Opening of the EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS OF THE ECB – France 2012

The EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS of the ECB – France 2012, organised in cooperation with the Banque de France and held under the joint patronage of Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), and Christian Noyer, Governor of the Banque de France, will open tonight at 8 p.m. with a Grand opening concert at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt am Main. The baroque ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, conducted by Christophe Rousset, will perform a selection of the best French baroque pieces composed between 1680 and 1750 by Lully, Charpentier, Campra and Rameau. The vocal soloists are Gaëlle Arquez (mezzo-soprano) and Aimery Lefèvre (bass-baritone), instead of Edwin Crossley-Mercer as previously announced.

Other highlights of the programme, which comprises events ranging from music, dance and performances to readings, films and exhibitions and will run until 14 November 2012, include:

Dialogue in the dark – France special

A Dialogue in the Dark – France special will take place at the Dialogmuseum from 16 to 28 October. Visitors will be guided by professional blind facilitators through a French city/region immersed in total darkness.

Contemporary music

Frankfurt's Ensemble Modern will perform a programme at Dr. Hoch’s Konservatorium on 18 October at 8 p.m., focusing on the French contemporary composers Mark André, Raphaèle Biston, Edith Canat de Chizy, Pascal Dusapin, Gérard Grisey, and Michèle Reverdy.

Literary experiment with video and music

Author Marie NDiaye, who was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 2009 and is the only living woman to have had one of her plays included in the repertoire of the Comédie-Française, will present her literary work Die Dichte on 22 October at 8 p.m. at Schauspiel Frankfurt (Kammerspiele). This literary performance, which combines literature, music and video and is directed by Denis Cointe, explores childhood memories through current images of Berlin, Marie NDiaye’s adopted home. The performance will take place mainly in French, though German supertitles will also be projected, presenting the written word in a visual form. Marie NDiaye will read the majority of her monologue herself, but parts of it are pre-recorded. A few passages are also recited in German, the author’s adopted language.

Dance

The dance ensemble Compagnie Käfig will perform their show “Correria Agwa”, based on two pieces choreographed by Mourad Merzouki which combine contemporary ballet and hip-hop with a Brazilian flavour, at Frankfurt LAB on 26 and 27 October at 8 p.m.

New French circus

For the Grand closing event of this year’s CULTURAL DAYS, the French circus Compagnie XY will perform “Le Grand C” at the Gesellschaftshaus im Palmengarten on 14 November at 8 p.m. Seventeen performers will create a 360 degree parallel universe of acrobatics, dance, music and human pyramids.

More information about the events can be obtained by sending an e-mail to cultural-days@ecb.europa.eu or calling the Cultural Days hotline on +49 69 1344 5555 (Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).

CHANGE TO THE ADVERTISED PROGRAMME – FILM

On 28 October the film “Impardonnables”, shown at the Deutsches Filmmuseum as part of the film cycle featuring French actress Carole Bouquet, will be screened in the presence of Ms Bouquet at 11 a.m., instead of 7.30 p.m. as originally planned.