Elves and Fairies

Fontevraud: Inside the Abbey

We've been to lots of events at different times of day at Fontevraud, but never for a concert. It's been a question of timing, and us missing something because we've been away visiting the UK. Anyway yesterday this oversight was put to rest. And we picked a good one.

Something we've noticed is that concerts here on a Sunday tend to start earlier.  About three years ago we went to the Avoine Blues festival - an annual event, with a well established reputation for attracting some classy players. 2009 - the final gig to close the festival featured Status Quo. They were just brilliant. It began around 6pm and was heaving and jumping. Just as well that I'm sitting down to write this next bit. It was only with Live Aid that I got hooked on to S.Q. and perhaps more importantly, Queen and Freddie Mercury. Eek, splutter, gulp - that was 1985!!

Fontevraud seating: very comfortable!!

Last night the 'gig' was rather more sedate and began at 5pm.  Le Songe d'une nuit d'été (A Midsummer night's Dream) by Felix Mendelssohn. A piece of music that I hadn't heard for years and never in concert, and which had be segwayed with excerpts from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream. It was part of a series of concerts throughout the season, presenting musical adaptations of famous literary works.  It was a superb performance, featuring an all female choir - Le Choeur de Femmes de L'ONPL (L'Orchestre National de Pays de la Loire), with their musical director John Axelrod. Two fabulous sopranos, Trine Wilsberg Lund, Valentina Coladonato. Narrator was a French actor Philippe Drancy.  The sound quality was wonderful, and the rhythms of the language and the music complimented each other to perfection. So pleased we went. Even the techies looked happy. That tells you something.