latour de france international festival

Background to the Festival

Latour de France had its first ever international festival of music and the arts in 1993, when 182 singers and musicians from the Isle of Man and north west of England arrived to perform - by air, by car, by coach and even on horseback!

Latour de France is a small, picturesque hilltop town in the Corbiérès region of southern France, situated on the banks of the river l'Agly, 20 miles from the Mediterranean with Perpignan as its nearest city (click here for a map of the region). Originally the first village in France (the old Spanish border being in view), it is steeped in history. France being the country of 'le bien vivre' (good living), Latour is no exception – producing some excellent wine, in particular Côtes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France.

Carrying culture to the continent is the Mancunian-Manxman conductor and artistic director of the Latour Festival, John Bethell. Founder director of the Mananan International Festivals, held for the past 30 years in Port Erin, Isle of Man, he was invited to direct a festival in Latour, since when the two villages have been linked. Now in fact the two festivals are linked also! Never one to resist such a challenge, John Bethell, Music Director of the Manx Festival Chorus since 1968 and Conductor Emeritus of Oldham Choral Society, accepted with enthusiasm. The main venue is the village church – a gem – Notre-Dame des Anges and, since 1999, the Théâtre de Verdure Gilbert Pelissier – an outdoor venue built especially for the Festival.

2009 Festival

The next Latour de France Festival will be held from 18th to 23rd July 2009.

Enquiries

Mananan Festival Office
Victoria Square, Port Erin,
Isle of Man IM9 6LD, British Isles
Phone: +44(0) 1624 835858
Fax: +44(0) 1624 836658
Email: information 'at' erinartscentre.com