Brazil-France 2025 season: Bizet-Brazil concert at the Sorbonne's Grand Amphithéâtre

The Sorbonne University Choir & Orchestra takes up the Brazil-France 2025 Season with a unique concert combining rare works by Bizet and Brazilian musical treasures, at the Sorbonne's Grand Amphithéâtre. Join us on May 6 for an unforgettable journey through the sounds of Brazil!

To celebrate the Brazil-France 2025 Season and mark the end of its annual cycle, the Sorbonne University Choir & Orchestra invites you to an exceptional concert at the Grand Amphithéâtre de la Sorbonne, where the forgotten harmonies of Bizet and the bewitching rhythms of Brazilian music will meet, on May 6, 2025. A unique evening of rediscoveries and musical dialogue, transporting you from Paris to Rio in just a few bars.

Conducted by Nicolas Agullo, with choirmasters Frédéric Pineau and Ariel Alonso, this Bizet-Brazil evening takes the form of a closing concert for the COSU season, with the allure of a cultural bridge. On the occasion of the Saison France-Brésil 2025, works by Georges Bizet, never before performed in concert, will resound for the first time in the solemn hall of the Sorbonne, in vibrant dialogue with compositions by Villa-Lobos, Guarnieri and Carlos Gomes.

A little-known Bizet unveiled in the heart of the Sorbonne

Bringing the unpublished back to life is the ambition of this program, which draws on archives resurrected by musicologist Hugh Macdonald and revealed thanks to the support of the Palazzetto Bru Zane, a center dedicated to French Romantic music. Among the Bizet pieces to be (re)discovered, Vasco de Gama, a symphonic ode composed at the age of 21 for the Prix de Rome, stands out for its unsuspected harmonic audacity. The concert also features La mort s'avance, Le golfe de Baïa and Chanson du rouet, all little-known fragments that reveal a more intimate, more experimental Bizet, far from the beaten track of Carmen.

You'll be immersed in a solemn atmosphere, enveloped by the voices of the Sorbonne Université UFR de Musique et Musicologie Choir, accompanied by COSU instrumentalists. This rare repertoire invites you to re-evaluate Bizet's genius, far beyond his best-known works, in the exceptional acoustic setting of the Sorbonne's Grand Amphithéâtre, a landmark of Parisian intellectual heritage.

Immerse yourself in the musical soul of Brazil

But this evening is not limited to France. It brilliantly opens up to Auriverde music, with samba, choros, nostalgic modinhas and lyrical inspirations from the streets of São Paulo or the beaches of Recife. The musical journey begins with an extract from Il Guarany, a romantic opera by Carlos Gomes, then slides into the dreamy textures of Heitor Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras n°5, before vibrating to Mozart's Dança Brasileira Camargo Guarnieri. A fluid transition between two continents, carried by passionate performers such as soprano Dima Bawab, tenor Joseph Kauzman and baritone Jiwon Song.

The atmosphere promises to be both elegant and warm, between European orchestral rigor and Brazilian rhythmic spontaneity. This concert is just as much for classical music fans looking to broaden their horizons as it is for fans of South American culture. Whether you come as a family, a couple, or for an evening with friends, the musical experience will be accessible, open and rich in shared emotions.

An evening to rediscover, feel and travel

Are you a fan of new musical discoveries, curious about forgotten repertoires or fascinated by the rich sounds of Brazil? This concert is for you. In a venue as prestigious as the Sorbonne's Grand Amphithéâtre, in the heart of the Latin Quarter, let yourself be carried away by the echoes of a little-known Bizet and by the vitality of a Brazilian culture in the full light of day. Whether you're a seasoned music lover or simply looking for an original evening out with friends or lovers, the experience promises to be immersive, refined and exciting.

With this concert, the Saison Brésil-France 2025 offers a powerful and sensitive note, where forgotten scores converse with the solar dances of Brazil, in a vibrant celebration of musical diversity and the sharing of cultures. All you have to do is book!

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