One Saturday every month the CMBV runs a series of interactive fun activities for families and friends at the Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs. On offer are workshops, stage productions, guided tours, treasure hunts and the chance to meet a researcher, all designed to draw you into the fascinating world of Baroque music!
10 am – 5 pm
NEW! Digital treasure hunt – La saga Papillon à Versailles
Delve into the closely guarded secrets at 22 Avenue de Paris in Versailles. Built under Louis XV it is crammed with over three centuries of history. The trail will uncover a horde of fascinating facts about the splendour of the King’s court, the glory of the French Revolution and the lavish festivities still held there today!
For all ages
Duration: 45 mins
Free admission
10 am & 10.50 am
Baroque nursery rhymes workshop
Featuring
Les Comptines de Lutèce
Anaïs Raimbault, vocalist
Claire Hamon, piano & harpsichord
Les Comptines de Lutèce will transport you into the much-loved world of traditional nursery rhymes. The children will sing and dance to selections of 17th and 18th century music and learn about Baroque music in an effortless fun way!
Age 2-6
Duration: 40 mins
Admission:
- €15 per child + 1 accompanying adult (€10 Pass Destination)
€8 concession (students & those on minimum income*) - €10 per additional child
€5 concession (students & those on minimum income*) - €5 per additional participant
€2 concession (students & those on minimum income*)
*documentary proof required
2 pm
Treasure hunt – Chasing after lost time
Curiouser and curiouser…! What’s happening at N° 22 Avenue de Paris? A mysterious curse has struck the CMBV! It all started during a choir rehearsal late yesterday evening. A bolt of lightning suddenly lit up the rehearsal room and everything seemed to move back in time! Horses’ hooves can be heard on the courtyard cobbles, the white walls in the rooms flake away to reveal 18th century decoration. This morning the staff appear wearing wigs! You will have to use your powers of observation and ingenuity to dispel the curse on the building. Everyone at the CMBV is relying on you!
For adults & children aged 10+
Duration: 1hr 30 mins
Admission:
- €4 per child (€2 Pass Destination)
- €6 per adult (€4 Pass Destination)
3.15 pm
Discover Baroque: The Colour of Sounds
Reveal your creativity is this listening and plastic arts workshop based on emotions.
Age 5+
Duration: 45 mins
Admission:
- Children free of charge
- €5 per adult (€4 Pass Destination)
4 pm
Guided tour
Guided by members of the CMBV, delve into the history of the Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs, the iconic nerve centre of the history of France and discover the political, social and artistic role it has played from the 18th century up to the present day.
All ages
Duration: 45 mins
Free admission
5 pm
Meet a researcher
What do researchers do, exactly? What are their missions? What new avenues of research are emerging in the field of Baroque performing arts? Are we currently experiencing a Baroque revival? For an hour you can meet with a CMBV researcher and hear about their line of research.
Sophie Arnould, ‘Opera’s most asthmatic singer’ - Portrait of an Artiste and her Art
Featuring
Benoît Dratwicki, artistic director & CMBV researcher
The singer Sophie Arnould joined the Paris Opera in 1757 and retired twenty years later. Her dazzling debut marked a turning point in the history of the troupe. However, her career did not evolve as expected – her fragile health, difficult character and tumultuous love life made the headlines. She caused rivalry within the troupe and later had to give way to Rosalie Levasseur, Gluck’s future muse. She created numerous scandals, discredited her name and finally got booed off the stage. However, Sophie Arnould’s fame endured, fuelled by her liberated lifestyle. She allegedly organised sapphic orgies and claimed that the Comédie-Française star Françoise Raucourt was her ‘husband’. Her witticisms did the rounds for decades. Contemporary publications and illustrations as well as literary, administrative and musical sources offer insights into the life of this exceptional artiste.
All ages
Duration: 1 hr
Free admission
Group bookings
Group bookings may be made for CMBV Open Days, which can also be tailored for schools or outreach publics. For further details, please email actionculturelle@cmbv.com, or phone +33 (0)1 39 20 78 10.
