In this all-French program to be performed by the OM on its European tour, the voice of Marie-Nicole Lemieux in Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été transports us through musical poems whose flashes of impressionism and symbolism signal the end of French romanticism. The frenzied violence of Ravel under the fingers of pianist Alexandre Tharaud, the delicate balance of Saint-Saëns under the bow of Jean-Guihen Queyras and the imposing impressionism of Debussy’s La Mer under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin re-create that time of transition when nationalism and humanism, the horrors of war and the hope for a better world, meditative moments and the sweet folly of jazz all collide.