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

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

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

Jewels in Ballet with Les Néréides

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

In the course of the 19th century, Shakespeare’s works were a constant source of inspiration for the Romantics. In particular, The Tragic History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, one of the English playwright’s most famous plays, dominated by the existential questions of the title role – To be or not to be –, the ghost of his murdered father and his doomed love for Ophelia. Alexandre Dumas père was himself fascinated by this drama and in 1847 he produced a highly successful adaptation. It was on the basis of this version that Michel Carré and Jules Barbier gave Ambroise Thomas the libretto for Hamlet, the last opera to be performed in the Salle Le Peletier.Inspired by the musical and dramaturgical forms of French grand opera, the composer imbues the story with an intensity that contributes to the beauty of the score.A milestone of opera for which Krzysztof Warlikowski, ever fathoming the depths of the human psyche, redraws the Shakespearean contours. The Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus A coproduction ARTE France, Opéra national de Paris and Telmondis, with the support of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée and the Fondation Orange, Sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts  © ARTE France – Opéra national de Paris - Telmondis – 2023

Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, son of Gertrude Ophelia: Daughter of Polonius engaged to Hamlet Gertrud: Queen of Denmark and wife of Claudius Claudius: King of Denmark and uncle of Hamlet Laërte: Ophelia’s brother The King’s Spectre: Ghost of Hamlet’s father Horatio and Marcellus: Friends of Hamlet Polonius: Lord Chamberlain

Hamlet 22-23 

Hamlet_trailer

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Hamlet

In the course of the 19th century, Shakespeare’s works were a constant source of inspiration for the Romantics. In particular, The Tragic History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, one of the English playwright’s most famous plays, dominated by the existe

Ambroise Thomas 

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_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

Rudolf Nureyev

Swan Lake (2016)

After last season’s The Dante Project, the Paris Opera continues to explore the music of contemporary composer Thomas Adès with the French premiere of The Exterminating Angel. Inspired by Luis Buñuel’s 1962 surrealist film, which offered a scathing critique of the bourgeoisie, the work begins with a dinner among upper-class friends in a plush mansion after an opera performance. But, gradually, a mysterious force prevents the fifteen guests from leaving the reception. In this confinement for no apparent reason, drawn out over several days, the veneer of propriety cracks, revealing the worst of human nature.Thomas Adès has written a rich and tense score, amplifying the libretto’s strange atmosphere with unusual instruments such as the ondes Martenot. The Paris Opera has entrusted the staging of this huis-clos to Calixto Bieito. The director has long been fascinated by Buñuel’s universe. The Paris Opera Orchestra and ChorusWith the participation of medici.tv, and the support of the Fondation Orange, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts. © Opéra national de Paris – 2024 Director: François-René Martin

The hosts Edmundo: Marquis de Nobile Lucia de Nobile: his wifeTheir guests Leticia Maynar: an opera singer Leonora Palma Silvia de Ávila: a young widowed mother, duchess of Ávila Francisco de Ávila: her brother Blanca Delgado: a pianist Alberto Roc: her husband, a conductor Beatriz Eduardo: her fiancé Comte Raúl Yebenes: an explorer Colonel Álvaro Gómez Señor Russell Docteur Carlos CondeThe staff Julio: the butler Lucas: the footman Enrique: the waiter Pablo: the cook Meni: a maid Camila: a maidOutside the house Père Sansón Yoli: Silvia’s son

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The Exterminating Angel_trailer

The Exterminating Angel

After last season’s The Dante Project, the Paris Opera continues to explore the music of contemporary composer Thomas Adès with the French premiere of The Exterminating Angel.  Inspired by Luis Buñuel’s 1962 surrealist film, which offered a scathing 

Thomas Adès

A teapot dancing the foxtrot with a Chinese cup, an armchair courting a Louis XV wing chair, objects and animals joining forces against an unruly child: such is the marvellous world that Maurice Ravel brings to life in his “fantaisie lyrique” created in 1925. A finely orchestrated musical gem, in which the composer’s taste for humour, childhood poetry and animals – an affection shared with the writer Colette, who wrote the libretto – is clearly apparent.While the artists of the Academy embody the characters of L’Enfant et les Sortilèges in Richard Jones’ oneiric staging, the students of the Ballet School perform the ballet Ma Mère l’Oye (1912) in Martin Chaix’ inventive choreography.An opera, a ballet: two works by Ravel placed under the sign of childhood and fairy tales, sublimated by the red and golden setting of the Palais Garnier. With the participation of the Paris Opera Ballet School students and the Artists in residence a the Paris Opera Académie The Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus With the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris, chœur d'adulte, and the Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine / Chœur d’enfants de l’Opéra national de Paris Produced, edited and color-graded by Floris Bernard A Paris Opera production Executive production BEL AIR MEDIA© Opéra national de Paris - 2023

Spectacle de l'École de Danse (saison 22/23) - Ma Mère l'Oye de Martin Chaix

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Ma Mère l'Oye / L'Enfant et les Sortilèges_trailer

Ma Mère l'Oye / L'Enfant et les Sortilèges

A teapot dancing the foxtrot with a Chinese cup, an armchair courting a Louis XV wing chair, objects and animals joining forces against an unruly child: such is the marvellous world that Maurice Ravel brings to life in his “fantaisie lyrique” created

