by Ilaria Sismondini
MONACO. At the beginning of November don’t forget to save the dates of the Monte Carlo Jazz Festival on your bucket list! Hereby the details of the concerts: +377 98 06 41 59 – Type of concert: numbered and seated – Doors open 8pm – Beginning of the concert 8:30pm- Dress Code Jacket -Minimum age: 7 years – Mail: ticketoffice @ sbm. mc – Rate from 65 to 125 € per person. Also in November, on the occasion of the National Day on the 19th, we reveal the program of the celebrations of the Monaco City Hall and finally, in December, that the party begins! Waiting for the end of the year 2019, sparkling animations and exceptional menus to savor every day! To discover the best restaurants in each district, book directly according to your wishes and benefit from exclusive offers up to -50%
10 November 2019 at 5pm – THEATER PRINCESSE GRACE – ENCORE UN INSTANT – BY FABRICE ROGER-LACAN – After thirty years of marriage, Suzanne (Michèle Laroque) and Julien (François Berléand) are always madly in love. An accomplice and happy couple. Suzanne is an actress who is flattered by the public. For her return to the stage, she hesitates to act in Max’s new piece (Lionel Abelanski especially), written for her. What Suzanne wants is to be alone for a moment with Julien.
Julien whom she loves and who loves her, Julien who moans and laughs, Julien who lives but who nobody sees or hears. Except Suzanne … Directed by Bernard Murat – With Michèle Laroque and François Berléand
13-19 November 2019 – NATIONAL DAY – FESTIVITY PROGRAM – SPACE LÉO FERRÉ – PORT OF MONACO – The National Day is synonymous with joy and fervor among the Monegasque and resident population that gathers around the Princely Family. Information: Wednesday 13 November at 3.00 pm – Espace Léo Ferré – Musical “Ilona and the magic book” for children aged 5 to 10 years. Monday 18 November at 8pm – Port of Monaco – Pyromelodic fireworks, soundtrack as a tribute to Princess Grace – Monday 18 November at 9pmh and Tuesday 19 November at 3pm: Espace Léo Ferré – Show of the actress and comedian Chantal Ladesou, “On the road again” – Withdrawal invitations: the distribution of invitations to participate in the shows offered by the Municipality of Monaco as part of the National Day celebrations will be on presentation of the identity card, resident card or family card for resident children. – Wednesday 6 November from 9am to 4pm: for people of Monegasque nationality and their relatives – Thursday 7 November from 9h to 4pm: for people of Monegasque nationality, their relatives and residents. Reminder: a place for invitation within the limits of available places. Practical information – free parking and shuttles – During the events, the Espace Léo Ferré will offer spectators tickets for free parking at the Fontvieille and Papalins shopping center – A bus service will also be set up free on Monday 18 November, at the end of the show from Fontvieille shopping center stop. The shuttle will serve the various stops in the Principality based on requests.
15 November 2019 at 8pm – GRIMALDI FORUM – SALLE PRINCE PIERRE – CONCERT UTO UGHI AND THE VENETIAN SOLOISTS – Considered one of the greatest violinists of our time, Uto Ughi has shown an extraordinary talent since his childhood. Just 12 years old he was yet an “established artist”. Uto Ughi plays with exceptional violins: a Guarneri del Gesù dated 1744 and a Stradivarius “Kreutzer” dated 1701. For this concert he will play as a soloist and will conduct the prestigious I Solisti Veneti orchestra at the same time. This orchestra, founded by Claudio Scimone, has received numerous international awards such as the Grammy in Los Angeles. The program of this evening will include the most beautiful pages of the repertoire for violin and orchestra: Gaetano Pugnani, Prelude and Allegro maestoso, Camille Saint Saens, Rondo ‘capriccioso in La min. op.28, Ludwig van Beethoven, Romanza op.50, Tomaso Antonio Vitali, Ciaccona in Sol min, Niccolo ‘Paganini, Concerto for violin and orchestra n.2 Op.7 “La campanella”. Tickets: € 100.
