During the second week of our stay, we made a spontaneous decision (which is always the best one) to visit the Opera House in Montpellier with the other students as a part of a half-day school trip.
We hopped on our "private" bus with girls from Austria, and this time also from Italy. After an hour's drive, we finally reached Montpellier - Centre. The Opera, founded in 1755, is located on "Esplanade Charles de Gaulle," near the waterfront, with a lovely colonnade inspired by the Roman Empire.
At 10 a.m., the orchestra rehearsal officially began. The entire Montpellier orchestra was present in the classical line-up as we know it, complete with harp and piano. It was the last rehearsal before the evening dernier called Étoiles - a band of compositions from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries by composers such as Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, and Nikolaï Rimski-Korsakov. The best part of the whole concert was undoubtedly the conductor (Diego Ceretta), who lived the moment, every note, every melody... What's more, he continuously kept advising the mixture of English and Italian, so words such as "Bravissimo," "Di Nuovo," and "Grazie" and huge applause could easily portray it all.
After our little Italian lesson, we were astonished not only by the exquisite performance itself but also by the building itself. Because not everyone is lucky enough to see those behind the scenes that are often better than the actual "spectacle."
À très bientôt!
P.S. If you want to know more: https://www.opera-orchestre montpellier.fr/evenements/etoiles-alexandre-tharaud/
Comentarios