Entitled Roots, this programme explores those of George Balanchine who, in Theme and Variations, created in 1947 in New York, adopted Tchaikovsky’s music to pay homage to the Russian academic tradition that nurtured him. Christopher Wheeldon, for his part, draws on the heritage of ancient Greece for his ballet Corybantic Games, making its repertoire debut at the Opera. The title refers as much to the frenzy that characterised the conducting style of Leonard Bernstein – whose music informs the piece – as it does to the Corybantes, the priests of the goddess Cybele with their martial dances. Finally, Rhapsodies enters the repertoire to George Gershwin’s score. In his piece, Cape Town-born choreographer Mthuthuzeli November evokes both urban energy and his African origins.

RACINES - 1

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Racines_trailer

RACINES - 2

2018-19-DELAG-084 - Opéra Bastille

Roots, from 6 October to 10 November 2025 at the Opéra Bastille

Entitled Roots, this programme explores those of George Balanchine who, in Theme and Variations, created in 1947 in New York, adopted Tchaikovsky’s music to pay homage to the Russian academic tradition that nurtured him.Christopher Wheeldon, for his 

George Balanchine / Mthuthuzeli‎ November / Christopher‎ Wheeldon

Roots

Numerous choreographers have delved into Shakespeare to find dramatic material for their ballets, beginning with Jean-Georges Noverre, an ardent defender of the “action ballet” and Marius Petipa, who was the first to use Mendelssohn’s stage music. George Balanchine, who also loved the score, would prove no exception.In 1962 he created his version of Shakespeare’s comedy for New York City Ballet. Faithful to the Bard’s vocabulary whilst adding a subtle touch of pantomime, he portrays a complex love story in two acts and six scenes.Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, become caught up in a domestic quarrel between the king of the elves and the queen of the fairies which results in the intervention of the mischievous Puck and his magic potion along with a troupe of amateur actors. The denouement is celebrated in the form of a grand virtuoso entertainment.One of George Balanchine’s rare narrative ballets, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is entering the Paris Opera Ballet’s repertoire. The sets and costumes for this production have been designed by another magician of the stage, Christian Lacroix. The Étoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet, with the participation of the Paris Opera Ballet School students Paris Opera Orchestra and ChorusA co-production of Opéra national de Paris and Telmondis With the participation of France Télévisions, NHK With the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts And with the support of the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée.Director: Vincent Bataillon © Opéra national de Paris - Telmondis - 2017Picture: © Agathe Poupeney / OnP

<ul><li>Titania: Queen of the Fairies</li><li>Oberon: King of the Fairies</li><li>Hermia: In love with Lysander</li><li>Lysander: Beloved of Hermia</li><li>Helena: In love with Demetrius</li><li>Demetrius: Suitor to Hermia</li><li>Hippolyta: Queen of the Amazons</li><li>Theseus: Duke of Athens</li><li>Bottom</li><li>A weaver  </li><li>Puck</li><li>The first Butterfly</li><li>Divertissement’s Principals</li></ul>

Le songe d'une nuit d'été

A Midsummer Night's Dream_trailer

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Numerous choreographers have delved into Shakespeare to find dramatic material for their ballets, beginning with Jean-Georges Noverre, an ardent defender of the “action ballet” and Marius Petipa, who was the first to use Mendelssohn’s stage music. Ge

George Balanchine

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

Notre-Dame de Paris_trailer

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

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

Soirée Thierrée / Shechter / Pérez / Pite_trailer

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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

Crystal Pite / James Thierrée / Hofesh Shechter / Iván Pérez

The Seasons' Canon / Frôlons / The Art of Not Looking Back / The Male Dancer

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

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

Both similar and different, two French composers and two choreographers of the New York City Ballet – Georges Balanchine who founded it and Benjamin Millepied who was trained there- are the heart of this evening.Georges Balanchine set his first creation for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1947 to an early work by Bizet, Le Palais de cristal, as a tribute to the company and the French ballet tradition.A refine work intrinsically connected to music, this piece is a model of academic virtuosity, unfolding in the wonderful case designed by an artist of colours and lights, Christian Lacroix.With Daphnis and Chloe, Benjamin Millepied offered his third creation to the Paris Opera Ballet, reviving the myth with the help of his friend Daniel Buren.Inspired by Balanchine, the choreographer drew his inspiration on the rhythms and colours of a “chorographical symphony” by Ravel for orchestra and chorus.These masterpieces of French music are conducted by Philippe Jordan who accompanies, for the first time, the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet. The Étoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera Orchestra and ChorusA co-production of the Paris Opera, Telmondis and Mezzo With the participation of France Télévisions - With the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts and with the assistance of the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animéeDirector: François Goetghebeur © Opéra national de Paris – Telmondis - Mezzo - 2014Picture: © Agathe Poupeney / OnP

Daphnis et Chloé - 17

George Balanchine / Benjamin Millepied Evening_trailer

George Balanchine / Benjamin Millepied Evening

Both similar and different, two French composers and two choreographers of the New York City Ballet – Georges Balanchine who founded it and Benjamin Millepied who was trained there- are the heart of this evening. Georges Balanchine set his first crea

George Balanchine, Benjamin Millepied

Le Palais de Cristal / Daphnis et Chloé

With a modern and figurative stage set, intertwining Sibelius' Violin Concerto with a musical creation by Celeste Oram, Pit takes the audience into a sensual, tribal and dramatic universe.Both trained at the Batsheva Dance Company under Ohad Naharin, Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber present Pit, their first creation for the Paris Opera Ballet.Born in Iowa, Bobbi Jene Smith joined Batsheva in 2005. In 2014, she embarked on a career as a choreographer, creating works for the Martha Graham Dance Company, the L.A. Dance Project and the Royal Danish Ballet. Born in Israel, Or Schraiber joined Naharin’s Company in 2010. He has directed, choreographed and acted in several short films.Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber share a strong attraction to the world of cinema, and they starred and danced in Aviva in 2020. The Paris Opera Corps de Ballet and the Paris Opera OrchestraDirector: Tommy Pascal © Opéra national de Paris

PIT2223_YKellerman_0316_GEN.1759_PIT_Bobbi Jene Smith Or Schraiber (c) Yonathan Kellerman OnP

With a modern and figurative stage set, intertwining Sibelius' Violin Concerto with a musical creation by Celeste Oram, Pit takes the audience into a sensual, tribal and dramatic universe. Both trained at the Batsheva Dance Company under Ohad Naharin

Bobbi Jene Smith, Or Schraiber

To mark Paris Fashion Week, POP presents a selection of ballets whose costumes and sets were designed by leading fashion designers: from Christian Lacroix's creations for Le Palais de Cristal, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and La Source to costumes by ALAÏA by Pieter Mulier and Alejandro Palomo for The Male Dancer.&nbsp;

To mark Paris Fashion Week, POP presents a selection of ballets whose costumes and sets were designed by leading fashion designers: from Christian Lac