During the last meeting of
Europassion in SEZZE, the Passion theatre from Nancy, present with
a 5 people group led by President Bernard RIETHMULLER, came especially
to take charge of the next congress and invite all the members of
Europassion to the 2004 congress in NANCY (France).
Henri LEBOEUF, Secretary, started with a short description of the
city and of its surroundings : "Nancy is located in the eastern
part of France, in the Lorraine region, 300 kms East from Paris and
roughly 150 km west from Strasbourg. 150 000 inhabitants live there
(300 000 with the suburbs), and there is a large University. The city
also has both a strong industrial and cultural activity. We will be
very happy to welcome you there next year."
Then President Bernard RIETHMULLER presented the Passion Theater from
NANCY :
"We have been - for 1904 – an emanation from the OBERAMMERGAU
Passion (Germany), and as such we would like to invite especially
them next year. We hope to welcome you all in NANCY next year around
July 14th ; as everybody knows, this is the National day in France
and it would allow us to have more fun on the welcome day.
We hope that many of you will come ; this would be an opportunity
for us to prove to the authorities of the city, of the region and
even of the whole country that unity, love and peace are not only
words but truly exist. We offer to Troups the opportunity to perform
and to give a short excerpt of their Passion. We especially wish to
encourage young groups that, after an 80 years period of silence behind
the iron curtain, have played again their Passion, and we want to
help them to come to next year meeting in NANCY.
We wish to give you the opportunity to come to NANCY (though we
cannot afford to pay for your travel expenses), and we shall do our
best to welcome you with groups of 15-20 people in the best conditions,
so that it would cost you as little as possible.
During the last few years, an International Festival of Choir Singing
took place several times in NANCY ; thousand chorists of NANCY and
of the surroundings welcomed thousand chorists from the whole world.
Our mayor would like it to be the same ; this would be a gesture towards
the groups with financial problems and would valorise Europassion
on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the Passion Theatre”.
The Passion Theatre from NANCY will soon give you further useful
informations concerning this meeting."
