On June 14, 2025, the Saint-Symphorien stadium in Metz will host an exceptional musical event. 5,000 amateur singers, from all over France, together to perform 22 great hits by Queen.
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This October 2, 2024, amateur choristers were invited to visit the Saint-Symphorien stadium in Metz (Moselle). It is here that, on June 14, 2025, they will perform for what is billed as the European event of the year.
On the occasion of the fifty years of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the legendary song of the British group Queen, the producer David Hardit, already at the origin of the show “500 voices for Queen”, took on the challenge of bringing together 5,000 backing vocalists to sing Queen’s greatest hits. And what better than the Saint-Symphorien stadium in Metz, “an English-style stadium”, to host this grandiose event?
Among today’s visitors, Colette, soprano1, from Faulquemont, shares her enthusiasm: “I discovered gospel which I love. I said to myself, it was already huge in a church. So in a stadium, it will be extraordinary. For me, it’s a discovery, a joy, music that flies away.” Bernadette, Nancy’s soprano, adds: “Singing 22 Queen titles in English is a challenge. I did the 500 voices Queen in Nancy and Strasbourg last year“.
Samantha, soprane1, impressed by the place, says: “Like Bernadette, I have already participated in the 500 votes in Nancy. I wanted to participate in a big project. It’s impressive, we could have 20,000 spectators in this place.“
In choral music, the term “soprane2” refers to a soprano voice that generally sings parts slightly lower than those of the “soprane1”. Sopranos2 often sing harmonies and countermelodies that complement the main melodic line of the sopranos1.
Virginie Klethi, head chef for the event at the Stade de Metz, bears a great responsibility. But that doesn’t seem to impress him: “The only thing you need is the desire to sing and love doing it. We bring small techniques into rehearsal, to reach a note a little more clearly or overcome a rhythmic difficulty. Our role is to form the whole, to shape the sound, and this happens almost naturally.“
The most complicated thing will be to coordinate all these voices: “You have to make yourself understood by the choristers through very broad gestures. In front of 5,000 people, everyone must be able to see us in order to start at the same time and make the right notes at the right time. It is above all the cohesion of the voices that it is essential to work on as a choir director.”
On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, 5,000 singers will sing Queen.
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© Benoit Bour / France Télévisions
Virginie is impatient to experience this energy of 5,000 voices covering Queen’s songs, which are already pure energy.
Amateur choristers who wish to participate in the project can still contact this address.
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