Balcony stars bring cheer to self-isolating
Faced with the fear and boredom of the coronavirus lockdown, music is playing a small but important part in making life more bearable for some French people who are being treated to nightly balcony performances.
Every evening at 7pm, tenor Stephane Senechal throws open the window of his apartment in Paris鈥 9th arrondisement and lets fly with an aria.
鈥淲hen I see the smile that I bring each evening with my song, that gives me great pleasure,鈥 he said. 鈥淎ll day long, we are told of tragic things, of the dead. When I see smiles, I see hope. It鈥檚 a little moment of freedom, of escape.鈥
Senechal says he lives in a neighborhood where 鈥渢here are a lot of elderly people鈥 and it was a moment of reflection from an 80-year-old neighbor at the beginning of the lockdown that pushed him to sing at his window.
鈥淪he told me 鈥榳e will feel even more isolated.鈥 I was rehearsing the role of Don Jose in 鈥楥armen鈥 at the time and after this remark I decided to sing at the window,鈥 he said.
Senechal starts by singing the 鈥淢arseillaise.鈥 Then he links each nightly recital with arias as varied as 鈥淚 gave you my heart鈥 from Franz Lehar鈥檚 operetta 鈥淭he Land of Smiles,鈥 the 1935 Mexican song 鈥淧iensa en mi鈥 鈥 sung by Luz Casal in Pedro Almodovar鈥檚 High Heels 鈥 as well as the song 鈥淐aruso,鈥 Edith Piaf鈥檚 鈥淭he Hymn to Love鈥 and an 鈥淎ve Maria鈥 dedicated 鈥渢o all the suffering.鈥
Senechal also likes to let go with 鈥淓 Lucevan le stelle鈥 from Puccini鈥檚 opera Tosca. He considers this especially apt because of its last sentence: 鈥溾楨 non ho amato mai tanto la vita! (I have never loved life so much)鈥 We understand the importance of life. And we can鈥檛 give up now,鈥 he said.
His balcony recitals appear to have drifted far across the rooftops of the 9th.
鈥淎 patient with COVID-19 and hospitalized in Bichat (a hospital in the north of Paris) saw one of my videos and said 鈥榢eep going.鈥 For me, that makes it all worthwhile,鈥 Senechal said.
Since the start of self-isolation in France, as in Italy and Spain, initiatives like this have flourished. Montreuil, in the eastern suburbs of the capital, has been particularly active, regularly sharing videos of a violinist, a guitarist or a singer on their balconies.
The 鈥淏achDesBalcons鈥 online initiative, launched by Classical Revolution France, a movement imported from the United States, encourages musicians to play Bach at their windows.
鈥淭here are dozens of us playing every week from Montpellier to Paris, via Nantes, Strasbourg or Lille,鈥 Sarah Niblack, director of Classical Revolution France, said. 鈥淏ach is the greatest of companions, you are never alone with your music.鈥
An American who has lived in France for several years, Niblack has been based in Prades since the beginning of confinement, and says she is happy to bring 鈥渃omfort and a little moment when people come together.鈥
鈥淧eople recognise me now, even when I do my shopping with mask and gloves, I am told in the street 鈥榶ou are the girl who plays Bach,鈥欌 said Niblack, a violist who has played in several national orchestras.
Like many freelance workers she has suffered professionally from the lockdown, having seen six contracts cancelled since the outbreak, but she remains upbeat about the power of music.
鈥淲e are not useful in a hospital but we can make a little difference in people鈥檚 lives. They appreciate that we are thinking of them,鈥 she said.
Also in Paris, from his balcony overlooking Boulevard Saint-Michel, in the heart of the bohemian Latin quarter, Camilo Peralta, a cellist with the Ile-de-France National Orchestra, plays Bach suites at noon, much to the pleasure of neighbors.
鈥淲e are inevitably caught up in the situation because every time I play, an ambulance drives by,鈥 he said.
In Mulhouse, in the east of the country, the violinist Jessy Koch plays every day at 6:30pm on her balcony.
鈥淚t is not easy to work alone, without a purpose in mind. And now, I started to have a little audience waiting for the little concert. Life goes on,鈥 she said.
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