A visit to Rennes

The city hall of Rennes, across the square from Rennes opera.

This week Emily had an audition to attend at the Rennes Opera. She and Jos work there often and are bringing a show to Rennes in a couple of years called La Belle Hélène. She took the train from Paris to listen to a soprano who is being considered for a part in that show. These productions of theirs take years to develop. Since Rennes is only about an hour south of St. Malo we decided to meet her and have lunch together.

When we arrived in town we noticed that the streets were lined with trees decked out in their spring pink and white flowers. Since we live inside the walls of the granite city, where trees are scarce, we really hadn't reckoned the season. What a pleasure. As much as I enjoy St. Malo, I must admit I sometimes miss our garden at home, especially this time of year. 

Rennes is the capital of Brittany and is always on lists of the best cities to live in France. It is one of the ten most populous in the country and has a young hip vibe. It is a university town and a shopping mecca. The city boasts one of the most spectacular public parks I have ever visited and a renowned museum which I haven't. It even has the highest concentration of bars in France, at 3.2 per meter. They are concentrated on one street, which is named "the street of thirst." And of course there are lots of nice restaurants. We met Emily at one of her favorites, Crêperie la Gavotte, where they make unusual galettes, which are often topped with homemade ice cream in such flavors as mustard, rosemary, apricot-saffron or verbena. 

An elegant galette

Recently Emily, Jos, and their friend Oria who is originally from Argentina, have started a company called La Panoplie, offering classes, production creations and dramaturgy. Emily and Jos direct the acting "business," while Oria is in charge of costumes, sets and props. They have an harmonious aesthetic and together have already created several successful musical comedy productions. They were hired a few years ago to work on No, No Nanette, a musical farce first staged on Broadway in the early 1920s. Tea for Two and I Want to be Happy are two songs from the show which endure in popular culture. 

The whole thing, dialogue and lyrics have been translated into French. The musical director, Benjamin Pras, is apparently a real gem, who improvises clever riffs on top of the score, even in the middle of performances. 

Brightly colored sets and costumes 

The opening, after weeks of intensive rehearsals, was at the beginning of March in Reims. The show travels to several other locations and comes to Paris at the end of the month, where we will be in the audience. This has been a labor of love for Emily. I really admire her focus on her work and her complete love affair with the theater.

Brightly colored panels move and transform into various arrangements.

The opening was a big success, even though the weeks leading up were full of challenge and stress to get the technical aspects to work correctly. Their team was given a relatively untrained group of technicians to work with and it was necessary to teach them how to do their jobs as well as directing the production itself. They worked twelve hour days for a couple of weeks to pull the show together. Emily told me afterwards that they were still able to maintain a warm and happy environment. One actor came up to her in tears to thank her for their patience and kind direction, having become used to being bullied and belittled in other theatrical situations.

This show will be coming to the Rennes Opera next season.

The music is lots of fun and the spectacle (the French word for show) is lively and upbeat. Enjoy the trailer: