“I fell in love with the Bassac church, I love it!â€
How did you find yourself artistic director of a singing festival in Charente?
Eve Ruggieri. Charente holds a special place in my life. I was born in Limoges, and for the holidays, we had two stops with my parents and my brother. La Rochelle, for swimming. And Charente because my father, who was a musician, also painted. And every year, he set up his easel in Charente to paint landscapes. We loved it because we took the opportunity to visit the churches. With my brother, we both have, in our apartments, paintings of the Charente painted by our father. Knowing my nostalgia for this department, my friend Régine (Boissard), originally from Angoulême, said to me one day: “Why don’t you do a festival in Charente?” I said to her, with joy. It went like that.
How was your meeting with Nicole Roy, the former mayor of Bassac, who followed you in this adventure?
It was Régine who introduced her to me and we immediately got along well. Above all, I fell in love with his church [l'abbaye de Bassac, NDLR]I love it! She is breathtakingly beautiful. This will be the setting for a very beautiful concert on Tuesday, with Anastasia Rizikov.
Who is this festival for? To enlightened classical music lovers or to the general public?
Places are €25, so it’s for everyone. When we talk about classical music, it has a bit of a stilted side. We therefore offer a fairly broad repertoire, from Bach to Bernstein, because I noticed that the best instrumentalists loved playing jazz or musicals. Ultimately, I would like to be able to invite children from music schools to see the rehearsals with the artists, because it’s better than a lesson. It was a bit short to do it this year. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve put together a festival in less than five months.
Tell us about the artists you invited.
I chose them, as always, with great care, because I try to have people who have real contact with the public. We will start at the Château de Villebois, with a wonderful soprano, Marie-Laure Garnier. It was she who sang [en 2023, NDLR] at the foot of the Eiffel Tower for July 14. She has an absolutely incredible voice. She will offer a romantic repertoire which will end with Summertime. She will be accompanied by Celia Oneto, a wonderful pianist who has won all the major competitions. They are both as joyful as the other. On Tuesday, there will be Anastasia Rizikov, a Ukrainian and Canadian pianist. She’s going to set the fire. I entrusted him with an extremely acrobatic repertoire, two pieces by Ravel written for orchestra, but reduced for piano. You really have to go see her.
Wednesday it will be your turn. You will be on stage at the Cognac theater to present “Ah!” The Good Life” with pianist David Bismuth. What is it about?
I recount the encounters that have marked my life, with extracts from my broadcasts and unpublished private photos. I talk about my meeting in Salzburg with Karajan [Herbert von Karajan, le célèbre chef d'orchestre autrichien, NDLR]with the immense pianist (Vladimir) Horowitz on the Champs-Élysées, or even with Montserrat Caballé, who made me laugh so much with her concert for the Barcelona Olympic Games, where she sang with Freddie Mercury. I will also talk about (Luciano) Pavarotti, who came to make pasta at home, about Nina Simone, who moved me to tears, and about Maria Callas’ rival, Renata Tebaldi. No one before me had thought of interviewing her in France, even though she sang much better than Callas to tell the truth. I am accompanied on stage by David, who chose composers who fit the personality of each character, like Beethoven for Karajan.
What relationship do you have with the public today?
People always feel like they’re meeting a girlfriend. The other day in Segonzac [où elle est venue faire une dédicace, NDLR]I entered a restaurant and the lady was honored to receive me. She listened to me and loved my voice. Everyone remembers my voice even though it’s a scam because I have no voice! I have neither treble nor bass, I just have a small midrange. Luckily I had a microphone!
It’s a question we have to ask you all the time, but what is your favorite composer and work?
Do you have time on your hands (laughs)? I’m going to tell you a sentence that scandalized my mother: if I were asked to choose among the great composers, I would without hesitation choose Mozart and as a lover, I would choose Beethoven (laughs)! But if I’m honest, the master, for me, is Bach. He is a man who has written more than 1,000 scores and none of them are the same and to work on them, you can spend your life on them. I particularly love his Italian piano concerto. I played it three or four years ago. Very bad. It’s such a joyous concerto. All his life he dreamed of going to Italy and he never went there.
Five days of great music
The first edition of the “Charente chante et s’enchante” festival will take place from June 15 to 19. It will begin Monday, at 7 p.m., with a romantic duet at the Château de Villebois-Lavalette, with soprano Marie-Laure Garnier and pianist Celia Oneto (sold out). On this occasion, Eve Ruggieri’s companion, Rachid Khimoune exhibits his bronze statues, made from street footprints.
Tuesday June 16, head to the abbey church of Bassac, with pianist Anastasia Rizikov (8 p.m.). The next day, Ève Ruggieri and pianist David Bismuth will present their show “Ah la belle vie” at 7:30 p.m. at the Théâtre de l’Avant-Scène in Cognac. It will be followed by a signing session of his memoirs “In Case I Die”.
The rest of the festival will take place at the Notre-Dame de Lignières church, in Lignières-Ambleville, Thursday June 18, at 8 p.m. Countertenor Luan Goésy will present a baroque repertoire with “E viva il furiosi galantes”. Then at the Château de Bouteville, Friday June 19. Starting at 7 p.m. with a conference by Alain Malraux, on the fiftieth anniversary of the disappearance of his uncle André Malraux. At 8 p.m., a duo of instrumentalists will close the festival with Pierre Génisson (clarinet) and Bruno Fontaine (piano). The first is “one of the most renowned representatives of the French wind school,” says Eve Ruggieri. The second is a pianist recognized on the international scene.
Prix de la place : 25€. Information and reservations at 06 22 67 19 27 and by mail : rc.b.organisations@gmail.com.
