Presenting its wishes for this year 2025, the Artenetra association confirmed that it was bringing the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra and its 70 musicians to France next summer for a tour spending mainly in the south of the Deux-Sèvres.
The head of the festival of the same name, the composer and conductor Fabrice Gregorutti, described its broad outlines a little less than a year ago, when detailing the programming of the 18e edition of the Estivales d’Artenetra.
With a creation by Fabrice Gregorutti, “Pax, and In Terra Pax”
These seven dates in our department will be preceded by a concert in the capital on the theme of peace with the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris, directed by Henri Chalet. In total, more than 150 people gathered on stage: meet on the evening of Thursday July 3 in Notre-Dame Cathedral to attend the world premiere of Peace, and Peace on Earth a score for children's and adult choirs by Fabrice Gregorutti.
The program will also include the work All yours by Henryk Górecki, composed in 1987 for the third visit of Pope John Paul II to Poland and whose text by Maria Boguslawska is addressed directly to the Virgin Mary. Also on the menu, Symphony No. 9 From the New World that Antonin Dvorák imagined during his stay in the United States. Mezzo-soprano Anaëlle Gregorutti completes the cast when Agnès Jaoui, once considered as reciter, will ultimately not be there: another actor, in the person of Raphaël Personnaz, will take her place.
Rebelote at the royal abbey
The Parisian performance will be followed, from Saturday July 5, by the same at the royal abbey of Celles-sur-Belle. It will mark the kick-off of the 19e version of the Estivales d'Artenetra whose program for the second act, starting on Saturday July 19, will include nine other dates in addition to a masterclass: the festival will pass through the Tumulus museum in Bougon, Celles-sur-Belle again, Melle , Sainte-Néomaye, Saint-Marc-la-Lande and Niort, in the new Maison Boinot, mix of event space and restaurant.
The six other two-Sevrian concerts of the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Volodymyr Sirenko, will feature, in particular, the pianists Arielle Beck – 15 years old – and Anne Queffélec, the clarinetist Florent Héau and the guitarist Emmanuel Rossfelder. So many regulars at Artenetra.
With a budget of €300,000
This French excursion is the realization of an idea that germinated in the head of Fabrice Gregorutti “two years ago” : but she was hit by a double uncertainty, namely the date of a reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral after the fire which ravaged it in spring 2019 and the evolution of the war in Ukraine.
With a budget of some €300,000, this tour is mainly financed by three major sponsors: the Patrice-Besse group, the Archimbaud sawmill in Secondigné-sur-Belle and Cheminées Poujoulat, in Saint-Symphorien. The ticket office for Artenetra 2025 will open on its website from 1is next March, at the same time as the complete poster will be communicated.
The seven meetings in Deux-Sèvres
Here are the details of the seven concerts of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine planned in Deux-Sèvres in the summer of 2025.
-> Saturday July 5at 8:30 p.m., in the abbey church of Celles-sur-Belle: with the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris, Anaëlle Gregorutti and Raphaël Personnaz.
> Sunday July 6at 5 p.m., in the park of the Canteau manor in Paizay-le-Tort: with the violinist Amaury Coeytaux.
> Tuesday July 8at 7:30 p.m., at the Le Metullum room in Melle: with Arielle Beck on the piano.
> Wednesday July 9at 7:30 p.m., at the Espace Agapit in Saint-Maixent-l'École: with violinist Alena Baeva, cellist Fabrice Bihan and pianist Vadym Kholodenko.
> Thursday July 10at 7:30 p.m., at the Espace Alain-Audis in Pamproux: with Anne Queffélec on piano and Florent Héau on clarinet.
> Friday July 11at 7:30 p.m., in the L'Hélianthe room at La Crèche: with virtuoso guitarist Emmanuel Rossfelder.
> Saturday July 12at 8:30 p.m., in the abbey church of Celles-sur-Belle: with Yves Castagnet on the organ.
