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>

DONQ_240321_YKellerman_0547_DON QUICHOTTE_ R Noureev_Sae Eun Park (c) Yonathan Kellerman OnP

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

Don Quixote (2024)_trailer

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

Rudolf Nureyev

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_trailer

La Bayadère

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

Jewels in Ballet with Les Néréides

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

Charles Perrault’s celebrated tale, set to music by Sergei Prokofiev, is transposed to a film set. In a series of references to the heroes of the American cinema, Rudolf Nureyev propels his Cinderella under the spotlights of Hollywood.With a producer for fairy godmother and a star actor as Prince Charming, she escapes her miserable destiny and sees her dreams come true in a story not without similarities with that of the choreographer, the young Tartar who became an international star.With this “ballet‑metaphor”, the Company pays tribute to its former director Rudolf Nureyev. A great production that celebrates the opening of the Paris Opera’s anniversary year. The Paris Opera Étoiles, Premiers Danseurs and Corps de Ballet Pasdeloup OrchestraAn Arte France, Paris Opera, Bel Air Media coproduction with the support of the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée and the Orange Foundation, patron of audiovisual broadcasts by the Paris Opera© Opéra national de Paris - ARTE France - BEL AIR MEDIA – 2018 Picture: © Yonathan Kellerman / OnP

2018-19-CENDRILLON Valentine Colasante (c) Yonathan Kellerman-Onp

2018-19-CENDR-021 (c) Yonathan Kellerman-Onp

Cinderella_trailer

Cinderella

Charles Perrault’s celebrated tale, set to music by Sergei Prokofiev, is transposed to a film set. In a series of references to the heroes of the American cinema, Rudolf Nureyev propels his Cinderella under the spotlights of Hollywood. With a produce

In Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky took up the legend of the immaculate bird to create some of the most beautiful music ever written for ballet. The choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov left their distinguished mark on this story of an impossible love between an earthly prince and a bird‑princess, refashioning the myth of the swan‑dancer, the ultimate ballerina.When creating his version for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1984, Rudolf Nureyev chose to give it a Freudian dimension, illuminating Tchaikovsky’s poetic dream through a sense of profound hopelessness. The Paris Opera Corps de Ballet The Paris Opera OrchestraA co-production by the Paris Opera and Telmondis, with the participation of France Télévisions, and the support of the CNC and the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts.Director: François-René Martin © Opéra national de Paris – Telmondis – 2019 Picture: © Julien Benhamou / 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>

DSC_6405 (c) Julien Benhamou - OnP

Swan Lake (2018)_trailer

Swan Lake (season 18/19)

In Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky took up the legend of the immaculate bird to create some of the most beautiful music ever written for ballet. The choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov left their distinguished mark on this story of an impossible love 

Swan Lake (2018)

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

Don Quichotte_trailer

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)

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

20161201-LAC-Loboff-06

Le Lac des cygnes

Swan Lake_trailer

Swan Lake

Bastille salle

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

Swan Lake (2016)

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

Giselle_trailer

garnier-opa60 2

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

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

Immerse yourself in a ballet evening at the Palais Garnier. A unique event, the sumptuous Ballet Défilé gathers the Étoiles, soloists and Corps de Ballet dancers and all the students of the Dance School. A dazzling spectacle unveiling the stage up to the Foyer de la danse. The Ballet School students take the spotlight with Ivan Clustine's Suite de danses, an homage to the French school infused with Russian influences from Fokine's Les Sylphides. Set to Chopin's music, the choreographic style born from Romanticism paves the way for 20th-century modernism.A virtuosic showcase of classical technique, Études invites the audience to follow the dancers' work at the barre in the shadows, culminating in a grand display with the entire corps de ballet in the spotlight.Finally, three dancers from the Opera Ballet present Aunis by Jacques Garnier, a ballet evoking the influences of folklore on classical dance. With the Paris Opera Étoiles, Soloists, Corps de Ballet and Ballet School The Paris Opera Orchestra conducted by Frédéric Laroque With the participation of France Télévisions, the support of the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée and the Fondation Orange, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual and digital projects.Director: François Roussillon © Opéra national de Paris – 2014 Picture: © Sébastien Mathé / OnP

Etudes Harald Lander saison 14-15

Ballet Evening at the Palais Garnier_trailer

Ballet Evening at the Palais Garnier

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

Immerse yourself in a ballet evening at the Palais Garnier. A unique event, the sumptuous Ballet Défilé gathers the Étoiles, soloists and Corps de Ballet dancers and all the students of the Dance School. A dazzling spectacle unveiling the stage up to

Défilé / Études / Suite de danses / Aunis

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

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_trailer

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,

Watch full-length recordings of the Paris Opera's greatest classical ballets on POP!

Watch full-length recordings of the Paris Opera's greatest classical ballets on POP! 