We Attend a Rare Private Gala at Vaux-le-Vicomte, Supporting a Retour aux Sources Historic Fountain Restorations (Exclusive Photos)
Featuring exclusive photos, Vaux-le-Vicomte closed its gates to the public for a gala supporting the restoration of the château’s Grottoes and historic fountains. Chaired by Barbara Tober, the evening brought together patrons, music, candlelight and fireworks in support of the estate’s “Retour aux Sources” project. Come inside with us.
Thirty Miles From Paris, a Historical Monument Gets its Evening
As we pass the gates of Vaux-le-Vicomte, a château gradually comes into view at the end of the perspective. Once standing before the façade, a few spontaneous “wow,” “oulala,” and “voilà” escape from the guests, almost breathless at the sight of the place. For Saturday, October 3rd, 2026, Vaux-le-Vicomte is “exceptionally closed” to the public, according to the official website.
Tour guides and baby buggies are exchanged for the long gowns and tuxedos of the Vaux’s most ardent supporters, standing out against the château’s pale stone and geometrically accurate green lawns.
We’re here for a gala, held for the benefit of the Friends of Vaux-le-Vicomte, supports the comprehensive Retour aux Sources (“Return to roots”) project, wherein the ambition is to restore the estate’s historic hydraulic network and, ultimately, allow all twenty-two fountains to operate throughout the public opening season.
Present day view of a state room at the Vaux-le-Vicomte. Image: Dan Latif.
Vaux-le-Vicomte, acquired and fully reimagined by finance minister and arts patron Nicolas Fouquet in 1658, remains a jewel of French culture, earning its status as a Monument historique. Prized for its architectural integrity, innovative landscape design, and social and historical value, the maintenance of the property is supported by groups like Friends of Vaux-le-Vicomte and other assocations.
Barbara Tober chaired the evening alongside Countess Patrice de Vogüé and her sons Alexandre, Ascanio and Jean-Charles. Tober, an American editor and philanthropist who spent many years at the helm of Brides magazine, has long been deeply involved in the arts and the preservation of heritage.
At Vaux-le-Vicomte, her role was that of a patron bringing together an international circle of donors and heritage enthusiasts around the estate.
Music and Candlelight Inside Vaux-le-Vicomte
Vaux-le-Vicomte on the Gala evening. Image: Dan Latif.
As the evening opens, more than 2,000 candles trace long corridors of light through the gardens as the guests make their way into the château for a special recital. In the Grand Salon, the dome comes alive with a projection of Charles Le Brun’s work. All around, Nero, Cicero, Caesar, Augustus and Claudius gaze impassively at the scene from their busts.
Pianist Dan Schlosberg takes his place at the Steinway & Sons piano, whose touch he describes as “soft and harmonious.” Beside him is countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, whom Alexandre de Vogüé, a fifth-generation custodian of the property had met at a gala at the Palais Garnier.
Dan Schlosberg and Anthony Roth Costanzo perform at the Vaux-le-Vicomte Gala evening. Image: Dan Latif.
Before beginning, Anthony Roth Costanzo remarks: “Architecture and design come alive when you put music into them.” The recital unfolds between the illuminated garden visible outside and Le Brun’s painting projected above the guests. A text on love, followed notably by a piece by Philip Glass, punctuates this suspended moment. Some close their eyes; others gaze up at the dome or watch Anthony, positioned in the curve of the piano. Voice and piano gradually bring the room to silence beneath the ever-stoic gaze of the emperors.
Dinner in the State Apartments
Dinner in a state room at the Vaux-le-Vicomte Gala evening. Image: Dan Latif.
Beneath tapestries, gilding and crystal chandeliers, round tables have been set throughout the salons. Evening gowns echo the deep colors of the walls and the reflections of the candlelight. In one fireplace, the wood crackles, already making one want to prolong the evening far beyond dinner.
Among the guests are Elizabeth Segerstrom, Michele Gerber Klein, writer and patron of the arts, as well as Marie-Monique Steckel, French-American Foundation board member and close friend to Barbara Tober and Alexandre de Vogüé.
Dinner continues through the salons while, outside, the gardens remain illuminated by candlelight.
Alexandre de Vogüé speaks at the Vaux-le-Vicomte Gala evening. Image: Dan Latif.
Alexandre returns to what the support of the patrons will make possible: “You are making the restoration of the Grottoes possible. This is a major step in their history, and a way of making the world as beautiful as possible.” As sun sets, one gazes through the windows and doors toward the extremities of the lawn.
The Restoration at the Heart of the Vaux-le-Vicomte Gala
The Grottoes at Vaux-le-Vicomte. Image: via Vaux-le-Vicomte.
The Grottoes in question are extraordinary. These carved alcoves are inhabited by atlantes, gods and demigods, which majestically close the great perspective of the garden from the château. River deities and sandstone lions form a spectacular ensemble, behind which lies an equally remarkable feat of engineering: an underground reservoir supplies the fountains of the lower gardens by gravity.
As we approached them, Alexandre de Vogüé points out the few jets still running and recalls the importance of water in the spectacle conceived by Nicolas Fouquet, the principal visionary behind Vaux-le-Vicomte. During Fouquet’s housewarming party of 1661, all the fountains were running in spectacular fashion. Guests were confronted with a spectacle unlike anything they had seen before. But today, broken pipes, missing elements, and general neglect has caused many of the fountains to sit dormant.
Les Grilles d’Eau des jardins de Vaux-le-Vicomte. Image: Jean-Pol Grandmont via Wikimedia.
The investment of the evening is intended precisely to restore this presence of water. The first phase includes work on the lower basin, the monumental staircases and the Grille d’Eau, whose ten jets are to be restored. The project began in 2026 and is scheduled to continue until 2028.
Fireworks Close the Gala at Vaux-le-Vicomte
As night falls, guests are invited to a front-row view of an almost unreal fireworks display. Set to music, the château and its gardens blaze with light, leaving stars in everyone’s eyes and seeming to stir the sky itself.
More than three centuries earlier, La Fontaine had already written in Le Songe de Vaux: “There shines a wholly new sun / The air is purer, the day more beautiful / The nights are gentle and peaceful.” Since then, the spell seems to have lost none of its power. When the time finally comes to leave Vaux-le-Vicomte, the guests are unanimous: we would gladly have remained locked behind its gates for an entire weekend, or even a lifetime.
Learn more about Vaux-le-Vicomte here. Learn more about the Retour aux Sources project here.
With a perspective defined by an eye for detail and a love for craftsmanship, Barbara Tober remains as influential and impactful as ever.