Mandelieu-La Napoule Nuits du Château
"Les Nuits du Château" 15th edition
Built along the beachfront, overlooking pastel blue waters, stands a magnificent medieval fortress. The Chateau de La Napoule was built in the fourteenth century by the Counts of Villeneuve. Over the centuries, it has undergone many transformations until taking up the costume of the nineteenth century glassware. It was not until 1919 that a couple of American patrons artists, Henry and Marie Clews, acquired the mansion and its park and settled there. Lovers of history and art (Henry was a sculptor, his wife, landscape architect), the Clews undertook significant work to give back its soul of old castle with a neo-medieval custom style, mixing architectural references to their own sources of inspiration. Since 1947, the Château de La Napoule and gardens were registered historical monuments. The Art Association of Henry Clews Memorial La Napoule, founded by his wife Marie Clews in 1951, helped to perpetuate this unique place by declaring it "place of international cultural exchanges", including the organization of symposia, exhibitions, concerts and shows plus a residency program for artists. The Castle is adorned with its finest jewels of summer, when the Nuits du Château festival takes place and offers concerts, dance performances and plays, immersing visitors in a magical setting. This year, the 15th Nuits du Château begun on July 28 with the Ensemble Baroque de Nice, then on July 31 it was the turn of Avallon Celtic Group to go to the stage for the delight of the Anglo Saxons (and others). Also scheduled: July 29 Nicoletta and her heart choir, Saturday 30, the Gang of Seniors, theater and comedy and to close the 15th edition, on August 2, Patrick Dupont and Leila Da Rocha, oriental classical dance, who withdrew on tiptoe in the warmth of summer nights.
Avalon Celtic group
Inspired by the Celtic legend of the island of Avalon, Avalon Celtic Dances offers a journey into the extraordinary wealth of traditional music and dances of Ireland. On stage, dancers and musicians perform a one hour and a half show without a net, all energy and virtuosity. Tap dance, but also light sep and Ceili dances link up to the sound of jigs, reels, hornpipes and polkas from the traditional repertoire of the Green Island. The strength of live show creates a strong synergy between dancers and musicians, which transports the audience from the first moments of the show. Original and strong show, Avalon Celtic Dances was founded in March 2004 at the theater Nivillac (56). Since then he has been a growing success and has participated in major festivals such as Landerneau Kann Al Loar (29), Plozévet Mondial'Folk (29), the Haguenau International Festival of Folklore (67) in front of crowded rooms and captivated audiences. To better meet the demands and constraints of organizers, Avalon Celtic Dances comes in several forms, with a variable number of dancers (twelve maximum) and a team of four or five musicians.
The World Tour in 80 Days
Then, on August 1st, it was the turn of the play "The World Tour in 80 Days" by Jules Verne to enchant us. A comedy by Sébastien Azzopardi and Sacha Danino, directed by Sébastien Azzopardi with actors Stéphane Roux, Rudolph Sand, Frédéric Imberty, Tarrin Nicolas and Caroline Coscas. Adapting for the stage the famous Jules Verne's novel is a tour de force, making the scene containing four continents, three oceans, a cruise ship, a train and an elephant, what is necessary to play 33 characters, when the distribution had only five actors. Make the audience travel is what the director managed with some musical notes and lots of costumes, and here we are in England, Egypt, India, China and America. All these elements combined make a joyful, fun and festive spectacle, to rejoice the spectators who came to revel in the actors' brilliance of interpretation and their humor. Phileas Fogg, for example, synthesis on his own of british phlegm is a real treat. His domestic, Passport is French, so the contrast is inevitably explosive. The valet groans, curses, he loves, he is at the same time fearful and brave; in short it is he who makes us experience all this highly colorful emotions, and decorated with sceneries making us travel through space and time. A one hour and a half comedy of happiness to consume without moderation.
