk on “French melody today” by musicologist Emmanuel Hondré (One Monte-Carlo Amphitheatre)
• 30pm: Concert with pianist François-Frédéric Guy and mezzo-soprano Sophie Koch (Opéra Garnier)

Sunday 5th April 

• 6pm: Concert by the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Susanna Mälkki, with accordionist Vincent Lhermet. Works by Olivier Messiaen, Gérard Pesson and Albéric Magnard (Auditorium Rainier III)

 Thursday 9th April 

• 30pm: Show by Arno Fabre, “A show by Arno Fabre and his strange machines” (Théâtre des Variétés)

Friday 10th April

• 30pm: Talk on “Bali: magic of dance, music and rituals” by Kati Basset, artist specialising in the music of Bali and Java (Salle des Palmiers, Sporting d’été)
• 30pm: Music and dance show by the troupe of the village of Sebatu (Salle des Etoiles, Sporting d’été)

Saturday 11th April

• 3pm: “Baleganjur” procession by Balinese artists from the village of Sebatu (Place du Casino)
• 30pm: Introduction to the gamelan, a traditional instrumental ensemble with mainly bronze percussion instruments, with Kati Basset, artist specialising in the music of Bali and Java (Salle des Étoiles, Sporting d’été)
• 30pm: Music and dance show by the troupe of the village of Sebatu (Salle des Etoiles, Sporting d’été)

 
Photo: Monte-Carlo Spring Arts Festival