The final work of a life utterly devoted to dance, La Bayadère by Rudolf Nureyev has become one of the jewels of the Paris Opera Ballet’s repertoire. First performed in 1992, La Bayadère recounts the ill-fated loves of the dancer Nikiya and the noble warrior Solor, promised to the redoubtable Gamzatti, in an imaginary India complete with elephants, tigers and palanquins.Rudolf Nureyev adapted the choreography by Marius Petipa – to music by Ludwig Minkus – restructuring it to include virtuosi variations and large‑scale ensemble movements. The celebrated Royaume des Ombres (Kingdom of Shadows) in Act III is considered to be one of the summits of choreographic art.Unfailingly popular at the Paris Opera, the spectacular richness of Ezio Frigerio’s decors and costumes by Franca Squarciapino make La Bayadère a flamboyant spectacle. The Etoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera OrchestraUne production de l’Opéra national de ParisDirector: Isabelle Julien © Opéra national de Paris - 2020 Picture: © Little Shao / OnP

<ul><li>Solor: A noble and valiant warrior from the Indian kingdom of Golconda. He is in love with Nikiya.</li><li>Nikiya: Temple dancer and guardian of the Temple’s sacred fire. She is in love with Solor.</li><li>The High Brahmin: High priest of the temple. He is secretly in love with Nikiya.</li><li>The Rajah of Golconda: Monarch of the kingdom, father of Gamzatti. He wants her to marry Solor.</li><li>Gamzatti: The daughter of the Rajah of Golconda and Solor’s fiancée.</li><li>The Kshatriyas: Friends of Solor and members of the caste holding temporal power.</li><li>The Slave: Dances with Nikiya at the betrothal of Gamzatti and Solor.</li><li>Aiya: Gamzatti’s servant.</li><li>The Golden Idol: Incarnation evoking the god Shiva, holding the position of the lotus flower.</li><li>The Shades: The ghosts of dead bayadères.</li></ul>

2015-16-BAYAD-011

Live Bayadere

La Bayadère_trailer

La Bayadère

The ballet is decked out in its finest jewels with Les Néréides

Jewels in Ballet with Les Néréides

20-21

The final work of a life utterly devoted to dance, La Bayadère by Rudolf Nureyev has become one of the jewels of the Paris Opera Ballet’s repertoire. First performed in 1992, La Bayadère recounts the ill-fated loves of the dancer Nikiya and the noble

Rudolf Noureev

A legendary and fantastical Persia becomes the backdrop of the thwarted love triangle uniting the hunter Djémil, the beautiful Nouredda - engaged to the Khan- and Naïla, the water sprite.In his first creation for the Paris Opera Ballet, Etoile dancer Jean-Guillaume Bart revived an almost-forgotten ballet of the repertoire, originally premiered in 1866 at the Paris Opera.In a close collaboration with playwright Clément Hervieu-Léger, Jean-Guillaume Bart gave back to La Source its original freshness.He created a wonderful danced tale, poetic and virtuosic, enhanced by Christian Lacroix’s flamboyant costumes and Eric Ruf’s evocative stage set. The Etoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera OrchestraA co-production of the Paris National Opera - François Roussillon et Associés - 2011 With the participation of France Télévisions, the support of the CNC and the Orange Foundation, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts.Director: François RoussillonPicture: © Anne Deniau / OnP

2014-15-SOURC-091

La Source 

La Source_trailer

La Source

26-27

A legendary and fantastical Persia becomes the backdrop of the thwarted love triangle uniting the hunter Djémil, the beautiful Nouredda - engaged to the Khan- and Naïla, the water sprite. In his first creation for the Paris Opera Ballet, Etoile dance

Jean-Guillaume Bart

Long reputed difficult – if not impossible- to dance, Gustav Mahler’s music has inspired many artists since the 1960s. Kenneth MacMillan, Maurice Béjart, Pina Bausch, Jiří Kylián and Maguy Marin have successfully tackled this challenge. But one name will undoubtedly remain attached to the musician’s: John Neumeier, who explored about ten of Mahler’s works.Created in 1975 in Hamburg, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 entered the Paris Opera’s repertoire in 2009.What seems today obvious was, back then, perceived as an audacious, even bold choice, a crazy and disturbing ambition: few were the choreographers, apart from Maurice Béjart with the Symphony No. 9, who dared to create a choreography on symphonic music.And choosing Mahler’s work, considered to be even harder to apprehend than Beethoven’s, could imply an unusual attraction for complexity. But the result belied the ominous critics, and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 was an immediate (and lasting) success. The Etoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine / Chœur d’enfants de l’Opéra national de ParisA co-production Paris Opera Production and CLC Productions With the participation of France Télévisions, the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and the assistance of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'image animéeDirector: Thomas Grimm © Opéra de Paris Production - CLC Productions 2013 Picture: © Christian Leiber / OnP

La Troisième Symphonie de Gustav Mahler

La Troisième Symphonie de Gustav Mahler_trailer

La Troisième Symphonie De Gustav Mahler

Long reputed difficult – if not impossible- to dance, Gustav Mahler’s music has inspired many artists since the 1960s. Kenneth MacMillan, Maurice Béjart, Pina Bausch, Jiří Kylián and Maguy Marin have successfully tackled this challenge. But one name 