Every summer since 2012, Les Arts Florissants and the Département de la Vendée have joined forces to offer a unique festival event, combining the pleasure of music and the beauty of gardens. Held in the idyllic setting of William Christie's gardens in Thiré (Vendée, Pays de la Loire), the Festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie has become a must-attend event that brings together an amazed audience.
MORE THAN 10,000 VISITORS EACH SUMMER
MORE THAN 100 EVENTS: CONCERTS, OPERAS, MUSICAL WALKS, WORKSHOPS, VISITS, TALKS...
MORE THAN 100 ARTISTS
"A perfect harmony of greenery, colors, smells and music...", Forum Opéra
Gardens and music, William Christie’s two passions.
Vendée — Pays de la Loire is a region close to the heart of William Christie and central to the Fondation Les Arts Florissants — William Christie. For more than 30 years in the Vendéen town of Thiré, the conductor has pursued a project of passion, combining gardens, music and heritage within an international center for the arts designed around an exceptional garden and facilities for hosting artists-in-residence.
During the Festival, the William Christie Gardens become the idyllic setting for the festivities, which extend more and more each year to the different areas of the Quartier des Artistes, the international artistic and cultural center created by the Fondation Les Arts Florissants - William Christie in the heart of the village of Thiré
Training young talents
Throughout his professional life, William Christie has always been involved with education.
Thiré will therefore also have a teaching component, with William Christie and his closest colleagues (in particular Paul Agnew and Jonathan Cohen) running workshops with young singers from the Académie du Jardin des Voix, interns from the Arts Flo Juniors program, as well as students from the prestigious Juilliard School. These young artists will find new inspiration in Thiré, benefiting from the teaching provided by William Christie and the artists of Les Arts Florissants.
Reaching out to a wider public
Each year, bringing Baroque music to a wider public is a major focus of the Festival, with family and other activities programmed. These allow participants to become more familiar with the world of the Baroque in the enchanting setting of William Christie’s gardens, in the company of the artists.
Each afternoon, musical workshops offer young visitors and the adults accompanying them an unforgettable introduction to Baroque music. Both ludic and educational, these workshops, in which participants take an active part, will be led by the musicians themselves, under the direction of Sophie Daneman.
These workshops also take place in schools after the Festival is over, to encourage the discovery of Baroque music by schoolchildren of all ages.