2006 Programs & Events
3rd Annual Franco-American Music Festival in Thiais
July 1, 2006
Lovers of music from children’s songs to Poulenc to jazz to Broadway enjoyed a five day annual French-American Music Festival from 28 June to 2 July. Designed by the Franco-American Friends of Thiais to promote the inexhaustible corpus of French-American music, this third annual festival was under the musical direction of an American classical pianist residing in France, Alan Gampel, who is also its spearhead; supported by Richard Dell’Agnola, National Assembly Deputy for the Val de Marne and Mayor of Thiais; presided over by French Broadway interpreter and Matrix actor Lambert Wilson; and supported by American Ambassador to France Craig R. Stapleton. It was held in a verdant amphitheater in Thiais, minutes south of the center of Paris.
The Saturday night centerpiece concert was performed by the Ostinato Orchestra Workshop, a young ensemble of French National Conservatory prize holders and conducted by Jean-Luc Tin Gaud. Accompanists were Four Voices of Gold, Canadian soprano Karen Wierzba, French mezzo-soprano Emmanuelle Fruchard, Canadian Tenor David Curry and French baritone Jean-Michel Ankaoua.
Before the concert, the U.S. Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Karl Hofmann, spoke to the importance of more than 200 years of French American relations and the continued flourishing of political, economic and cultural relations between the two countries. Then instrumentalists and singers probed the French origins of Broadway in the overture of Jacques Offenbach’s The Chatterers, dreamed the impossible dream from The Man of La Mancha, explored divided romantic loyalties in André Messager’s “J’ai Deux Amants”, drank “Tea for Two” from Vincent Youmans’ No No Nanette, joined Cole Porter in declaring that “I Love Paris,” expressed Leonard Bernstein’s praise of “New York, New York” from On the Town, deplored that “All Men are Idiots” and explored the labyrinth of American politics in “The Donkey and the Elephant” from Gérard Calvi’s The Chinese Lantern Polka, and declared that “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”
In suddenly playing “The Marseillaise,” the Orchestra was well prepared for the news that France defeated Brazil in the quarter final of the Football World Cup. Judging from the depth and sophistication of the musical selections, the hundreds of spectators at a concert that competed with an important football match, and the other concerts well attended, the 4th iteration of this festival will be much anticipated.