Drawing on ancient Slavic and Norse mythology where destiny is often born out of the mysterious forces of nature, Swan Lake has become a legend in its own right. Tchaikovsky’s first ballet score is imbued with a deep sense of nostalgia, echoing the composer’s own experience of love as elusive as it was impossible.However the work remained misunderstood until 1895 when Marius Petipa undertook his own choreographic interpretation. With the help of Lev Ivanov, Petipa created majestic figures for the female corps de ballet and breathed life into the swan‑dancer.In Rudolf Nureyev’s “Freudian” version, conceived for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1984, Prince Siegfried, manipulated by the evil Rothbart, shuns the realities of power and marriage to take refuge in dreams where a magic lake symbolizing idealised love appears to him.Nureyev elevated the role of the prince to that of the heroine by giving him a deeper psychological dimension whilst opting to give this masterly action ballet a tragic denouement more in tune with its musical substance. The Etoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera OrchestraA co-production of the Paris National Opera and François Roussillon et Associés, with the participation of Medici.tv / MUSEEC, the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris National Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and with the assistance of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'image animée.Director: François Roussillon © Opéra national de Paris - François Roussillon et Associés - 2016Picture: © Svetlana Loboff / OnP

<ul><li>Siegfried: Young prince in love with Odette, he swears fidelity to her and seeks to save her from her curse. Unfortunately he is deceived by Rothbart and Odile.</li><li>Odette: Young princess transformed into a swan by Rothbart, only eternal love can free her.</li><li>Odile: Rothbart’s daughter, she takes the appearance of Odette to trick Siegfried.</li><li>Rothbart: A huge bird of prey, he transforms young women into swans and prevents Siegfried and Odette’s union.</li><li>Wolfgang: The Prince’s tutor, he mysteriously disappears when Rothbart appears.</li></ul>

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Le Lac des cygnes

Swan Lake

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Performance at the Opera Bastille, from 21 June to 14 July 2024

Drawing on ancient Slavic and Norse mythology where destiny is often born out of the mysterious forces of nature, Swan Lake has become a legend in its own right. Tchaikovsky’s first ballet score is imbued with a deep sense of nostalgia, echoing the c

Rudolf Nureyev

Swan Lake (2016)

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>

Live Bayadere

La Bayadère

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

Roland Petit’s first piece for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1965, Notre-Dame de Paris brings together all the ingredients of a grand spectacle. The ballet was inspired by Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, with its colourful characters: the beautiful Esmerelda, the touching Quasimodo, the machiavellian Frollo and the cynical Pheobus.With colourful and graphic costumes by Yves Saint Laurent and sets by the painter René Allio that recreate the splendour of the Parisian cathedral, the choreography, sustained by the ensemble of the company’s dancers, translates all the expressive power of characters plunged into a saga of love and death.To mark the tenth anniversary of the choreographer’s death, the Corps de Ballet revives this magnificent fresco in dance on the stage of Opera Bastille. The Étoiles, the Premiers danseurs, the Premières danseuses and the Paris Opera Corps de BalletA coproduction of the Paris Opera and Telmondis, with the participation of France télévision With the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'image animée.Director: François-René Martin © Opéra national de Paris – Telmondis - 2021

<ul><li>Quasimodo: the bell-ringer</li><li>Esmeralda: the Bohemian</li><li>Frollo: the archdeacon of Notre-Dame</li><li>Phoebus: the captain of the King’s Archers</li></ul>

Notre-Dame de Paris

Roland Petit’s first piece for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1965, Notre-Dame de Paris brings together all the ingredients of a grand spectacle. The ballet was inspired by Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, with its colourful characters: the beautiful Esmerelda,

Roland Petit

In a tribute to this choreographer who died fifteen years ago, the Paris Opera Ballet presents three works initially created during the seventies and which all shine with equal choreographic and musical intensity.The mythical Boléro espouses Ravel’s eponymous score. Surrounded by dancers, alone on a table, the principal performer – male or female – is transported by the voluptuous rhythms into an erotic and hypnotic dance that is like a vibrant call to life.   For The Firebird, an ode to youth designed for the company’s dancers, the choreographer took up Stravinsky’s powerful score bringing out its quintessence. Young “partisans” recharge their ardour and their energy at the well‑spring of life represented by the Firebird.Finally, Le Chant du compagnon errant, written for two male dancers, is an intimate work to a song cycle by Mahler highlighting all the rigour and grace of Béjart’s language. The Paris Opera Ballet Étoiles, Soloists and Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera OrchestraA coproduction of the Paris Opera and Telmondis, with the participation of France Télévisions, the support of the CNC and the Fondation Orange, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts.Director: Louise Narboni © Opéra national de Paris - Telmondis - 2023

BOLERO (Maurice Béjart), Amandine Albisson (c) Julien Benhamou OnP_DSC3645_

Maurice Béjart_trailer

Maurice Béjart

In a tribute to this choreographer who died fifteen years ago, the Paris Opera Ballet presents three works initially created during the seventies and which all shine with equal choreographic and musical intensity. The mythical Boléro espouses Ravel’s

Boléro / The Firebird / Le Chant du compagnon errant

Four contemporary choreographers come together for a programme that leads the Opera’s dancers to a new form of modernity where bodies vibrate with intensity.To open the evening, James Thierrée takes over the public areas of the Palais Garnier and introduces us to his dream-like world. Canada’s Crystal Pite returns with The Seasons’ Canon, a dazzling creation that thrilled audiences at the Palais Garnier last season. Spain’s Iván Pérez occupies the stage of the Opera for the first time with a creation for ten male dancers. To conclude the evening, Israel’s Hofesh Shechter, often lauded for his telluric, trance-evoking dances, offers a new version of his piece The Art of Not Looking Back.

 Les Étoiles, les Premiers Danseurs et le Corps de Ballet

A co-production of the Paris Opera, BEL AIR MEDIA and ARTE France With the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animéeDirectors: Cédric Klapisch, Miguel Octave © Opéra national de Paris – Bel Air Media / France 2018Picture: © Agathe Poupeney / OnP

Soirée Thierrée / Shechter / Pérez / Pite

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Performance of The Seasons' Canon by Noureyev at the Palais Garnier, from 23 September to 12 October 2023

Four contemporary choreographers come together for a programme that leads the Opera’s dancers to a new form of modernity where bodies vibrate with intensity. To open the evening, James Thierrée takes over the public areas of the Palais Garnier and in

Thierrée / Shechter / Pérez / Pite

Thierrée / Shechter / Pérez / Pite Evening

Watch Étoile dancer Amandine Albisson online in a selction of classical and contemporary ballets:&nbsp;Swan Lake (Odette/Odile) by Rudolf Nureyev, La Bayadère (Nikiya, act II) by Rudolf Nureyev, Notre-Dame de Paris (Esmeralda) by Roland Petit, Boléro by Maurice Béjart, Frôlons by James Thierrée.

Watch Étoile dancer Amandine Albisson online in a selction of classical and contemporary ballets:&nbsp;Swan Lake (Odette/Odile) by Rudolf Nureyev, La 