“When I recreate a ballet, I search for the fragrance of the period”, said dancer and choreographer Pierre Lacotte, who died in 2023. In Paquita, that perfume is the heady scent of Spain, mixed with elegant French fragrances. In the Valley of the Bulls, near Saragossa occupied by Napoleon’s armies, Paquita, a young gypsy girl, refuses the advances of an aristocrat, Lucien d’Hervilly, because of her modest condition. But when she saves him from a plot hatched by the Spanish governor, she discovers that her origins are far nobler than she thought… Pierre Lacotte, a lover of the Romantic repertoire, reconstructed Joseph Mazilier’s ballet in 2001. The work had enchanted Théophile Gautier when it premiered at the Paris Opera in 1846 but gradually fell into oblivion despite Marius Petipa’s new version in 1882. With its sumptuous sets and costumes, his Paquita portrays a picturesque Spain combining mime and characterful dances with dazzingly vivacious virtuoso technique.

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Paquita

Bastille salle

Paquita by Pierre Lacotte, from 5 December 2024 to 4 January 2025 at the Opéra Bastille

“When I recreate a ballet, I search for the fragrance of the period”, said dancer and choreographer Pierre Lacotte, who died in 2023. In Paquita, that perfume is the heady scent of Spain, mixed with elegant French fragrances.In the Valley of the Bull

Pierre Lacotte

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

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)

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

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

Inspired by Marius Petipa’s choreography, Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote is a true celebration of dance with a Spanish flavour. The soloists and the Corps de Ballet are carried away in ensembles and pas de deux to the strains of a spirited score. Written in the 17th century, Cervantes’ novel recounts the adventures of Don Quixote, an idealist and bookworm who one day decides to ride across Spain with the naive Sancho Panza. In Nureyev’s ballet they meet Kitri and Basilio. The two lovers use every trick in the book – from a puppet performance to a fake suicide – to be reunited, despite Kitri’s father’s resistance. In the end it is Don Quixote who delivers the happy ending after battling windmills and crossing paths with Cupid, Dulcinea and the Queen of the Dryads. The costumes and colourful sets sublimate a vivacious and entertaining work. The Etoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera OrchestraA co-production of the Paris Opera, ARTE France and François Roussillon et Associés, with the support of the Orange Foundation, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée.

<ul><li>Kitri: Lorenzo’s daughter, in love with Basilio but betrothed to Gamache</li><li>Basilio: Penniless barber, in love with Kitri</li><li>Don Quixote: Knight errant who sets out to conquer the world</li><li>Camacho: Rich peasant, betrothed to Kitri</li><li>Lorenzo: Innkeeper, Kitri’s father</li><li>Sancho Panza: Don Quichotte’s loyal squire</li><li>The Queen of the Dryads: Nymph and guardian of the forests</li></ul>

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DONQ_240321_YKellerman_0777_DON QUICHOTTE_ R Noureev_Paul Marque Sae Eun Park (c) Yonathan Kellerman OnP

Don Quixote (2024)

Inspired by Marius Petipa’s choreography, Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote is a true celebration of dance with a Spanish flavour. The soloists and the Corps de Ballet are carried away in ensembles and pas de deux to the strains of a spirited score.Writte

A comic yet tragic universal figure lost in his own world and out of place in the world of his contemporaries, ridiculous yet imposing, admirable yet pitiful, Don Quixote knows neither deceitfulness, abnegation, nor betrayal. The loss of his ideals and the surrender of principles: this was the death of Don Quixote.From the 17th century onwards, the character has inspired numerous avatars, not just literary ones, but in the fields of music and dance too. Their authors only had to draw from the abundance of episodes in the Cervantes novel—a veritable catalogue of adventures and anecdotes—which never fails to provide subject matter for artists short on inspiration.During the 19th century, all of Spain became a source of artistic creativity, almost to the point of cliché. Harsh, noble or picturesque, the work offers the best of itself through Mérimée’s pen, Bizet’s baton or Edouard Manet’s brush.With Marius Petipa, it gave rise to several ballets, including the famous Don Quixote. In Moscow and then Saint Petersburg, it was the same resounding success in successive adaptations by Petipa himself or by Alexander Gorski.The episode from the novel retained by the choreographer, the wedding of Kitri and Basil, paints the happiest aspect of the story. The shimmering colours and the character dances, together with the whirlwind of gypsies and beautiful Andalusian girls, were a huge success with audiences, won over as much by the new choreographic style as by the Iberian exoticism.In the following century, a young dancer by the name of Rudolf Nureyev would himself triumph in the very ballet that made the the Russian School famous. His memories of the work would accompany him to France where he revived it. In 1966, Nureyev staged his version of Don Quixote for the Vienna Opera Ballet, before revising it for its entry into the repertoire of the Paris Opera in 1981.Since then, the Knight of the sad face has never really left the stage of the Opera. Presented since 2002 with new sets and costumes inspired by the paintings of Goya, each of its appearances enjoys the same endlessly renewed triumph. The Etoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera OrchestraA co-production of Opéra de Paris Production, ARTE France and François Roussillon et Associés with 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 Animée.Director: François Roussillon © 2012 – Opéra national de Paris production – ARTE France – François Roussillon et AssociésPicture: © Julien Benhamou / OnP