Maurice Ravel

“I want a treasure which contains them all! I want youth!” Frustrated by the futile quest for knowledge, the erudite old Faust sells his soul to the devil in exchange for eternal youth and the beautiful Marguerite…Reworking the legend popularised by Goethe, Gounod focuses on the love story and elevates the significance of Marguerite’s fall and ultimate salvation. Choosing to lighten the narrative’s philosophical scope allows him to strike a balance between scenes where the supernatural calls for the visually spectacular and others depicting a universe governed by inward actions and feelings.Transposed to the present day, Tobias Kratzer’s Faust reflects on contemporary society’s obsession with eternal youth. His production’s sophisticated scenography oscillates between hyperrealism and magic, between the world of today and the mysterious atmosphere of German romanticism.The Paris Opera Orchestra and ChorusA coproduction of the Paris Opera and Cinétévé, with the participation of France Télévisions, With the exceptional support of Rolex, Timepiece of the Paris Opera, the Cercle Berlioz 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 animée.Director: Julien Condemine © Opéra national de Paris – Cinétévé – 2021

<ul><li>Doctor Faust</li><li>Méphistophélès</li><li>Marguerite</li><li>Siebel: a student</li><li>Valentin: Marguerite’s brother</li><li>Wagner: a friend of Valentin</li><li>Dame Marthe: Marguerite’s neighbour</li></ul>

01-Faust 20-21 © Monika Rittershaus - OnP

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Faust_trailer

Faust

“I want a treasure which contains them all! I want youth!”Frustrated by the futile quest for knowledge, the erudite old Faust sells his soul to the devil in exchange for eternal youth and the beautiful Marguerite… Reworking the legend popularised by 

Charles François Gounod

Salome, princess of Judea, the daughter‑in‑law of King Herod, finds life in her father‑in‑law’s palace dreary. Her curiosity is roused when she hears the voice of Jochanaan, a prophet held prisoner by Herod who is afraid of him. Obsessed by this enigmatic and virtuous man, Salome is ready to do anything to possess him, dead or alive.Drawing on Oscar Wilde’s scandalous play of the same name, in 1905 Richard Strauss produced the work that was to ensure his status as Wagner’s successor in the history of German opera.“Dance for me, Salome”. From Herod’s lubricious injunction to the young woman stems one of the most emblematic orchestral passages in opera: the dance of the seven veils. A hypnotic interlude in itself sufficient to capture the fatal mounting desire that suffuses this work whose orchestration is as rich as it is modern.A dazzling hour and forty minutes, decadent in its very essence, which, for her debut at the Paris Opera, Lydia Steier treats as a dystopia in which amorality rules.   The Paris Opera OrchestraA co-production of the Paris Opera and Telmondis, with the participation of Mezzo and medici.tv 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 - 2022Picture: © Agathe Poupeney / OnP

<ul><li>Herod: Tetrarch of Judea</li><li>Herodias: Herod’s wife, mother of Salome</li><li>Salome: Princess of Judea, fascinated by Jochanaan</li><li>Jochanaan: Prophet, prisoner of Herod</li><li>Narraboth: Captain of the guard, in love with Salome</li><li>Herodias’ Page: serving in the palace</li><li>Five Jews: who claim Jochanaan from Herod</li><li>Two Nazarenes: who report the miracles of Christ  </li></ul>

2022-23-SALOM-166

Salome_trailer

Salome

Salome, princess of Judea, the daughter‑in‑law of King Herod, finds life in her father‑in‑law’s palace dreary. Her curiosity is roused when she hears the voice of Jochanaan, a prophet held prisoner by Herod who is afraid of him. Obsessed by this enig

Richard Strauss

What is this flame that compels Don Giovanni to seduce, subjugate and conquer women one after the other, with the fervour and cold indifference of a predator securing his prey; to pursue through his conquests some obscure and ever‑elusive objective? For his second collaboration with Da Ponte, Mozart was to brand the history of opera with a hot iron and forever haunt European culture. In this Libertine Punished, Kierkegaard invites us to hear “the whisperings of temptation, the whirlwind of seduction, the silence of the moment”. The Mozart-Da Ponte cycle continues with a Don Giovanni entrusted to director Ivo Van Hove, accustomed to examining the political meaning of works. Orchestra and Chorus of the National Opera of Paris.A co-production of the Opéra national de Paris and Bel air media. With the participation of France Télévisions.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 : Don Kent © Opéra de Paris - Bel air media - 2019Picture: © Charles Duprat / OnP

Don Giovanni: A rake who revels in female conquests Leporello: Don Giovanni’s valet Donna Anna: A young woman assaulted by Don Giovanni Don Ottavio: Donna Anna’s fiancé The Commendatore: Donna Anna’s father, killed by Don Giovanni Donna Elvira: A former conquest of Don Giovanni Zerlina: A young woman of modest means Masetto: Zerlina’s fiancé

Don Giovanni (saison 18/19) - Jacquelyn Wagner (Donna Anna), Étienne Dupuis (Don Giovanni), Philippe Sly (Leporello)

Don Giovanni (saison 18/19) - 20

Don Giovanni_trailer

Don Giovanni

What is this flame that compels Don Giovanni to seduce, subjugate and conquer women one after the other, with the fervour and cold indifference of a predator securing his prey; to pursue through his conquests some obscure and ever‑elusive objective? 