Domaine Forget annonces its 43rd season

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Saint-Irénée, Friday, May 28, 2021 – Artistic director Paul Fortin alongside singer and festival spokesperson Marie-Nicole Lemieux have announced the 43^rd Festival International du Domaine Forget de Charlevoix program. Presented from June 26 to August 21, the summer 2021 edition will be a celebration of life, music, dance and encounters. Festival-goers will have the privilege of hearing exceptional Quebec artists such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Karina Gauvin, Charles Richard-Hamelin, Les Violons du Roy and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. Highlights include: Marie-Nicole Lemieux’s farewell as spokesperson of Domaine Forget de Charlevoix (DFC) after ten years of happy collaboration and the Festival debut of Arion Orchestre Baroque, conductor Bramwell Tovey, and flamboyant jazz pianist Taurey Butler. A summer calendar that includes 17 indoor concerts, 7 webcast concerts, 3 outdoor film screenings, free performances by Domaine Forget de Charlevoix Academy (DFCA) students, the return of the very popular Le Domaine sur la route series, Saturday morning yoga in the Harmonic Sculpture Garden and Journée Arts sans frontières.

NDOOR AND WEBCAST CONCERTS

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, 150 seats will be available for each of the 17 indoor concerts. After witnessing the popularity of the summer 2020 virtual concerts, the artistic team has planned for 7 of those to be recorded and be available for online viewing. Each will be available in the week following its indoor counterpart, for a period of 14 days and at a cost of $20 per concert. A Concert Webcast Pass will also be on sale for $119 until June 26, 2021, giving access to all 7 concerts.

GOODBYE MARIE-NICOLE!

After 10 years of a rich and fruitful partnership with DFC, Marie-Nicole Lemieux will step down as Festival spokesperson. Fans will have the pleasure of hearing her twice this summer, both in the Concert Hall and online. The first concert (August 15) will be an intimate tribute to pianist and composer André Gagnon. Marie-Nicole Lemieux, accompanied by pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin, will perform Lettres de Madame Roy à sa fille Gabrielle, a sensitive and powerful work inspired by the words of Michel Tremblay and the music of André Gagnon. The program will be completed by

another masterful work by Robert Schumann, Frauenliebe und Leben (The Life and Loves of a Woman), which has a special meaning since it was the very first piece performed by Marie-Nicole at Domaine Forget in 2005. She will end the 2021 season with Les Violons du Roy and conductor Jonathan Cohen (August 21) with a program including Edward Elgar’s Sea Pictures. Fortunately, her connection with Domaine Forget will remain strong and will be transformed into a mentoring role for DFCA’s young vocal trainees.

JOURNÉE ARTS SANS FRONTIÈRES : A TRIBUTE TO CHARLEVOIX!

The traditional Journée Arts sans frontières (August 7), is back once again with none other than Guylaine Tremblay acting as spokesperson. Multiple free outdoor activities will be held starting at 11 a.m. A multidisciplinary program combining music, dance and sculpture, as well as interviews with distinguished guests, will highlight the region’s culture, nature, heritage and gastronomy. The highlight of the day will be the Orchestre symphonique de Québec’s indoor concert entitled Ode à Charlevoix! in which Guylaine Tremblay will deliver texts celebrating the region’s beauty, accompanied by the music of Grieg, Smetana, Strauss and Debussy.

CELEBRATING QUEBEC ORCHESTRAS & ARTISTS

It is with great pleasure that we are bringing back on stage Les Violons du Roy and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. For the opening concert (June 26 and webcast), young conductor Nicolas Ellis will lead Les Violons du Roy and their guest, the dazzling soprano Karina Gauvin, in a program consisting entirely of works by Haydn and Mozart. The chamber orchestra will return to also close the season (August 21 and on webcast) with contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux. The Orchestre symphonique de Québec will offer two performances, the first of which (July 24) will mark the Festival debut of Canadian conductor Bramwell Tovey. He will share the stage with three young conductors from DFCA’s conducting class, in an irresistible program composed of works by Rossini, Stravinsky, Chevalier de Saint-Georges as well as Beethoven’s superb Symphony No. 3 Eroica. The second concert, entitled Ode à Charlevoix! (August 7 and webcast), will offer an original program featuring words, music and image projections under the always inspiring direction of conductor Jacques Lacombe.

