Hervé Biju Duval

To mark the centenary of the death of Camille Saint-Saëns, the Palazzetto Bru Zane offers a chance to discover one of his most performed and admired operas in his lifetime, presented here in a rare version. Completed in 1893 and premiered the same year at the Opéra-Comique, the piece amusingly recounts the love affair between Nicias and Phryné, who dupes the old archon Dicephilus in order to avenge his cruelty. Its witty melodies and delightful orchestration made the opera an immediate success in Paris and then throughout France. It was enriched with recitatives composed by André Messager in 1896 to promote its career in theatres abroad. Hervé Niquet’s dashing interpretation brings out to the full the qualities of the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen Normandie and the Chœur du Concert Spirituel, thus providing a sparkling backdrop for the virtuosic soprano voice of Florie Valiquette, the refined lyricism of the tenor Cyrille Dubois and the vocal authority of Thomas Dolié’s baritone.

Dreams of Spain is an imaginary musical voyage of composers living in France who were inspired by the sunshine, the dance rhythms and folk music of Iberia: Maurice Ravel, Emmanuel Chabrier, Gabriel Fauré, Mel Bonis, Vincent d'Indy and Manuel de Falla. In Paris at the time of the Belle Époque, after the success of Carmen the French were mad about Spain and all things Spanish, and both sides of the Pyrenees witnessed a musical celebration of the region’s lively folk traditions.

Debussy’s exotic harmonies have had a long and lasting influence on jazz’s piano greats, including Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett, and Fred Hersch. Hervé Sellin, professor of jazz at Debussy’s alma mater, the Paris Conservatoire, has also fallen under the Impressionist composer’s spell, using the most famous works as a springboard for inspired improvisations, including the infectious swing of “La fille aux cheveux de lin” and the Sarabande from Pour le Piano, performed in the brash but brilliant style of the late, great Michel Petrucciani.