Concert-Theatre Performance ‘The Chevalier’ Coming To Buffalo

2022 has absolutely been a great year for events, concerts, and shows in Buffalo and Western New York, and another great show has just been announced that you may want to put on your calendar.

We've already seen the likes of Patti Labelle, Backstreet Boys, Bell Biv DeVoe, Dierks Bentley, New Kids on the Block, Rage Against the Machine, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tim McGray, and more all come through the 716 this year, and now you can add an amazing Concert-Theatre show to this list.

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The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra recently announced that The Chevalier, which is written and directed by Bill Barclay, will be live at Kleinhans Music Hall on Wednesday, October 19, 2022.

The Chevalier tells the story of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and his life living in colonial France.

Born in 1745 on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, Bologne was the son of a wealthy Frenchman Georges de Bologne Saint-Georges and a slave woman named Nanon who was owned by his wife. The elder Bologne was a member of the French aristocracy but his son was not able to inherit a title of nobility due to being of African descent.

Nevertheless, the younger Bologne was able to travel to France with his father where he subsequently learned the violin and fencing. After his training and education, he became a key bodyguard for King Louis XV and a world-renown concertmaster, composer, and violinist.

The concert-theatre show goes through the story, accomplishments, and life of Bologne, the relationships he had with the Queen of France Marie Antoinette, his next-door neighbor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the happenings in France during the lead-up to the French Revolution as the first classical composer of color.

Tickets for The Chevalier are available now on the Kleinhans Music Hall website and start at $17.

I had the opportunity to speak with Bill Barclay, the writer, and director of The Chevalier, you can check out a few excerpts of our conversations below:

What about the life and story of Joseph Bologne inspired you to want to develop this show?

From what you know, how did French society at the time lead him towards the title Chevalier de Saint-Georges?

How can you not be a fan of The Chevalier after you learn his life story?

What distinguished Bologne from others in Paris during the late 1700s?

Weren't there some other important events going on in France at the same time?

What is Concert-Theatre?

Can you tell us about the cast?

What is the National Alliance for Audition Support?