La Seine Musicale - Far Out! - Friday, 5 October

The concert hall is in the round bubble
in the center of the picture

The ring corridor inside the
concert hall "bubble",
looking outward

My Friday night adventure was checking out the newest concert venue in Paris, La Seine Musicale. It opened about a year ago, and features a concert hall primarily for unamplified music (mostly classical and jazz) seating 1,150, plus a larger modular hall accommodating 6,000 where rock and popular/musicals/dance are performed and other events are held.  It’s in the far western suburbs of Paris, in the middle of the Île Seguin in the middle of the Seine, in an area called Boulogne-Billancourt, about 5 miles downstream from the Eiffel Tower.  The Pont de Sèvres terminus of Metro line 9 is just a few blocks away on one side of the river, as is the RATP line 2 Brimborion Station on the other side of the river.  Of course, taxis and Uber also serve the area, but it’s a long way from central Paris so it's pretty pricey, especially during rush hour (ask me how I know!).

I hadn’t been there yet, so I just had to check out a concert by Patricia Petibon, a coloratura soprano who specializes in baroque, Mozart, etc., but who also takes on modern and opéra-comique work with her unique theatrical and almost cartoonish (at times) style.

Inside the concert hall

La Seine Musicale has a modern industrial feel – lots of concrete and a bit of glass – very sterile in the corridors, bars, restrooms, etc. – it felt like they could hose down the place pretty easily!  The concert hall’s wood and red upholstery has a much warmer feel, but it’s at the other end of the facility from the entrance, so the journey there is through the concrete jungle.  It’s in a big dramatic glass, steel and wood bubble which I’m guessing provides acoustic separation from the rest of the facility (as the ring corridor does at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis).

Apparently this was a concert to celebrate the release of Ms. Petibon's new album, “Alchimia.”  She performed with two pianists and a violinist.  The performance was amplified and included some prerecorded tracks, looping, etc.  There were some original works, some jazz interpretations of classic works (such as Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro” done in both a straight style and a jazz style), some pieces just for piano and amplified violin, etc.  As I mentioned, Ms. Petibon has a very theatrical style – for the first few pieces the stage was quite dark and she had lights attached to her hands to amplify her dramatic sweeping arm movements.  It was a bit “over the top” for me, but then the songs were in French so I didn’t understand the lyrics, so the melodramatic effects might have been perfectly appropriate!  All the performers displayed excellent technique, but the style just wasn’t my cup of tea so it got tiring.  I’m glad I went to check out the place, though.

The entrance plaza, with multiple
outdoor cafes

They have a restaurant, a café, and several bars on the premises.  Since I wanted to give myself plenty of time to get there and figure out the venue, I decided to have a light supper in the outdoor café.  Nothing fancy, so the bill came to just 32 euros (about $40).