the essential
Beautiful voices and an atypical show, this is the DNA of the Folies Vocales d’Agen that we were able to find once again on stage with the vocal ensemble “Les Symphomaniaques”.
The five singer-actors, two men and three women, from the world of musical comedy and opera took over the Galion stage. Like every year, the Agen festival was exported outside the walls of the prefectural city and it was in Foulayronnes that the numerous spectators met this Friday evening.
The Symphomaniaques performed great masterpieces of the classical instrumental repertoire but a cappella, allowing themselves liberties with original arrangements. “Classic” works that are no longer very classic in the end. Interpretations, between lyrical flights and unexpected staging, which offered the public the opportunity to discover or rediscover essential melodies but in particularly surprising versions. As much through the voice as through the stage performance and various accessories, this orchestral music has become irresistibly clownish.
Character gallery
And for a clownish interpretation, clowns and their painted faces were needed. They perfectly embodied an authoritarian and conservative leader who tried to enforce order and this was not an easy thing with a concertmaster who obviously was not going to err on the side of modesty, with a hyperactive trumpeter and prankster who took advantage of the slightest opportunity to get into mischief, with a shy and anxious oboist and a lazy and moody double bassist.
The Symphomaniaques offered a show which brought together, on the one hand, connoisseurs seduced by the quality of the interpretation and on the other hand, those of the public, less initiated, who discovered another face of classical music. This is the case of the young Manon who discovered the Folies Vocales: “I had a priori about classical music but Lucy, my cousin, convinced me to come at the last minute. Ultimately it was a great discovery! I think I’ll be there for more shows next year. It’s a change from the concerts we see elsewhere,” she says, with a smile on her face.
Please note: Last date of the IN festival this Sunday, May 26 with the Aurélien Vivos concert in Agen (Théâtre Ducourneau) / Info and reservations: www.foliesvocales.com – 07 69 70 21 70 – [email protected]
