I just went to this lovely concert/show Chopin & George Sand as part of Concerts du midi, a lunchtime concert series hosted in Rennes. The show included duo Jean-Philippe Guillo at the piano and Mathilde Maumont acting as George Sand and reading her works. Some thoughts:

  1. It reminded me of a piece I saw at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, MA in 2006(!): Monsieur Chopin, a one-man show where Hershey Felder portrayed Chopin by both performing his pieces and acting out events of his life. It was incredible. And also the inspiration for my “salon series”. ❤️
  2. My “salon series” (2010-2016) was an ensemble of shows where I played/sang and told the stories of various composers or artists, starting with Chopin in 2010, followed by Debussy, Scott Joplin, Janis Joplin and finally the Mamas and the Papas in 2016. These shows mainly took place in my living room (“salon”) with friends. It was great. Maybe I should bring it back…
  3. This lunchtime slot is such a convenient format. Go immerse yourself in music and theater during your lunch break! Since I finished teaching for the semester, I have more time to take advantage of these local gems. And in a small city like Rennes, I find it much easier to go to these sort of events. As compared to a big city like Paris where there are also events happening - but too many of them. Or too many people! And it gets so overwhelming, that in the end you often don’t do any of them. :)
  4. I was definitely one of the youngest people in the audience. And I’m 41. My conclusion? Old(er) people know what’s good!

I also went to the last concert Échos de Transylvanie which was excellent as well. 🎶