Reopening of Notre-Dame: Clara Luciani, classical stars and a French DJ

No Paul McCartney or Bono but Clara Luciani, Vianney, a host of classical stars and a French DJ: the headliners of the Notre-Dame reopening concert, on the evening of December 7, were revealed on Friday, after weeks of speculation.

Organized by France Télévisions and co-broadcast by Radio France, this show will be held on the square in front of the cathedral, shortly after 9 p.m., on the first day of the ceremonies marking the reopening of this 12th century monument, partially destroyed by a fire on the 15th. April 2019.

This fire, the causes of which have not yet been determined, caused global emotion and caused an influx of donations to rebuild the building located in the heart of Paris, which was among the most visited monuments in Europe.

Close links with the French capital

Lyrical singing and classical music will dominate this concert, which will feature the Maîtrise de Notre-Dame de Paris and the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted for the occasion by Venezuelan maestro Gustavo Dudamel.

This 43-year-old superstar conductor, who resigned as musical director of the Paris Opera in mid-2023, is one of the most talented in the world. As comfortable conducting a Mahler symphony as the music from “Star Wars” or “West Side Story”, he will be, from 2026, the artistic and musical director of the New York Philharmonic.

Among the artists called to celebrate the reopening of Notre-Dame is also the Chinese virtuoso pianist Lang Lang, 42, who has been playing for years in the four corners of the planet and has established close ties with the French capital, where he has a pied-à-terre.

A more pop touch

When Notre-Dame burned in 2019, he stayed in Paris specifically to participate in a concert in tribute to the cathedral. Accustomed to major global events, the pianist notably played for the coronation of Charles III in 2023, as did the South African soprano Pretty Yende, who will also perform on the square in front of Notre-Dame.

The Franco-Swiss tenor Benjamin Bernheim (39), present at the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games, will also be on the bill. A more pop touch will be brought by Clara Luciani, Vianney and Garou, three very popular artists in France.

Also on the program: the Franco-Beninese Angélique Kidjo, who has just celebrated forty years of career which has seen her cross genres, fashions and continents.

“The hope that our humanity, too, has the power to rebuild itself”

As comfortable with Nigerian Afrobeat as with revisiting Ravel’s Bolero or David Bowie’s pop, the diva with five Grammy Awards, ardent defender of women’s rights, wants to “see in Notre-Dame a symbol of peace and compassion that we so need today,” she told AFP.

“The completion of its restoration gives me hope that our humanity, too, has the power to rebuild itself,” she added.

The Lebanese singer Hiba Tawajin, also announced, made herself known in France by participating in the show The Voice in 2015 and established a special bond with the cathedral: in 2016, she succeeded Hélène Ségara to take over, in alternation, the role of Esméralda in the musical “Notre-Dame de Paris”.

Alliance between music, cultural heritage and digital art

The only DJ, Michael Canitrot organized the “So, happy in Paris?” evenings, which took him to clubs in the biggest cities in the world.

His “Monumental tour”, an alliance between music, cultural heritage and digital art, then led him to perform at the Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey in 2021, at the Eiffel Tower on the occasion of the centenary of the disappearance by Gustave Eiffel or at the basilica of Zaragoza, Spain, in October.

Earlier in the day, the celebrations will begin with a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron on the square, followed by a liturgical ceremony in the presence of foreign heads of state, the list of whom has not been revealed. A first concert, the list of artists of which is not yet known, is also scheduled at this time.

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