The Festival will proudly welcome Quebec’s most prominent artists, beginning with singer Marc Hervieux (June 27 and webcast). With his rich and seductive voice, Hervieux will bring the public into his musical world. Also, pianist and singer Gregory Charles (July 3) will have a blast on the piano and will draw from his repertoire to offer a wide selection of pieces from all ages and styles. On July 10, Arion Orchestre Baroque and artistic director Mathieu Lussier will take us on a musical journey back in time with the program Il était une fois Versailles, which will feature instruments and repertoire that once accompanied the musical evenings of the kings and queens of France.

Each visit by cellist Stéphane Tétreault to Domaine Forget de Charlevoix brings in a breath of fresh air. Together with his accomplice pianist Olivier Hébert-Bouchard, he has prepared a unique evening entitled Images oubliées in which the duo paints a timeless portrait of composer Claude Debussy (July 18).

Superstar conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who chose Domaine Forget last September to record his very first album as a solo artist, will play the piano (July 23) with four musicians from the Orchestre Métropolitain in an all-Mozart concert. This promising evening is sure to be one of the highlights of the summer, also available by webcast. Nézet-Séguin will also teach conducting at the Domaine Forget de Charlevoix Academy.

Finally, on August 14, the excellent Rosebud String Quartet (RSQ), composed of former students of DFCA’s chamber music session, will perform on the Concert Hall stage along with violist Steven Dann and cellist Thomas Wiebe. A summer school reunion that will be filled with emotion!

JAZZ & DANCE

Pianist Lorraine Desmarais and friends bassist Frédéric Alarie and drummer Camil Belisle (July 17 and webcast) will pay tribute to two musical giants: Michel Legrand and Bill Evans. Inspired by the harmonic palette and finesse of Bill Evans’ playing as well as by Legrand’s irresistible melodic lines, Desmarais has created an unforgettable program. Singer Sonia Johnson will lend her pure and seductive voice to the great songs of Michel Legrand. On July 31, the Domaine Forget Concert Hall will be ablaze with virtuoso performances by pianist Taurey Butler and his trio making their Festival debut.

On July 9, the spotlight will turn to choreographer Harold Rhéaume, whose company Le fils d’Adrien danse is celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year. To mark the event, Le fils d’Adrien danse revisits one of its most emblematic work: LES DIX COMMANDEMENTS, created in 1998 and bringing together ten dancers on stage. Witness a touching and sensitive fresco that illustrates our differences and our singularities as sources of hope for the future.

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND PACKAGES

Regular Subscriptions and Passports

Due to the limited number of seats available, regular subscriptions and passports for indoor concerts are unfortunately not available for the 2021 season. They will be back in 2022.

NEW: Dinner & Concerts

DFC is partnering up with two local restaurants, Le Sainti and L’Authentique Auberge de Charlevoix, to offer festival-goers Dinner & Concert evenings. Available in limited quantities, two table d’hôte menus for two are offered for all indoor concerts.

MEETING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

Le Domaine sur la route

Following the success of last season’s musical escapades, DFC musicians will take the road and offer free concerts to Baie-Saint-Paul, La Malbaie, Clermont and Isle-aux-Coudres residents.

Danser la sculpture

Conceived by DFC Dance Curator Anne Plamondon and Sculpture Curator Serge Murphy, in collaboration with choreographer Harold Rhéaume, the project Danser la sculpture consists of three dance solos, inspired by three public sculptures found in Charlevoix. The three-part event will take place on August 5, 6 and 7 and will feature dancer Misheel Ganbold. The event will be presented in collaboration with the city of La Malbaie and the Musée d’Art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul.

Outdoor film screenings

The summer of 2021 will also see the return of outdoor film screenings, presented at sundown at the Domaine Forget belvedere, in collaboration with the Festival International du Film sur l’Art (FIFA). The three films will be related to art and will include a pre-talk with an artist or a guest speaker.

COME PLAY OUTSIDE!

The Harmonic Sculpture Garden

The Harmonic Sculpture Garden and the outdoor site of Domaine Forget de Charlevoix will also be more alive than ever during the summer of 2021. A brand new sculpture by sculptor Gilles Mihalcean will be added to the permanent collection. The artist will be in residence at DFC at the beginning of the summer to work on his project and also to meet the public.

Interactive tour

A brand new interactive application, completely free of charge, will guide you to the discovery of more than twenty sculptures and more than three kilometers of pedestrian paths, entirely redesigned and accessible to the whole family.

Visual arts workshops for children

Every Tuesday from June 6 to August 24, visual arts creative workshops will be offered to children and teenagers. These outdoor workshops, given by artist Karine Locatelli, will allow participants to learn about visual arts using simple materials and techniques.

INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS

Telephone: 418 452-3535 or 1 888 336-7438