Montpellier en Chanté: A Musical Stopover in the Heart of Montpellier’s Summer
From 19 to 22 August 2026, Montpellier will host the first edition of the Montpellier en Chanté festival, the first international choral arts festival. At the Institut Nazareth, the Cité des Arts and the Corum, the city will be celebrating the voice in all its forms, from sacred music to contemporary compositions, including jazz and European repertoires.
L’Hôtel Richer de Belleval, complice de chaque instant de beauté, vous invite à prolonger cette parenthèse musicale dans l’intimité de son écrin historique, où l’art du chant trouve un écho naturel dans l’élégance d’un séjour d’exception.
Each day of the festival is designed to be an immersive experience: participatory workshops open to all in the late afternoon, followed by professional concerts in the evening. Through singing, sharing and listening, Montpellier en Chanté celebrates choral singing as a living, unifying and accessible art form, in which every voice becomes a vehicle for collective emotion.
An exceptional international programme
Organised by the vocal ensemble Êkhô, a chamber choir conducted by Caroline Semont-Gaulon, the festival brings together prestigious ensembles from Europe and beyond. The opening concert, at the chapel of the Institut Nazareth, showcases the Êkhô choir in a programme spanning the centuries, from Allegri’s *Miserere* to the works of Arvo Pärt.
The following day, the European Youth Choir takes to the stage with its 44 singers from 18 countries, conducted by Donka Miteva and Pierre-Louis Delaporte. This elite ensemble embodies the excellence and diversity of European choral singing, performing an a cappella repertoire of exceptional artistic rigour.
On 21 and 22 August, the Cité des Arts and then the Corum will host a musical one-man show by Julien Joubert, followed by a spectacular closing concert featuring L’Autre Big Band and the Dulci Jubilo ensemble, performing reimagined classics by Bernstein, Gershwin and Barber, conducted by Christopher Gibert.
The emotion continues at the Richer de Belleval
Because a night at a festival deserves to be extended, the Hôtel Richer de Belleval welcomes you just a few minutes’ walk from the performance venues. In this 17th-century mansion, every detail has been carefully considered to ensure that the emotion evoked by the music continues long after the concert has ended.
After a concert, Bar L’Élytre welcomes you for a moment of relaxation, before you enjoy a refined dinner at Le Jardin des Sens, created by chefs Jacques and Laurent Pourcel. The evening continues in the serene tranquillity of our rooms and suites, where the silence and elegance of the surroundings allow the emotions stirred by the music to linger.
We invite you to book your stay now so that you can make the most of this first edition of ‘Montpellier en Chanté’ in an exceptional setting, combining culture and the art of living.
