Street music

Almost every Sunday on the Place Colette (near the Comédie Française theatre), the classical group Classique Métropolitain performs in front of the passers by. Always a big success! I've been willing to photograph them often, but never did. Mostly, because I never found the right angle... This one is probably not right either, but that is the best I could come up with ;-) 

Vertigo

Here is another photo that I took at the Opera last Monday. I went all the way up to the last floor, just to have the highest view possible on one of the bars. I kinda like it, but maybe because I have been there ; it may be harder for you to feel what I experienced...

Sweet melody...

I had dinner at Maison Blanche last evening, a delightful restaurant on top of the Théâtre des Champs Elysée where you can enjoy one of the most breathtaking views of Paris (yes I'm lucky!). On top of the delicious food and stunning view, there was also a small trio playing music for the audience. A magical moment... I ended up talking to them and it turns out they are really nice. Let me introduce you to Jacques Bonvallet (violin), Eric Lancelot (bass) Cécile De Hann (cello).

Music station

Like I already said I'm not in Paris right now (I'm in Bangkok - there I said it!) so I've prepared a stock of Paris photos that I can publish daily from there. The problem is that it's not easy to stick to what's going on in Paris when you're miles away ;-) Like yesterday, when I saw on Facebook that the SNCF (the French railway company) had organized a symphonic concert in the Gare Saint Lazare one of the largest train stations in Paris. How frustrating to have missed that. So I emailed the SNCF who kindly sent me a choice of photos (I think it deserves a little "like" if you're on Facebook). FYI, the orchestra that plays is the OSR (the Orchestre symphonique du rail) in which a lot of (ex)employees of the SNCF play.

Singing in the rain (and in Paris!)

I took this photo at Place Saint Michel, a place known by all Parisians for being THE perfect meeting point in Paris ! And since a lot of people meet there, it's also a perfect place for singers of all kinds to perform in front of a crowd (well, of course, when it rains, the audience is less large!). I was in a hurry when I took this photo and I did not even take the time to find out about the name of this band, which is not very nice, I agree... But, well, it's too late;-). I wish you a very musical day!

Cloclo for sale!

If you're not French - or haven't lived in France in the 70's! - you probably did not understand the title of this post... Cloclo is the the nickname of Claude François, a very famous French singer who lived between 1939 and 1978 (he accidentally electrocuted himself in his bathtub). You surely don't know him (even though he wrote and composed Comme d'habitude, the original version of My Way and Parce que je t'aime mon enfant, the original version of My Boy), but here he was extremely popular and still his... To a point that today they are selling some of his stuff at Drouot, one of the main auction houses in Paris. I live right next by it, so I did not resist going there and take a few shot. The place was packed with old fans!

An ode to economy?

You see this band in the background of this photo? I photographed them in front of la Fontaine Saint Michel and found later their trace on the Net. It turns out that  and found out that they are the Porto (in Portugal) university of economics chorus! (In Portuguese: Tuna Académica da Faculdade de Economia do Porto, or Tafep). Who knows, the next Finance Minister of Portugal was among them! (Listen to what they do here if you're interested). As you can see the weather in Paris is still... well... humid!

Music at the opera...

I'm sure you understand why the title of this post is "Music at the opera" and not "opera music"!  For yes, the monument in the background is for sure the famous Opéra Garnier, that is the opera house that was built by Charles Garnier between 1861 and 1875, but the band in front is Les Plaies Mobiles, a horn band that plays in front of several Paris monuments from time to time. I love them!

The sound of arias...

Running ParisDailyPhoto has undoubtedly many advantages. One of them is to allow me to meet and/or exchange with nice people from all over the world. But sometimes it goes further than that... Recently I received an email from a certain Florence, who follows PDP from somewhere in Asia (I won't disclose too much as she seems to be quite discrete on the Net!) and emailed me asking me if I would be interested in getting tickets for an opera arias concert in Paris!). You bet I was... So here I went last evening, at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées - a great theater located at Avenue Montaigne listening to Donizetti and Verdi. A big merci to Florence then, and to Marco Zambelli, the marvelous conductor who arranged for the tickets ;-)

Opéra Garnier

You've seen it a thousand times ? Yes, I'm sure... But it's not easy to photograph it without any traffic around it. That is why I'm taking advantage of being in Paris in August, to revisit my classic monuments! For those of you who would not know it, this is l'Opéra Garnier (often called le Palais Garnier), named after the architect who won the competition in 1861 and completed it in 1874 (yes they already had budget problems at that time!). It's one of the two main opera houses we have in Paris (the other one being the Opéra Bastille, a more modern building) and yes, it's beautiful, especially at night. you can its - very interesting - story here.

