La Roulotte d'Arlequin

Spectacle, festival (concert, danse, théâtre)

La Roulotte d'Arlequin, put on by the early music ensemble Doulce Mémoire, stops off at the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau to set up its trestles and sails for a crazy musical show.

Actors from the Doulce Mémoir company performing their play, La Roulotte d'Arlequin.

  • Friday 11 July 2025 at 5pm

  • Admission to the show is included in the château entrance ticket

    Adults: €16 at the box office 

    Free for under-26s.

    Click HERE for all château prices

  • Play presented in French
    The show takes place outdoors.
    Seats are available.
    The show is accessible with the château ticket. If you wish to buy your ticket in advance, choose the “Free visit of the monument” ticket.

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Presentation

La Roulotte d'Arlequin is a Renaissance musical freely inspired by the Madrigal comedy La Pazzia Senile by Adriano Banchieri (1603) and Italian songs from the 1960s.

La Roulotte d'Arlequin takes up residence in the courtyard of the château, unfurling its trestles and sails. It is joyful and irreverent, and speaks to our collective imagination of the itinerancy of theatre and opera troupes in the 16th and 21st centuries, the popular Italian songs of the 1960s, La Dolce Vita, the rediscovery of commedia dell'arte and the Renaissance.

It also illustrates the extent to which Italian popular music, whether dating from 1560 or 1960, possesses the same immediate charm, energy and emotion.

La Roulotte d'Arlequin is a creation of the early music ensemble Doulce Mémoire, performed for the first time in February 2022 at the Opéra de Tours (37) under the artistic and musical direction of Denis Raisin Dadre.

Discover an extract from La Roulotte d'Arlequin

video | 2:29 min

Distribution

Artistic and musical direction, Denis Raisin Dadre 
Staging, Philippe Vallepin
Musical arrangements, Denis Raisin Dadre, Cédric Piromalli & Matthieu Le Levreur
Scenography, Amandine Fonfrède
Costumes, Audrey Gendre with the collaboration of Cathie Hirigoyen
Light design, Paul Berthomé

La Servante, Franceschina, and La Courtisane, Lauretta, Véronique Bourin (soprano)
L'Amoureuse, Doralice, Camille Fritsch (mezzo-soprano)
Le Zanni, Arlequin, Hugues Primard (tenor)
The Lover, Fulvio, Almeno Gonçalves (tenor)
The Doctor, Graziano and The Captain, Spavento, Matthieu Le Levreur (baritone)
A Murano merchant, Pantalone, Antoine Pluche (bass-baritone)

Flutes, Denis Raisin Dadre
Lute, guitars, Miguel Henry
Pianino, harpsichord, Cédric Piromalli

Set and prop design, Ludovic Harel & Willy Fiot 
Stage management, Théo Jouannea