17-22 November 2019 – GRIMALDI FORUM – SALLE PRINCE PIERRE – LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR – TRAGIC DRAMA IN THREE ACTS – On the occasion of the Monegasque National Day, a new production is born in co-production with the New National Theater Foundation of Tokyo. The “first ladies” of the nineteenth century were at the height of their influence and the cuts and alterations have quickly transformed Lucia into a spectacular show of singing centered on the heroin Lucia. Donizetti’s only tragic work that has gone through the centuries without ever failing is much more than that. In fact, its dramatic grandeur makes it one of the most loved Italian works. Information: + 377 98 06 28 November 28-17 at 3pm – November 19 at 8pm (by invitation of the Prince’s Palace) – November 22nd at 8pm.
20 November 2019 – OPERA GARNIER MONTE-CARLO – MONTE-CARLO JAZZ FESTIVAL – LUDOVICO EINAUDI CONCERTO – The stage of the Opéra Garnier Monte-Carlo will host an exceptional concert by the famous Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi. Thanks to his musician mother, he has been playing the piano since childhood. A graduate of the Milan Conservatory, he specialized alongside Luciano Berio, a pioneer of electro-acoustic music.
His airy compositions and minimal melodies illustrate the emotions in films such as “Intouchables” Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, “Mommy” Xavier Dolan or in “Listen to Me Marlon”, and some of his compositions have also been included in many advertisements. A committed artist, Ludovico Einaudi performed the song “Elegy for the Arctic” on a floating platform in the Arctic Ocean last June to support the “Save the Arctic” operation. Two years after the success of his work “In a Time Lapse”, today he unveils his most ambitious musical project, “Seven Days Walking.” Tickets: € 125 per person
21 November 2019 – OPERA GARNIER MONTE-CARLO – MONTE-CARLO JAZZ FESTIVAL – PUPPY SNARKY – IMMIGRANCE TOUR 2019 – PART ONE: BECCA STEVENS – Such a special sound is difficult to define: should we talk about R’n’B, funk, jazz in short, jazz fusion, nu jazz, progressive rock, or of all this? Michael League, bassist of the group and its leader, composer and producer, one day found the term “jafunkdansion”. Initially, in 2003, they were only a few students from the jazz studies section of the University of North Texas. Fifteen years later, about 25 members alternate in rotation and, with the code name The Farm, do not hesitate to take care of their free time to record or play on stage with personalities from different profiles. Anyway, the time when, by its own admission, the band was moving from one stage to another in “relative darkness”, it’s over. Today, every outing is an event that feeds a perpetual movement, both physical and musical without reservations. Becca Stevens: the Brooklyn singer and multi-instrumentalist is a composer and leader of the Becca Stevens Band group. His music is appreciated all over the world for his subtle harmonies and rhythms rooted in jazz, Irish folklore, independent pop and West African music. Becca Stevens has received much praise from the New York Times. Accompanied by her band, she has traveled the world, collaborating with important musicians. Tickets: € 65 per person
22 November 2019 – OPERA GARNIER MONTE-CARLO – MONTE-CARLO JAZZ FESTIVAL – HERBIE HANCOCK – LIVE IN CONCERT – PART ONE: ELI DEGIBRI QUARTET – How can we summarize in a few words the career of someone who will soon celebrate seventy years of music? When he was just eleven he was playng with the Chicago Symphonic Orchestra in 1951 “unleashing” the first movement of a Mozart concert. However, it is not in the velvety world of classical music that Hancock traces his path, but in the smoky jazz clubs and studios, starting with the long collaboration with Miles Davis in the second half of the 1960s, forming what many jazz specialists do not hesitate to consider the best musical ensemble of all time.
