The 13th edition of Festival La Folia brings upcoming stars and tried-and-true favourites to Rougemont’s beloved early music festival. La Folia 2013 takes its theme ‘Beyond the Alps’, from the Austrian courts of yesteryear, where centuries ago enlightened royals financed in-house composers and orchestras par excellence.
Highlights of the festival include tonight’s opening Concert Brisé with William Dongois and the Sunday, May 19 concert featuring star violinist Eva Saladin. Saladin returns to La Folia with her colleague at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis soprano Jenny Högström to present the programme ‘Amanti Ignoranti—Italians from the North’. Don’t miss Ruedi Lutz’s signature energy and style come alive on Monday, May 20, when he’ll be improvising with two students from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis on festival president Jean-Michel Chabloz’s ‘four seasons’ harpsichord.
While the festival brings big names like Monteverdi and Gesualdo to the public, other composers might not be well-known to most classical music fans. Early music enthusiasts, however, will delight in four days of works by von Biber, Muffat and Schmelzer, amongst others.
All concerts will be held in Rougemont’s Saint-Nicolas Church. Tickets range from 20 to 45 francs and may be reserved online or by phone. For more information please visit Festival La Folia.