“Fêtes Galantes at Palace of Versailles: Reliving the Royal Era with 18th Century Costumes and Concerts”

This Monday, May 22, the Palace of Versailles welcomes lovers of the royal period as part of the 7th edition of the Fêtes Galantes. An evening bringing together visits to the private apartments of the King and his court and music concerts.

For one evening, a hundred Europeans and Americans will be transformed this Monday evening, May 22, into dukes, marquises, countesses, barons or knights, all dressed in costumes and powdered wigs from the 18th century on the occasion of the 7th edition of the “Fêtes Galantes” at the Palace of Versailles.

This event allows visitors to go back in time and explore this heritage at the time of the Kings of France. An evening, whose entrance tickets are sold at 495 euros, which fascinates foreign tourists as much as French visitors.

Catherine Clément, organizer of the event, returned for CNEWS to the origins of these Fêtes Galantes and the success of this event which, according to her, “helps to promote the Palace of Versailles in France and abroad”, so that this heritage celebrates its 400th anniversary this year.

How did this event come about?

To understand the birth of this meeting, you have to go back a long way chronologically. Indeed, we first created the “masked ball” in the Orangerie in 2011. It was from this event that the costume parties appeared. At the time, we quickly realized that there was an audience interested in this kind of evening. But unlike the Fêtes Galantes, the public at the masked ball, also dressed in period costumes, visits the garden and then spends a whole night in the Orangerie. Nevertheless, the artistic proposal is contemporary.

Participants spend a lot of time making their own costumes.Catherine Clément, event organizer.

We then redefined this evening and we created, in 2015, the Fêtes Galantes, mainly for an audience who wanted to experience a kind of period reconstruction of evenings in apartments. It’s really a baroque proposal that takes place in the evening, from 6:30 p.m. to midnight. The costumes are of high quality. Participants spend a lot of time making their own costumes or renting them.

This evening does not take place only in the Hall of Mirrors, but in many spaces of the Palace of Versailles which are lit and highlighted.

What are the objectives of these Fêtes Galantes?

The objective of these Fêtes Galantes is to create an exceptional evening which is beginning to have its reputation. There really is an audience of aficionados who come to this event every year. The latter is also full weeks in advance.

We want to allow people to relive this evening of apartments as if they could go back in time, and to see the castle not as a museum space but as a living place. The objective is also to bring in other types of audience.

Only a few weeks after the announcement of the event, all the places were taken. How do you explain this “rush” on the Fêtes Galantes?

Indeed, we do not welcome a large number of people. We still stay in the museum spaces, the large apartments of the King and Queen and the large Hall of Mirrors. Other rooms are also being opened, such as the Royal Chapel and the Lower Gallery.

In total, we welcome about 700 people. The gauge is not large. And it’s really a meeting that we created and which really has a reputation with a public passionate about evenings in costume. There are a lot of them, for example, in Venice. In France, what more prestigious place than the Palace of Versailles to host such an event?

Will the Fêtes Galantes make it possible to make the Palace of Versailles even more known throughout the world?

For this event, we particularly welcome many foreigners. They represent about 50% of the public. All of our programming, starting with the masked ball or the shows of the Royal Opera through the Musical Fountains Show, contributes to the reputation of the Palace of Versailles and to make it known and other types of audiences.

Is the French public less interested in the Fêtes Galantes?

No. We have a public that is impatiently awaiting this meeting as soon as the tickets go on sale. This one is made up of bombrous Ile-de-France residents. We also sometimes have people who come from the United States or Japan exceptionally for this event.

Will it be successful this year?

Absolutely. We are only improving. In 2015, we welcomed fewer visitors. Over the years, the number of participants has only increased. We improved the proposals and added animations.

There are people who come from the United States or Japan just for this event.Catherine Clément, event organizer.

The public now has the choice of several categories of tickets. Participants choose their route (Baroque, Ladies, King, etc.). We have activities to choose from led by actors or even lessons in the art of fan gestures.

People really experience an exceptional evening. They have 4 and a half hours to discover the places and the activities that we propose, so we of course expect a success.