In 1973 Hancock and his Headhunters will dive into jazz fusion and signing a first album as a business card. Ten years later, the revolutionary single “Rock It” will be the first title considered hip-hop jazz and a future anthem for all breakbeats in the discos around the world. Herbie Hancock’s daily bread will invest all the colors of the musical rainbow, in the mood of the moment. Eli Degibri Quartet: saxophonist, composer, group leader, a native of Jaffa in Israel, he loves to accumulate styles and refuses above all to leave one in favor of another. He joined Herbie Hancock’s sextet for almost four years (1999-2002) before joining full-time drummer Al Foster until 2011. He recorded eight critically acclaimed albums, starting with the last Soul Station, a tribute to Hank Mobley, another saxophonist whom Degibri recognized as the source of much of his inspiration. He participated in the first International Jazz Day organized under the auspices of UNESCO in 2012 at a United Nations General Assembly in New York. He is now seen as one of the leading figures of the Israeli jazz scene with Avishai Cohen and Omer Avital. Finally, it has the potential to be a driving force in the evolution of jazz, just like its former guide Herbie Hancock. Tickets: € 65 per person
23 November 2019 – OPERA GARNIER MONTE-CARLO – MONTE-CARLO JAZZ FESTIVAL – VICENTE AMIGO – PART ONE: THE JOUBRAN TRIO – “I play the guitar because I was three years old when Paco De Lucia on television inspired me,” admits Vicente Amigo. He has always had a debt with De Lucia, and with him all those who have approached the flamenco guitar. Since he was eight years old, the Andalusian plays the guitar with the likes of Rafael Rodriguez Fernandez and Juan Muñoz Exposito, better known respectively under the pseudonyms of El Merengue and El Tomate. Over the years, personalities of different backgrounds such as the Cuban guitarist and composer Leo Brower, the pop star Miguel Bosé, the star of RAI Khaled, the former Dire Straits keyboardist Guy Fletcher, the other great figure of the current flamenco Diego El Cigala and up to Sting, many appealed to him for more than one collaboration. The worthy heir of Paco De Lucia places his fingers on his guitar with sensitivity, elegance and melody. The Joubran trio: “Carry the earth”, or carry on your land. Working with Roger Waters, former Pink Floyd leader Samir, Wissam and Adnan, all born in Nazareth, Joubran insists on remembering his indelible link with Palestine. A surprising evocative force emerges from the instrument of which they have become specialists, the oud that travels, flies, breathes and with it all those who listen to them. After eight albums, movie soundtracks and endless prizes, the Joubran trio chose a turning point with The Long March, adding keyboards, a piano, a flute, subtle or vocal arrangements. Tickets: € 65 per person.
24-26 November 2019 – THE CHEFS WORLD SUMMIT – APPOINTMENT WITH THE GASTRONOMY – The Chefs World Summit is an innovative concept, in a unique format: 3 days of interactive conferences and workshops will be guided by the greatest Chefs and experts in the sector – 5500m² dedicated to exceptional products. The Chefs World Summit brings together chefs and kitchen professionals from around the world in this magical place where gastronomy rhymes with the art of living.
26 and 27 November 2019 – OPERA GARNIER MONTE-CARLO – MONTE-CARLO JAZZ FESTIVAL – IAM AND THE FILARMONIC ORCHESTRA OF MONTE-CARLO – OPEN OPERA – Accustomed to the mix of genres, the Opéra Garnier Monte-Carlo will host for the first time the iconic French rap group IAM accompanied by the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra to revisit the cult songs of «L’Ecole du Micro d’Argent» in symphonic version, such as «Petit Frère», «Demain c’est loin», «La Réalité» or «Libère ton imagination». Partly recorded in the United States, gold record in 24 hours, this album has marked a generation and will mark the next. It brings together the essence of the 90s with deep, obscure and complex titles at the same time, which end up giving the French rap its nobility in 1997. Ticket:s € 85 per person
29 November 2019 – OPERA GARNIER MONTE-CARLO – MONTE-CARLO JAZZ FESTIVAL – THE NEW POWER GENERATION “CELEBRATING PRINCE” – FIRST PART: BROOKLYN FUNK ESSENTIALS – When Prince decided in 1990 to reform a group baptizing it The New Power Generation, he did it with the idea of tracking new musical territories, starting from the New Jack Swing, a mix of R & B, dance, hip-hop that had emerged three years before and then breaking the pop mold that had made it the world-famous artist and recognized with Purple Rain, Sign O ‘The Times and Lovesexy, milestones of his career. 