<ul><li>Kitri: Lorenzo’s daughter, in love with Basilio but betrothed to Gamache</li><li>Basilio: Penniless barber, in love with Kitri</li><li>Don Quixote: Knight errant who sets out to conquer the world</li><li>Camacho: Rich peasant, betrothed to Kitri</li><li>Lorenzo: Innkeeper, Kitri’s father</li><li>Sancho Panza: Don Quichotte’s loyal squire</li><li>The Queen of the Dryads: Nymph and guardian of the forests</li></ul>

Don Quichotte

A comic yet tragic universal figure lost in his own world and out of place in the world of his contemporaries, ridiculous yet imposing, admirable yet pitiful, Don Quixote knows neither deceitfulness, abnegation, nor betrayal. The loss of his ideals a

Don Quixote (2012)

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

In the 1830s, during the period of the Restauration, Julien Sorel, an irresistible young 18-year‑old, experiences a meteoric rise. A protégé of the abbé Chélan, he gains access to the world of the aristocracy and finds himself at the very heart of the struggle for power. Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black) is the story of a tumultuous life in which love proves to be the most dangerous of passions. Madame de Rênal and Mathilde de La Mole lead the protagonist through the twists and intrigues of a 19th century in which desire, politics and religion form the backdrop for a brilliant character study.In sumptuous sets and costumes which he himself has conceived, Pierre Lacotte, who reconstituted La Sylphide, Paquita and Coppélia, now offers us an entirely new creation based on Stendhal’s novel of the same name, accompanied by a musical anthology from Jules Massenet. With the Paris Opera Étoiles, First soloists and Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera OrchestraA coproduction Opéra national de Paris, Telmondis and NHK With the participation of France Télévisions, and the support of the Fondation Orange, Sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and the CNC - Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée

Julien Sorel: Young provincial, a carpenter’s son Madame de Rênal: Wife of the mayor of Verrières Mathilde de la Mole: Daughter of the Marquis de la Mole Élisa: Madame de Rênal’s housekeeper Monsieur de Rênal: Mayor of Verrières The Abbé Chélan: Julien Sorel’s protector The Abbé Castanède: Director of the seminary of Verrières The Maréchale de Fervaques: Prominent figure in Parisian salons The Marquise de la Mole: Mathilde’s mother

Le Rouge et le Noir (saison 21/22) - Bianca Scudamore (Mathilde de la Mole) 

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LE ROUGE ET LE NOIR 

Le Rouge et le Noir

In the 1830s, during the period of the Restauration, Julien Sorel, an irresistible young 18-year‑old, experiences a meteoric rise. A protégé of the abbé Chélan, he gains access to the world of the aristocracy and finds himself at the very heart of th

Edgar Degas devoted half of his artistic life to dance and ballerinas, haunting the rehearsal studios, the corridors of the street Le Peletier and, later, the Palais Garnier. He was not solely captivated by movement: the hard work and discipline of these children dressed with silk and tulle, the golds of the theatre house, the backstage, the dust, the youth and femininity of simple and mysterious beings also fascinated him.Freed from her glass prison, the famous wax sculpture named the Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer takes life under the gaze of choreographer Patrice Bart.Basing his work on the true story of Marie Van Goethem, who was Degas’ model, Bart delves into the past of the Opera and tells us the sorrowful fate of one of the Corps de Ballet’s ballerinas, and, above all, depicts us the scent of an era.From the rehearsal studios to the artist’s workshop, from a sulfurous cabaret to jail, the settings unveil the Palais Garnier and its backstage, along with the “working-class” Paris of the end of the 19th century. The Etoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet With the participation of the Paris Opera Ballet School students The Paris Opera OrchestraA co-production of Opéra national de Paris, Telmondis and Bel Air Media With the participation of France Télévisions, Mezzo and Ciel Ecran and with the support of the Centre National de la Cinématographie.Director: Vincent BataillonPicture: ©Julien Benhamou / OnP

