Culture
Visit to Villa Windsor, Historic Residence of Charles de Gaulle, British Royalty
Villa Windsor in the Bois de Boulogne On November 14, about 20 AAPA members visited the Villa Windsor in the Bois de Boulogne. It's the former home of Charles De Gaulle (from the Liberation until 1947), of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (from 1953 until their respective deaths in their bedrooms here in 1972 and 1986), and finally of the Harrods proprietor Mohamed Al-Fayed. None of these people…
Meeting with Le Monde
The AAPA met on October 20th with the CEO and Director of Le Monde newspaper, Louis Dreyfus and Jérôme Fenoglio, at their new headquarters building in Paris. We had a lively discussion about the state of journalism in the world and how Le Monde went from losing €10 million a year 13 years ago, to becoming a profitable, expanding news outlet - all while keeping its editorial independence. 70% of…
The Paris Opera’s General Director Alexandre Neef talks performances, budgets…and the Chagall ceiling
Paris Opera General Director Alexander Neef has clear ideas about all issues affecting opera, ballet and the arts in general, except for one: artificial intelligence. Like much of the world, he is in “awe and terror” of it, he told 16 members of the AAPA at an on-the-record meeting in Palais Garnier May 4. Neef’s biggest challenge since arriving at the three years ago of the National Opera de…
Discovering a Renovated Parisian Treasure
The newly restored BnF Richelieu is more than a library. It’s a repository -- described as “a vast archipelago of spaces” – for art history and culture, containing manuscripts, prints and photography, coins, medals and antiques. The AAPA met with Laurence Engel, the library’s director, on November 24 and toured these historical rooms and their priceless collections: the scores of Mozart’s Don…
Kiev City Ballet Châtelet Rehearsal
The men of Kiev City Ballet rehearse the original piece “Boys from Kiev” during a visit by the AAPA. Since our meeting several of the men have returned to Ukraine to join the fighting. On June 9, Ivan and Katja Kozlov, Directors of the Kiev City Ballet, invited us to attend a rehearsal at the Chatelet Theatre's Pavlova studio. The company was performing in Paris when Russia invaded Ukraine...and…
France plans new Terrorism Museum
Coinciding with the opening of the trial for the horrifying November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, the AAPA was invited on 9 September 2021 to meet the man behind France’s upcoming museum on terrorism, expected to open in the Paris area in 2027. Historian Henry Rousso previously helped create the Caen Memorial Museum on the WWII Normandy landings, and the Shoah/Holocaust Memorial in Paris.…
France's 'Monsieur Patrimoine' Stéphane Bern talks to the AAPA
Stéphane Bern, the ardent defender of France's cultural heritage, treated the AAPA to an hour of his insights into the post-pandemic state of play, progress on resurrecting Notre Dame Cathedral, the Christo stunt at the Arc de Triomphe, and more. The ebullient journalist and author is a household name in France thanks to his hugely popular television shows, and is a darling of crowned heads and…
Sneak Preview of the Stunning Pinault Collection in the Bourse du Commerce
The AAPA visited the new Pinault Collection on May 18 (4 days before the official opening), thanks to the organizational skills of Elaine Cobbe (with Shellie Karabell shepherding on-site). Both the building and its contents were impressive! Architect Tadao Ando’s welcoming and subtle design, blends history with contemporary art. The spatial layout of concentric circles features 10 galleries over…
Authors’ Panel
Looking for inspiration and guidance on writing that book? Eight AAPA authors provided advice on finding a publisher, getting an advance, choosing an agent, marketing your opus and more in a panel discussion on Zoom on December 10. Click the link below to hear what the panelists—Monique El-Faizy, Peter Gumbel, Susan Herrmann Loomis, Linda Hervieux, Victor Mallet, Stefania Rousselle, Dana Thomas…
Shaking it up at the Châtelet
A rare chance to watch the final rehearsals for a musical at the Théâtre du Châtelet was the cherry on the cake for AAPA members who met with the theatre's new Artistic Director on November 26. Ruth Mackenzie is the first woman in the job, and first non-French national - she is British. She made it clear to our group that she is not at all daunted by the challenges either one of those factors…