The Carnaval of the animals  

Original title: Le Carnaval des animaux avec Gaspard Proust en narrateur

Composer - Saint-Saëns
Gaspard Proust - narrator
Katia et Marielle Labèque - piano
Modigliani Quartet

An outstanding group of musicians and a narrator come together pleasingly for this big hit from the repertoire.

Older music fans may remember Francis Blanche, whose version of the Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns is still the gold standard. Now Gaspard Proust, a cynical and a seasoned solo stage performer will have to be admitted to this tight circle of carnival narrators fraught with pitfalls. Although he is known to be a lover of the classics and an admirer of Horowitz, it took intuition and daring on the part of the Modigliani Quartet to suggest that Proust should tackle a text hallowed by time and popularity. The gamble paid off at the latest Rencontres d’Evian, where the comedian joined the Modigliani quartet, the Labèque sisters and several prestigious guests to perform a respectful but caustic Carnival, combining euphoria, poetry and highly infectious energy. Proof if it were required that the classical world is not necessarily short on humour.