La Petite danseuse de Degas 

La Petite Danseuse de Degas 

La Petite danseuse de Degas

Edgar Degas devoted half of his artistic life to dance and ballerinas, haunting the rehearsal studios, the corridors of the street Le Peletier and, later, the Palais Garnier. He was not solely captivated by movement: the hard work and discipline of t

Patrice Bart

Inspired by L’Abbé Prévost’s legendary heroes, Kenneth MacMillan expresses his fascination for lost characters and dramatic subjects. The choreographer stays faithful to the novel’s plot and reconstructs the tragic story of the sensual yet naïve creature who is more victim than demiurge of her own fate.In Regency Paris, bourgeois society gorges itself on luxury and easy pleasures. Swept by this swirl, Manon can’t resist the temptations, dragging down with her her faithful lover Des Grieux.The choreographer structures his ballet on a mosaic of extracts by Massenet, choosing a music that brings drama, freshness and romance necessary to this great dance fresco. The crowd and ball scenes are followed by intimate, lively pas de deux, right up to the ballet’s sublime and tragic end.This recording was made during the farewell to the stage of the Dancer Etoile Aurélie Dupont. The Etoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera OrchestraA co-production of the Paris Opera, La Belle Télé and Mezzo With the participation of France Télévisions and the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'image animéeDirector: Cédric Klapisch Co-director: Miguel Octave © Opéra national de Paris – La Belle Télé – Mezzo - 2015Visuel : © Anne Deniau / OnP

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L'Histoire de Manon

Performance at the Palais Garnier, from 19 June to 15 July 2023

Inspired by L’Abbé Prévost’s legendary heroes, Kenneth MacMillan expresses his fascination for lost characters and dramatic subjects. The choreographer stays faithful to the novel’s plot and reconstructs the tragic story of the sensual yet naïve crea

Kenneth MacMillan

The ultimate romantic ballet, Giselle marked the apogee of a new aesthetic that saw diaphanous tutus, white gauze, tulle and tarlatan take over the stage. The Willis bring the illusion of immateriality to this ghostly transfiguration of a tragedy.First performed at the Académie royale de Musique on June 28, 1841, the ballet travelled to Russia, then temporarily disappeared from the repertoire before finally returning to France in 1910. Today’s version by Patrice Bart and Eugene Polyakov – which closely follows Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot’s original choreography – continues to reaffirm the ballet’s early success.Bright, earthly scenes and spectral, nocturnal visions: dance becomes the language of the soul and the ballerina’s ethereal presence seems to defy gravity. <hr>The Étoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet The Pasdeloup OrchestraA coproduction Opéra national de Paris, François Roussillon et Associés With the participation of France Télévisions and TF1, the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the audiovisual retransmissions of the Opéra National de Paris and the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée.Director: François Roussillon © Opéra national de Paris – François Roussillon et Associés -2020Picture: © Svetlana Loboff / OnP

<ul><li>Giselle: A young peasant girl. She falls in love with Loys, who turns out to be Duke Albrecht. Consumed by madness, she dies of a broken heart at the end of Act I.</li><li>Albrecht: Duke of Silesia. Already betrothed to Princess Bathilde, he seduces Giselle during the harvest season.</li><li>Myrtha: Queen of the Wilis, spirits of young maidens who have died before their wedding day. At night, they lure men into a deadly dance.</li><li>Hilarion: The village gamekeeper who is in love with Giselle. He reveals Albrecht’s true identity then dies, punished by the Wilis.</li></ul>

Giselle

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Performance at the Palais Garnier, from 02 May to 01 June 2024

The ultimate romantic ballet, Giselle marked the apogee of a new aesthetic that saw diaphanous tutus, white gauze, tulle and tarlatan take over the stage. The Willis bring the illusion of immateriality to this ghostly transfiguration of a tragedy.  F

Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot

The mysterious, unwavering chant of the English horn, punctuated by notes from the bassoon and the clarinet, follows its chromatic descent over twenty bars as if plunging into an unknown world. A world where Iolanta has lived in seclusion since her birth. She is unwittingly blind, since no one has the right to reveal the fact to her. This simple tale of collective denial at the court of Provence as narrated by the Danish writer Henrik Hertz in his play King René’s Daughter, was discovered by Tchaikovsky in 1883. However, moved beyond words by the presence of the young actress Elena Konstantinova Leshkovskaya in the title role, it would be another five years before the composer decided to transform it into an opera. Should we believe him when he claims that “the dukes, knights and noble damsels of the Middle Ages had captivated his imagination, but not his heart”? Would the fate of the heroine, like a rite of passage from darkness to light, from lies to truth, not rekindle his own wounds which ended up carrying him to his grave less than a year after the double premiere of Iolanta and The Nutcracker at Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre on December 18th 1892?Directed for the stage by Dmitri Tcherniakov, this exceptional programme combines all the talents of the Paris Opera and offers an opera and a ballet in a single evening: Tchaikovsky originally intended Iolanta and The Nutcracker to be staged together. However, since their debut performance at Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre in 1892, they have been presented separately. The composer found inspiration for his opera in Danish playwright Henrik Hertz’s work recounting the romantic story of Iolanta, the blind daughter of King René. Protected by her father in his Provençal château, the princess ultimately regains her sight before marrying the gallant knight Vaudémont. The Nutcracker is based on a tale by Hoffmann adapted by Alexandre Dumas. Like a two-sided mirror reflecting the dreams of a composer who took refuge in the realms of the imaginary, the Paris Opera is reviving the original diptych. Alain Altinoglu conducts and Dmitri Tcherniakov stages this production that symbolises the link between opera and ballet.Orchestre et Choeurs de l’Opéra national de Paris Le Corps de Ballet de l’Opéra national de Paris Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine Chœur d’enfants de l’Opéra national de Paris Avec la participation d’élèves d’écoles de danse parisiennes.Une coproduction Opéra national de Paris et Bel Air Media With the participation of France Télévisions and the support of the Orange Foundation, sponsor of the audiovisual retransmissions of the Paris National Opera, and the National Center for Cinema and Moving Images. Director : Andy Sommer© Opéra national de Paris – Bel Air Media – France 2016Picture: ©Agathe Poupeney / OnP

Iolanta / Casse-Noisette - 5

Iolanta / The Nutcracker

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Performance of The Nutcracker by Noureyev at the Opera Bastille, from 08 December 2023 to 01 January 2024

The mysterious, unwavering chant of the English horn, punctuated by notes from the bassoon and the clarinet, follows its chromatic descent over twenty bars as if plunging into an unknown world. A world where Iolanta has lived in seclusion since her b

Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky / Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Edouard Lock, Arthur Pita

Iolanta/The Nutcracker

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

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

In this production created for the Opera Ballet in 1984, Rudolf Nureyev opted for powerful dramatization. Splendour and violence, truculence and beauty mingle, rekindling the passion of Shakespeare’s drama.Scrupulously adhering to Prokofiev’s score, itself very close to the play, the choreographer produced a version of Romeo and Juliet in which “the young boy becomes a man” opposite a passionate Juliet who, barely out of childhood, also tragically enters womanhood. Their love cannot be openly declared, as their respective families, the Montagues and the Capulets, are locked into an ancestral feud...Inspired by the Italian Renaissance, the sumptuous sets and costumes by Ezio Frigerio and Mauro Pagano transport us to a painstakingly recreated Verona. The Étoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera OrchestraA coproduction Opéra national de Paris and La Belle Télé With the participation of France Télévisions, the support of the ORANGE Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts and Chanel, patron of the Paris Opera Ballet, as well as the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'image animée The Paris Opera thanks the donors of the Romeo and Juliet recording for their generous support.Director: Nathan Benisty © Opéra national de Paris – La Belle Télé – 2021Picture: © Agathe Poupeney / OnP

<ul><li>Romeo: A son of the House of Montague. Initially in love with Rosaline, he becomes enamoured with Juliet at the Capulets’ ball</li><li>Juliet: A daughter of the House of Capulet. She is betrothed to Paris but in love with Romeo</li><li>Tybalt: Juliet’s cousin. He is killed by Romeo to avenge the death of his friend Mercutio</li><li>Mercutio: A friend of Romeo. He is killed by Tybalt</li><li>Benvolio: A friend and cousin of Romeo</li><li>Rosaline: Romeo’s first love, albeit unrequited</li><li>Paris: A young Lord of Verona, in love with Juliet. He dies by Romeo’s hand in Juliet’s tomb</li><li>Lord Capulet: The head of the House of Capulet</li><li>Lady Capulet: The wife of Lord Capulet</li><li>The Nursemaid: Juliet’s confidante</li><li>Friar Laurence: A monk and Romeo’s confessor. He secretly marries the two lovers</li></ul>

Roméo et Juliette

Romeo and Juliet

In this production created for the Opera Ballet in 1984, Rudolf Nureyev opted for powerful dramatization. Splendour and violence, truculence and beauty mingle, rekindling the passion of Shakespeare’s drama. Scrupulously adhering to Prokofiev’s score,

Discover a selection of performances featuring characters with a larger-than-life quality, and romantic stories blending together comedy, tragedy, fantasy, love and passion.

Discover a selection of performances featuring characters with a larger-than-life quality, and romantic stories blending together comedy, tragedy, fan