If you have never visited the majestic Saint-Denis Basilica, resting-place of the tombs of the kings of France, then take advantage of its festival to go and see it. From 1st June to 1st July, the columns of this masterpiece of gothic art will vibrate to the sounds of a series of outstanding concerts. Stars of classical music, accompanied by the National Orchestra of France and the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing famous operatic and symphonic pieces from their repertory. Each year, some concerts are relayed outside on a giant screen where the general public can enjoy these magical moments for free, sitting comfortably in deckchairs or chairs.

The 2010 edition has great singers in store (the baroque soprano Sandrine Piau singing arias by Handel, the soprano Patrizia Ciofi and the mezzo soprano Laura Polverelli for an evening of Rossini and Donizetti), illustrious conductors (Riccardo Muti for Schubert’s Mass, Myung Wung Chung for Brahms’s 4th Symphony and the Four Last Songs by Strauss) and exceptional soloists (pianist Hélène Grimaud, violinists Renaud Capuçon and Maxim Vengerov).

But the Saint-Denis Festival is also about daring creations. This year don’t miss that of Laurence Equilbey leading the Accentus choir and the Paris Ensemble Orchestral. In Private Domain she revisits Mozart, Purcell, Bach, Fauré and Schubert accompanied by artists from the electro, hip hop and rock scenes (DJ Murcof, Para One, Rosmary, the singer of the group Moriarty...).

As for World Music, Goran Bregovic will be setting the stage alight with his vibrant Balkan sounds while an Arabo-Andalusian orchestra converses with Smadj’s thousand-year-old oud spiced with electro loops.

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