Music of Monaco

Seaside facade of the Salle Garnier, home of theOpéra de Monte-Carlo

Monacois asovereigncity-state,country,andmicrostateon theFrench Riviera,along the Mediterranean coast. The country has long been under the control of theGrimaldi family,who have encouraged musical development. PrinceRainier IIIintroduced thePrince Rainier III Prize for Musical Compositionto reward Monegasque musicians.

Classical music

TheMonte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestrawas founded in 1863 and gained a permanent home atSalle Garnierin 1879. The Orchestra is quite prominent in the classical world, and has been conducted byIgor Markevitch,Lovro von Matačić,Paul Paray,Lawrence Foster,Gianluigi GelmettiandLouis Frémaux.

TheLittle Singers of Monacoare a children's choir founded in 1973, when thePalatine Chapel's Chapel Master,Philippe Debat,was ordered by the government to send a choir of children around the world. This practice carries on a tradition from the reign of PrinceAntoine I,during whose rule a children's choir sang theliturgiesin the Palatine Chapel.

Popular music

Eurovision Song Contest participation

Monacoparticipated in theEurovision Song Contestbetween 1959 and 1979 and again between 2004 and 2006. The country's only win in the contest came in1971,withSéverineand the song "Un banc, un arbre, une rue".None of the artists who represented Monaco in the contest was born Monegasque, but French-bornMinouche Barelli,who represented Monaco in1967,shared her time between Paris and Monaco, acquired Monegasque citizenship in 2002, and died in the principality on 20 February 2004 at the age of 56.

Notable artists

The Franco-Monegasque singer-songwriterLéo Ferréwas born in Monaco.