Jean-Michel Jarre to perform for 400 years of Palace of Versailles

Jean-Michel Jarre is to perform a concert for the 400th anniversary of the Palace of Versailles on December 25.

The performance will take place in the palace’s Hall of Mirrors, a Unesco world heritage site, and will be presented by Unesco and the French Ministry of Culture.

Called ‘VERSAILLES 400’, the concert can also be viewed in the metaverse where the audience can connect through VR (virtual reality) or on tablets and smartphones.

"Versailles 400 is a hybrid concert-show creation broadcast live from one of the most beautiful places in the world as well as in virtual reality in the metaverse, which, I hope, will contribute to promoting our know-how and bringing the world of French immersive creation a little more into the collective culture", said Jarre in a press release

This immersive concert-show will pay "tribute to the great royal celebrations that have marked history and made the Palace of Versailles world famous.”

It will be an opportunity for the classically trained French composer, performer and producer, to bring together today's French innovation in the place that was at the origin of an artistic revolution.

The show will also be broadcast on the television channels of the M6 group.

France’s electronic pioneer

Often referred to as the “Godfather of Electronic Music”, Jarre first came to international fame with his number one hit album Oxygene which sold over 18 million copies worldwide.

Read more: Mythbuster: French music cannot survive outside France

The 75-year-old is no stranger to playing in exotic locations. In 1981 he was the first Western musician to perform in China, during his landmark tour named after his album The Concerts In China.

His passion for breaking musical boundaries has earned him three Guinness World Records, including largest ever outdoor audience for his 1997 Moscow concert which drew a staggering 3.5 million spectators.

Jarre's most recent album, Oxymoreworks, was released on November 24, 2023. The nine-piece work includes reworkings of tracks from his 2022 album Oxymore.

Runs in the family

Music has always been a part of Jarre’s life, including his childhood. He was born in Lyon to film score composer father Maurice Jarre – winner of three Academy Awards for Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India.

He was previously married to the British actress Charlotte Rampling, with whom he has a child, David Jarre, a magician who also began a musical career by creating the group The Two with Ara Starck.

He met his current wife, Chinese actress Gong Li, during his Electronica tour. They married at the Elysée Palace in 2019.

Tickets for VERSAILLES 400 can be booked online via chateauversailles-spectacles.fr.

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