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IN 2015 VERSAILLES IS CELEBRATING THE TERCENTENARY OF THE LOUIS XIV DEATH

THE SUN KING AT CHATEAU DE VERSAILLES


(Source: Chateau de Versailles)
The Sun King Louis XIV
(Source: Chateau de Versailles)
USPA NEWS - All year long, Château de Versailles Spectacles prominently features shows which conjures up the artistic glory of the Sun King and help to revive the magnificent festivals of the Versailles court in the most beautiful locations in the Château and its Gardens...
All year long, Château de Versailles Spectacles prominently features shows which conjures up the artistic glory of the Sun King and help to revive the magnificent festivals of the Versailles court in the most beautiful locations in the Château and its Gardens.




Portraying Louis XIV today through the arts is an easy task. Here is the wonderful programme for the 2015 tercentenary:

The Royal Festivals with four major events:

- The Fêtes Galantes, a fancy dress evening in the Hall of Mirrors
- The Grand Masked Ball by Kamel Ouali, the Sun King Ball in the Orangerie
- My first Ball at Château de Versailles, a fancy dress ball for 6 to 12 year olds in the Orangerie
- The Fire King, a fireworks display by Groupe F
Prestigious concerts in the most beautiful rooms in the Château (Opera, Chapel, Hall of Mirrors):

- The Louis XIV Night by William Christie
- The Kings´ Night by Jordi Savall

The Versailles Fountains Shows with the renovated Latona fountain as a highlight:

- The Night Fountains Shows following the Royal Serenade
- The Musical Fountains Shows
- The Musical Gardens
Special commissions in honour of the Sun King

- Dance, with the first Court ballet, where a fifteen year old Louis XIV appeared as an exceptional dancer in the role of the Sun: the Royal night ballet (1653) re-created by Sébastien Daucé
- Sacred music, with the Music for Louis XIV´s funeral, composed by De Lalande and revived by Raphaël Pichon
- Theatre with the Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Lully and Molière, in Denis Podalydès´s magnificent staging and the creation of Monsieur de Pourceaugnac conducted by William Christie
- Lyrical tragedy, with Armide by Lully come from Toronto, but also Orfeo Luigi Rossi, the firs opera performed in Paris in 1647, conducted by Raphaël Pichon
Louis XIV- The dancer king - Château de Versailles

Louis XIV, born in 1638, died in 1715 after a reign of 72 years (the longest in French history), leaving a remarkable legacy: he loved the arts as much as he loved power and structured at the same time the State and the artistic life of the Kingdom.

He supported the most innovative artists (Lully, Molière, Le Brun, Le Nôtre, Hardouin Mansart Bernini, etc) enabling them to create the styles that would mark France and the world until today through institutions specially created for the arts: the Académies Royales.

Château de Versailles
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