Every Thursday and throughout the summer, a volcano in Livradois-Forez becomes a concert hall. Under the stars and wrapped up in a blanket - or in the arms of your dear and tender, you attend an extraordinary concert. Under the stars and in the midst of its natural circus, the Montpeloux volcano welcomes you with a program full of crossings and detours. So that your evenings in Livradois-Forez are not like the others.
Volcanic decor for a sparkling show in Montpeloux
First of all, basalt columns seventy meters high dominate the illuminated waters. And these are eighteen million years that contemplate you. At the bottom of the crater, the scene on the waters seems almost as fragile as us. However, the summer night is studded with stars, and these few trailing clouds won't change anything. Moreover, the atmosphere in these places has something unique. Then come the notes, the words perhaps. Dancers appear in full light.
The Montpeloux site is a singularity in the Foréz landscape. Its sculptural character makes it a ready-made place of representation. A basalt quarry until the 90s, the Montpeloux thus found itself, as soon as its industrial exploitation ceased, at the heart of a rehabilitation project. The converted, revegetated quarry then becomes an open stage in the heart of the Ance Valley. In 2006, a 200-seat theater was inaugurated, which has since hosted the Montpeloux Volcano Festival.
Connected to electric current
All year round, a team works hard to put together this eclectic programme. The declared objective? Discovering the unknown, stimulating reflection. While making its spectators travel and dream. Travels in the world, in time, guided by generous artists, capable of transporting the imagination.
The Montpeloux Festival refuses no horizon or genre. Music, of course, storytelling, which finds an incomparable setting there, theatre, dance… On the stage at water's edge in Montpeloux, everything happens, especially talent. Modernity and tradition share the summer in harmony. It is, in a way, “to touch everything to touch everyone”.
The festival returns this year, same day, same times and same place, to offer you a program rich in surprises! And all that, in a volcano.
The Montpeloux is one of the rare examples of volcanic relief in the Forez mountains, on the borders of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Long after having served as a promontory for a powerful fortified castle, the Montpeloux was gradually eaten away by the work of a basalt quarry, which today allows us to penetrate into the belly of the volcano.
In 2000, the former community of communes of the Vallée de l'Ance began the rehabilitation of this ''industrial wasteland''. Faced with the sculptural immensity of the volcano, the basaltic cliffs and geological sections, the idea of a venue for performances became obvious. The project fully assumes the industrial heritage of the site while maintaining its open and grandiose character, which is now perfectly secure. This natural site also promotes plant recolonization around the car park and on the upper esplanade. During their visit, the public is at the heart of the volcano thanks to an interpretation trail. A belvedere overlooking this site, unique in France, offers a remarkable panoramic view of the Ance Valley.