[sold out] Claron McFadden & Claire Chevallier

Chez Bricktop: that was the name of the legendary nightclub in Paris run by the American dancer and singer Ada Smith. It was a haven for French artists as well as Afro-American musicians who had moved to France, fleeing from systemic racism. Claron McFadden and Claire Chevallier recreate the vibrant climate of the interwar period in Paris, when jazz came over from America and started a conversation with the French repertoire.

Together, the musicians illustrate how the paths of Scott Joplin, Cole Porter and Duke Ellington crossed with those of Claude Debussy, Erik Satie and Maurice Ravel. In the hands of director Luigi De Angelis, this musical journey through time takes the ingenious form of a ‘live’ radio show. Both the story of Ada ‘Bricktop’ Smith and interviews with McFadden and Chevallier are passed in review – and who knows, perhaps a listener will even phone in.

Programme

Chez Bricktop

Music theatre in the form of a 'live' radio broadcast

With Claron McFadden, Claire Chevallier and guests

Music by Scott Joplin, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Erik Satie, Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Fats Waller, Django Reinhardt and other composers  

There are no surtitles. To read the libretto, you can use the app Lyri (downloadable from the App or via Play Store).

image © Sergei Shauchenka