After sine die postponements due to confinements and restrictive measures concerning live performances, among other things, the Compagnie équestre des Grandes Écuries de Chantilly will finally be able to present its new production, Il était une fois... les Grandes Écuries, from 23 May. A first version, created to celebrate the tercentenary of this monument, was successfully presented during the summer of 2019 and was briefly performed last October.
A nice history lesson while having fun
A playful historical fresco, mixing humour, poetry and equestrian prowess, in which the Grandes Écuries de Chantilly, this majestic monument to the glory of horses, is told through the voices of two horsewomen and actresses, Sophie Bienaimé and Mathilde Pouteau.
For an hour, this narrative is illustrated by the horses and riders of the Grandes Écuries who practice the equestrian art to perfection and offer high school numbers - executed in a graceful and harmonious way - as well as some equestrian fantasies where horses and ponies play, lie down, reared up, perform ruades and capers and even dance to the rhythm of a post-war American swing. Serious moments alternate with scenes brimming with gaiety to evoke three centuries of the history of this stone folly imagined in 1719 by Louis-Henri de Bourbon, 7th Prince of Condé, and whose construction was completed in 1735.
This enriched staging will feature the arrival of new horses, revisited acrobatic acts by Clément Ferron, all accompanied by live music composed and played by the virtuoso Jean-Lou Descamps, who will give a very personal rhythm to this show. Not forgetting the sumptuous costumes invented and created by Monika Mucha, the faithful and brilliant costume designer of the Compagnie équestre des Grandes Écuries.
A creation of the equestrian company of the Domaine de Chantilly:
Estelle Berland, Sophie Bienaimé, Lisa Courteau, Nathalie Lecoultre, Mathilde Pouteau, Élodie Jacquet and Caroline Vitry (with the help of Virginie Mouzy-Bienaimé, director)
Equestrian choreography: Sophie Bienaimé and the riders
Voltigeur: Clément Ferron
Costumes: Monika Mucha
Original music: written and performed by Jean-Lou Descamps
Texts : Sophie Bienaimé and Mathilde Pouteau (with the help of Nicole Garnier)
Lighting and sound management: Sophie Justin