Description
The Festival des Heures Exquises is back for the third year running in Fouesnant-les Glénan. It is a cultural highlight for all lovers of classical music.
It was inspired by Marcel Proust and Reynaldo Hahn's stay in Beg-Meil in 1895: an invitation to take a musical journey to the heart of the rich and effervescent artistic life of the Belle Époque.
It was born of a meeting between the town's cultural action centre (l'Archipel) and a couple of artists, Mathieu FRANOT (musician, co-director of Les Frivolités Parisiennes and the Opéra de Reims) and Chloé DUCRAY (harpist), who fell under the spell of Fouesnant.
This year's Les Heures Exquises festival will take place from 11 to 13 September, to take advantage of the mild autumn weather. It is part of the cultural programme of the town of Fouesnant-les Glénan, with the support of the Tourist Office.
PROGRAMME :
- 11 September 2026 "Roméo(s) et Juliette(s)" at 8pm in the church of Sainte-Anne
Roxane Chalard, soprano - Abel Zemora, tenor - Cécile Madelin, mezzo soprano
This opening concert is a first plunge into the myth of Romeo and Juliet: the diversity and prolixity of the repertoire pay tribute to the symbolic significance of a story that spans centuries and generations. This programme, a blend of emotion, virtuosity and frenzied rhythms, will be enhanced by the sparkling voices of Roxane Chalard, Cécile Madelin and Abel Zemora, accompanied by the Festival Orchestra.
- 12 September 2026 at 8pm "Héroïnes", Église Saint-Guénolé
Festival Septet - Flute, clarinet, string quartet and harp
Rimsky-Korsakov, Shéhérazade / Fauré, Pelléas et Mélisande / Ravel, Septuor
This concert is a tribute to distant perfumes and inspiring muses. Ravel's shimmering, impressionistic sonorities mingle with the oriental inspirations of Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and the purity of Fauré's melodic lines, in true gems of the chamber music repertoire.
- 13 September 2026 at 3pm at l'Archipel
Charles Gounod, Romeo and Juliet - Opera
With Roxane Chalard (Juliette), Abel Zemora (Roméo), Cécile Madelin (Gertrude/Tybalt/ Stephano), Mathieu Gourlet (Mercutio/ Frère Laurent/ Père Capulet),
Festival Orchestra conducted by Alexandra Cravero
Emilie Roy, set design / Chloé Ducray, stage direction
Lack of communication, a failed quest for meaning, age-old violence and social pressure: all the ingredients of Shakespeare's insolence remain in our contemporary society. Charles Gounod's music brings out its piquancy, its lightness at times, and a great breath of romanticism. Plunged into the intimacy of the two teenagers, we follow step by step the incarnation of these twin souls who, not without astonishment, recognise each other against all odds to offer a glimpse of love in a fallen world.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Other surprises will take place during the matinees.
Prices and bookings on the Festival des Heures Exquises website
