An evening with Louis XIV at Versailles

I wanted to do something different for my third visit to Versailles. This time I combined the Serenade Royale and the Grande Eaux Nocturnes in the evening. That means I was going to see some entertainment Louis XIV-style in the Hall of Mirrors (Galerie des Glaces) followed by music and fountain displays in the extensive gardens and park, culminating in a fireworks display. The idea is to live slightly vicariously like a courtier during the latter 17th century.

Sounds cool and it was, not perfect but still enjoyable. I'd recommend it.
After standing, queuing a long time, we eventually moved into the reception areas where someone pretending to be the King's Herald seemed to be over-acting for the benefit of kids and families. Sure, you have to be entertaining but the silliness went on a bit too long. The rapid French would have been impossible for many of the visitors to understand. JC said even he couldn't understand most of what was said. The venue tried to speak for itself though.

Next we listened to a female operatic style singer singing songs from the era accompanied by a musician on an ancient stringed instrument. That was great for five minutes of novelty but I was disappointed in the quality of her costume. She sang 3-4 songs which was a little too long to be standing.

A dance company presented some  appropriate baroque ballet-style dancing popular with Louis XIV and introduced some Turkish elements.

It started off well but I couldn't see the point of the dancers disrobing and  the men then wearing dresses unless they were trying to allude to Philippe d'Orleans, the king's brother. Why not just do the dancing well instead of adding in extraneous elements that just devalued it all? The musicians made a good account of themselves. The Hall of Mirrors is long and narrow and this makes watching a show very challenging as you can't see it all.

Following on from that we were lead to the courtyard Cour d'honneur to watch some sword fighting. This was particularly ridiculous. It was just ka-ching, ka-ching and silly banter. Embarrassing and boring to watch. What would have been better would have been a group of musketeers in costume and a group of baddies fighting it out together but with professional epee skills, please.

With the interior entertainment complete we moved to the gardens, queuing to get in again. JC hadn't visited Versailles in at least 40 years and had had preconceived ideas that weren't all that positive. However, when he experienced that evening, he had a rapid change of opinion and could see the great changes that had been made to accommodate modern mass tourism. A lot of cleaning and renovation work has been done. It is a very special place to visit more than once. You cannot see it all in one day. You need at least a 2-day pass.

JC surprised me by refusing to walk around the gardens. His feet were too sore from all the standing around for hours. Mine weren't much better but I was determined to see the bosquets and the grand canal and the basins with illuminated fountains and baroque music. The evening weather was perfect and I wanted to make the most of what evening light was left. I had never seen all the fountains at Versailles playing and certainly had never had a night visit. They were better than I expected. In reality there are only 50 fountains operating these days. In the Sun King's time there were 4 times as many. http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/gardens/fountains#latonas-fountain

This event is well worth doing. We had 3 hours to fill from the Serenade to the fireworks display so I took off, camera in hand, and JC sat on a stone bench.

At just after 10.50pm the fireworks started over the Grand Canal. There were literally thousands of people watching from the steps, the paths, the gardens and the canal. It must be quite a profitable offering. The atmosphere was great and you really can transport yourself into what it might have been like one evening at Versailles in the 17th and 18th century.

The music we listened to inside the Hall of Mirrors and in the gardens featured:
Lully (1632-1687), Monteclair (1667-1737), Rameau (1683-1764, Destouches (1672-1749), Couperin (1668-1733), Charpentier (1643-1704), Lambert (1610-1696).





See the dancing....   https://youtu.be/GZNcclhWeJg 
and some more ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ6jAyCjlJk
The fireworks ... https://youtu.be/wYRT99U679M