A Celebration of Food & Wine on Sept. 6

At this new event, seven top Provence restaurants and at least 13 wine and Champagne houses will be serving up some of their finest flavors in the fabulous setting of the Théâtre Antique d'Orange. The Festival des Chefs is Friday, September 6th starting at 7 pm, and tickets are 32€ per person. Roughly 700 people are expected and ticket sales will be capped at 1,000. Your list of chefs and dishes will be marked at at each station...so everyone will get to taste everything. To purchase tickets, call 06 71 32 13 72 or 06 71 32 12 81. You can also buy tickets at the participating restaurants (listed on the poster above; you can click it to enlarge) and at the Tourist Office of Orange. Or you can email amitiegourmande2013@gmail.com but you must reserve in advance. If you've never visited the Théâtre Antique, this is a great chance to experience it; it's a UNESCO World Heritage site and it's considered the best preserved Roman theater in all of Europe. See you there!

Tickets for Rigoletto Still Available

This weekend ushers in the finale of the Chorégies d’Orange at the Theatre Antique in Orange. Opera lovers will be blessed with what some say are the best acoustics in the world and a fabulous setting in the Roman Amphitheater, for a tour de force production of Rigoletto starring Leo Nucci as Rigoletto, Patrizia Ciofi in the role of Gilda and Vittorio Grigolo as the Duke of Mantova. With only two performances, Saturday July 30 and Tuesday August 2, this is one of the hottest tickets of the summer opera series. The curtain goes up at 9:30 p.m., finishing after midnight. Seasoned Chorégies-goers know the weather can be tricky so be sure to bring a sweater; you’ll also want to bring a seat cushion. The town center is closed to traffic after 4 p.m., with parking available nearby.  So it’s best to go early, take your time and enjoy a nice dinner al fresco at one of Orange’s many restaurants and bistros. Du Theatre, La Crémaillère and La Cantine are all good, reasonably priced options--but since all three are just across the street from the theater they're bound to be quite full. Wherever you choose to eat, reserve your table in advance to avoid a long wait. Tickets for Rigoletto range from 25€ to 240€.  For ticket info: 04-90-34-24-24, billeterie@choregies.com or go to the website by clicking here and then choose the link “Book Online.”

Photo: Mozart's Requiem, 2006, Roman Amphitheater, Orange.