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

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. Odette: Young princess transformed into a swan by Rothbart, only eternal love can free her. Odile: Rothbart’s daughter, she takes the appearance of Odette to trick Siegfried. Rothbart: A huge bird of prey, he transforms young women into swans and prevents Siegfried and Odette’s union. Wolfgang: The Prince’s tutor, he mysteriously disappears when Rothbart appears.

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Le Lac des cygnes

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

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

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

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,

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

Solor: A noble and valiant warrior from the Indian kingdom of Golconda. He is in love with Nikiya. Nikiya: Temple dancer and guardian of the Temple’s sacred fire. She is in love with Solor. The High Brahmin: High priest of the temple. He is secretly in love with Nikiya. The Rajah of Golconda: Monarch of the kingdom, father of Gamzatti. He wants her to marry Solor. Gamzatti: The daughter of the Rajah of Golconda and Solor’s fiancée. The Kshatriyas: Friends of Solor and members of the caste holding temporal power. The Slave: Dances with Nikiya at the betrothal of Gamzatti and Solor. Aiya: Gamzatti’s servant. The Golden Idol: Incarnation evoking the god Shiva, holding the position of the lotus flower. The Shades: The ghosts of dead bayadères.

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

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

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

Don Quichotte

Performance at the Opera Bastille, from 21 March to 24 April 2024

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