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DTSTAMP:20260317T011011Z
UID:df252cdb-7f0c-4e6f-bfb2-45ae07e5cc6b
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260316
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260211
DESCRIPTION:Feb 11\, 2026\nWhat a can of worms “authenticity” is. Luigi
  Cherubini’s stately yet incendiary Médée (1797) was known only to ant
 iquarians when Maria Callas breathed new fire into the opera in the mid 20
 th century—but she performed it in Italian rather than French. Of course
 \, this revival by the French period band Le Concert de la Loge reverts to
  French\, and we’ll just finesse the vexed subject of the recitatives Ca
 llas sang in place of the dialogue spoken at the premiere. Marina Rebeka\,
  at her best a singing artist of searing intensity\, follows in Callas’s
  footsteps as the barbarian sorceress driven to murder the children of the
  Greek for whom she has sacrificed everything. Stylistically\, the perform
 ance promises to deliver a very high standard. Le Concert de la Loge\, fou
 nded a decade ago by the violinist Julien Chauvin\, takes its name from th
 e symphonic society Le Concert de la Loge Olympique of the 1780s\, which w
 as obliterated by the French Revolution. In its brief glory\, the orchestr
 a ranked as one of the finest in Europe\, renowned for commissioning the s
 ix “Paris” symphonies of Franz Josef Hadyn\, far and away the most ren
 owned composer of his time. Of related interest\, the society’s principa
 l conductor was the Guadeloupe native Joseph Bologne de Saint-Georges—fo
 rgotten for centuries but now enjoying a remarkable revival as much for hi
 s life story as for his music. The son of a Creole mother enslaved by a Fr
 ench plantation owner\, he was sent to France at age seven. There he carve
 d out a niche as a violin virtuoso\, preceptor to Marie Antoinette\, compo
 ser much in favor with the court\, whiz-bang fencer\, and military officer
  of distinction. His sobriquet “the Black Mozart\,” which is frowned u
 pon today\, had the virtue of suggesting what his music sounds like—and 
 as it happens\, Bologne and Mozart may well have met in Paris at a time wh
 en Bologne was the court favorite Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges and the ex
 -child prodigy Mozart\, 10 years his junior\, couldn’t get arrested. And
  if you’re wondering how come Le Concert de la Loge crosses out the Maso
 nic-sounding qualifier Olympique in its promotional materials\, it’s Cha
 uvin’s witty revenge on the French National Olympic Sports Committee\, w
 hich threatened the musicians with legal action. Can’t help thinking abo
 ut the time Disney hassled a Pinocchio-themed mom-and-pop lobster shack na
 med Geppetto’s for copyright infraction\, or was it unfair competition? 
 Boo on bullies!
LOCATION:Théâtre des Champs-Élysées\, 15 Avenue Montaigne\, 75008 Paris
 \, France
SUMMARY:Le Concert de la Loge presents Cherubini's Médée
URL;VALUE=TEXT:https://airmail.news/arts-intel/events/le-concert-de-la-loge
 -presents-cherubinis-medee
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