Like The Revolution, the group that preceded him with the “Prince”, The New Power Generation wanted to pay tribute to its leader at the concert held in October 2016 a few months after his death. Keeping the legacy of their mentor alive, the tour’s success is continuous. The core of the New Power Generation is made up of Morris Hayes, Tony Mosley (guitars and vocals), Sonny Thompson (bass) and Damon Dickinson (percussion), together with Tommy Barbarella (keyboards) and Levi Seacer Jr. (guitars), Isa Nielsen (bass), Keith Anderson (saxophone) and MacKenzie (vocals). Brooklyn Funk Essentials: essentially not only funk, because if the funk is there, there is also a great mix in the music of the New York band where they gladly mix soul, hip hop, spoken words and jazz. Just over 25 years ago the producer Arthur Baker and the musical director Lati Kronlund created the group, integrating here and there some stylistic deviations as in 1996 with Turkish music. With a new album called Stay Good they play live, as they have done almost daily in New York clubs sharing the scene with characters like James Brown, Parliament-Funkadelic, The Fugees, The Meters or Erykah Badu. The band knows how to make fans’ bodies and hearts explode. Tickets: € 65 per person.
30 November 2019 – OPERA GARNIER MONTE-CARLO – MONTE-CARLO JAZZ FESTIVAL – IBRAHIM MAALOUF – S3NS – Ibrahim Maalouf will be back to the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival with his eleventh album to be discovered on the stage of the Opéra Garnier Monte-Carlo. Hot brass, energetic percussion, a rhythmic cut in the Rocca! Neither really jazz, not very pop, and sometimes rock, Ibrahim Malouf invites the public to share his mixed, fresh, nostalgic, but still unclassifiable music. Ibrahim and his 15 musicians embark on an extraordinary show that will pay homage to Latin culture and Afro-Cuban music … in Maalouf mode! Tickets: € 85 per person.
December 1st, 2019 – OPERA GARNIER MONTE-CARLO – MONTE-CARLO JAZZ FESTIVAL- THE LONDON AFRICAN GOSPEL CHOIR – “What makes us different is that we come from different countries of the African diaspora,” says Crystal Kassi, founder and director of the choir. “We have people from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Zaire, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Uganda and Congo and we also come from different churches. The common denominator is our faith, and everyone is welcome.” The inclusion of the Caribbean in the list has been noted, with the symbolism that accompanies it.
Africa is universal, extra-continental and the Gospel is just one of the many buds of an enormous fruit tree with fertile roots. When she launched the choir in 2002, Kassi’s goal was as simple as it was clear: to spread the Gospel and create a platform of excellence for singers and musicians, relying on an essentially Ugandan repertoire, African and African American. The celebration of Graceland’s 30th anniversary and Paul Simon’s crossroads album, to which the choir was invited, will offer a new light, defining it definitively as one of the richest and most vocal and musical complexes in the evangelical world. Today, the leitmotif has changed only in words: to illuminate the world with a song. Tickets: € 45 per person.
5 December 2019-5 January 202 – THE BLUE GIN – MONTE CARLO SOCIETE DES BAINS DE MER- 40 Av. Princess Grace, Monaco – Day and night, let yourself be lulled by the pleasant atmosphere of winter and experience a true after-ski atmosphere. Wrap-around plaids, board games, billiards, tea time, magical views, live DJs, tailored menus and, above all, a completely covered and heated terrace with breathtaking views of the Mediterranean! And for the laggards, «L’étoile des neiges» will continue to shine in January and February! From 5 January to 29 February, you will have the opportunity to discover and occupy the long winter evenings in a mountain-style chalet, with the bar open for the usual hours, ie from 5.30pm to 1.30am! Information: +377 98 06 03 60 – Until January 5, Blue Gin will be opened exceptionally from 1:30pm to 1:30am (7/7): “Christmas Games”: board games (backgammon, chess, solitaire, card games … ) “Christmas sweets”: mini – “mountain” menu (from 1.30 pm to 10.30 pm), special Christmas cocktails – “Christmas tea time”: hot chocolate, Christmas tea, sweets, hot wine stand (from 3.00 pm to 5.30 pm) – Magic close-up with Simeon Wolfgang, every Friday evening 6.13, 20 and 27 December – Winter evenings on 5, 12, 19 and 26 December, from 18.30, and Live Dj with Nicolas Saad on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.