Swinging by the canal

Some of you may remember this photo (dancing by the embankment of the Seine) or this one (Tango dancers) where you can see people dancing by the Seine (every night or so providing it does not rain). Well I found a new one! It's organized by Bart and Baker, two guys who love swinging music and therefore making people swing. They organize these events all year long, but during summer they have these special sessions on Paris Plage. You have to know that in France, we still usually dance what is called here "le Rock" or what specialists call "Le Swing" (see this video! or this spectacular one from thje 50's). I personally love it LOL!

Madonna at the Olympia

If you're expecting a call from Madonna tonight, don't count on it, cause she's kinda busy (kinda busy, kinda busy...)! Yes, people, "Ze Madonna" was at the Olympia last evening and, believe me, the place was a real mess. Jokes aside it must have been pretty awesome to see her in such a small theater and not one of these giant stadiums where you need binoculars to see the singer on stage - Am I showing my age?! Er, yeah maybe a little LOL!)

Live music in the 3rd arrondissement

Every summer since 1997, at the 3rd arrondissement town hall (in Paris, each arrondissement has its own town hall) a series of free live concerts take place. The artists that perform are quite good (it a mix of well-known and upcoming artists) and this year made no exception (it's very unlikely though that you know any of them, for they are all French bands). FYI, this young lady that I photographed on stage is not Madonna (!), but Carmen Maria Vega. You can listen to what she does on her site.

Play me, I'm yours!

Like every year the Fête de la musique (Music Feast) took place in Paris (and in many cities around the world) last evening. It was already its 30th anniversary! Fortunately the rain stopped around 6pm and gave way to hundreds of mini and maxi concerts all over the city. I spent most of my time in the Palais Royal, where the Play Me I'm yours "movement" installed a bunch of pianos around the main pond. The kids were extatic! Check out this little Animoto (now in HD).

A tribute to Aznavour

I already showed you the front of the Olympia (probably the most famous music hall in Paris), but it was never totally covered with a huge poster like this... They only did it because they are currently hosting Charles Aznavour, a super famous and loved French singer who had not performed there in... 55 years! For yes, ladies and gentlemen, Charles Aznavour was not exactly born yesterday! He's going to be 88 soon, but still sings like he were 20! Check that.

Musical Intermezzo

I don't know if you remember, last year, I attended an art opening organized in the offices of Mac Allister, a head hunter company. Well, this year I went back! Only this time on top of showing paintings they also had musicians! And not just any musician, a cellist (Hugues Lassere) and No Yon Kwon, a soprano who sang all kinds of music, including this famous one. A perfect moment for a Sunday ;-)

Music!

Let's take a little musical break today... Until the end of May, there is a music show at Le Cabaret Sauvage in Parc de la Villette, called Barbès Café (after Barbès, the area I posted about a few days ago which is known for being the hub of immigrants from North Africa). The show is actually a musical that features North African songs (mostly Algerian) written by artists that started immigrating to France in the 40's. It also seems to have a little political claim, if you look carefully at the posters that I photographed, you'll see two mentions "100% made by immigrants" and "Made in France" ;-). Take a look at the rehearsal here.

The piano player

Hearing music in the street is pretty common in Paris, like in most cities. But it generally comes from bands or guitar players rarely from... (real) piano players! And though, here is what I just photographed at the Cadet Metro station. The interesting part is that it's good marketing ; It works, people were fascinated (there was a big crowd around that you cannot see in the photo) and gave him money. I really wonder how the guy carries his piano around though.

Delightful moment

Great, delightful, fantastic, witty, funny, spectacular, inspiring, subtle, stunning... I don't know enough English words to express what I feel after having seen the Voca people, a group of accapella singers that are really extraordinary. You've probably heard of them already (if you don't visit their website or Youtube), but I did not - and I'm really fortunate to have seen them live on stage at the Bobino theater yesterday. If you come to Paris rush to Bobino before the end of March, or else wait till they come to you.

Tomate Party

Here is my little tribute to my "oldest" follower (well, I guess) for when I saw this poster, I could not help but thinking of Tomate Farcie (stuffed tomato) who is a regular commenter to PDP! In this particular case Tomate has nothing to do with food, nor gardening, but with "music" and dance. If you're interested - and I'm sure you are! - it'll start at 6 am (yes AM!) on Sunday morning at the Plaza Madeleine at 8 place de la Madeleine. Have fun! (Why on earth do I suddenly feel so old?!)