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

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

Jewels in Ballet 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

Filled with eerie images on the border of reality and dream, Jiří Kylián's work blends oneirism and wry humour. Set to music by John Cage and Anton Webern, Stepping Stones pays tribute to the memory and heritage of dance. On stage, Egyptian cats are the guardians of tradition.Three new pieces by Kylián enter the Ballet's repertoire this season. Petite Mort poetically explores the double theme of death: the lesser one symbolising orgasm and the greater one that brings life to a close. Pas de deux and swordplay alternate against a backdrop of Mozart concertos.Sechs Tänze extends the Mozartian universe and caricatures it in a series of dances with a quirky sense of humour, while Gods and Dogs explores the borderline between normality and madness: when dogs become gods and vice versa. In a midnight blue light, the dancers perform in front of delicate strings that recall those of a Beethoven quartet. The Étoiles, the Premières Danseuses, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet Recorded music   Director: Floris Bernard Production exécutive BEL AIR MEDIA © Opéra national de Paris - 2023

ann-ray-jiri-kylian-0896_PETITE MORT_J Kylian_L Baulac B Battistoni A Philbert L Devignes S Saint-Martin (cà ann ray OnP

Stepping Stones (Jiri Kylian) © Icare - OnP 7924-7 2004

Jiří Kylián_trailer

Jiří Kylián

Filled with eerie images on the border of reality and dream, Jiří Kylián's work blends oneirism and wry humour. Set to music by John Cage and Anton Webern, Stepping Stones pays tribute to the memory and heritage of dance. On stage, Egyptian cats are 

Stepping Stones, Gods and Dogs, Petite Mort, Sechs Tänze

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

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

Created in 1997 for the Paris Opera Ballet, this work was born out of the painter Olivier Debré’s desire to paint a series of abstract tableaux: evocations of that primordial sign, the smile. Taking these flamboyant painted scenes as her starting point, representing different places in the world like so many different emotional states and humours, the choreographer Carolyn Carlson sets her dancers in motion to an original score by René Aubry and gives life to a dreamlike piece.A ballet that has since become a cult work in the Paris Opera repertoire, Signes embodies the links between painting, music and dance and extends them to the stage.The Étoiles, the Premières Danseuses, the Premiers Danseurs and the Paris Opera Corps de BalletWith the support of the Orange Foundation, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts.© Opéra national de Paris - 2023 Picture: © Agathe Poupeney / OnP

230616-054BF_SIGNES_Carolyn Carlson_Awa Joannais Sofia Rosolini Victoire Anquetil (c) Benoîte Fanton OnP

BA_Signes

Signes

Created in 1997 for the Paris Opera Ballet, this work was born out of the painter Olivier Debré’s desire to paint a series of abstract tableaux: evocations of that primordial sign, the smile. Taking these flamboyant painted scenes as her starting poi

Carolyn Carlson

If Handel were alive today, he would be termed resilient. In 1734‑1735, when the public had cooled towards him and his contract with the King’s Theatre drew to a close, the composer began to write Ariodante, an “opera seria” intended for the opening of the brand new Theatre Royal in Covent Garden. As if galvanised by adversity, he produced a radiant work, as virtuoso as the libretto, drawn from an episode of Arioste’s Orlando Furioso, is simple: Ginevra, a Scottish princess, is in love with Ariodante to whom she is betrothed, but a conspiracy led by the traitor Polinesso results in her being accused of infidelity.As well as giving us Handel’s most beautiful lament, this inspired score abounds throughout in virtuoso arias and breathes theatrical intelligence. Enough to inspire Robert Carsen who, in the wake of his legendary Paris Opera production of Alcina, composed the same year, signs a new production of Ariodante. The English Concert Chœurs de l’Opéra national de ParisCoproduction with the Metropolitan Opera, New-York With the support of the Orange Foundation, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts.© Opéra national de Paris - 2023 Picture: © plainpicture / Narratives / Brent Darby

The King of Scotland: Ginevra’s father Ginevra: Daughter of the King of Scotland, betrothed to Ariodante Ariodante: Feudal Prince, Ginevra’s fiancéLurcanio: Ariodante’s brother, in love with Dalinda Polinesso: Duke of Albany Dalinda: Ginevra’s lady-in-waiting, secretly in love with Polinesso Odoardo: King’s secretary

Ariodante 22-23 © Agathe Poupeney-OnP (4)

Ariodante_trailer

fr / en

Ariodante

If Handel were alive today, he would be termed resilient. In 1734‑1735, when the public had cooled towards him and his contract with the King’s Theatre drew to a close, the composer began to write Ariodante, an “opera seria” intended for the opening 

Georg Friedrich Handel

Guided by a strange voice under the flickering light of a flush-fitting ceiling lamp, two men observe one another and then confront each other. This duo soon becomes a crowd, a swell, which comes alive to the rhythm of Chopin’s preludes. Crystal Pite’s second creation for the Paris Opera Ballet, Body and Soul serves up waves of words and gestures which form the material for a secret narrative. Through the movement of the dancers, the words of a woman never cease to manifest themselves, like a duet between body and soul. Exploring the theme of mourning and bereavement, the Canadian choreographer presents the conflicting urges and impulses that challenge the unity of each of us. In a mysterious twilight awash with sound effects, this dramatically powerful three-act ballet progresses, not without humour, towards an exuberant and stimulating finale.  Les Étoiles, les Premiers Danseurs et le Corps de Ballet de l’OpéraWith the participation of France Télévisions, 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. A co-production of the Opéra national de Paris and La Belle TéléDirector: Tommy PascalOpéra national de Paris - La Belle Télé - 2020 Visuals © Julien Benhamou / OnP

Body and Soul

Body and Soul_trailer

Guided by a strange voice under the flickering light of a flush-fitting ceiling lamp, two men observe one another and then confront each other. This duo soon becomes a crowd, a swell, which comes alive to the rhythm of Chopin’s preludes. Crystal Pite

Crystal Pite

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>

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)

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

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)

In February 1972, the American president Richard Nixon went to China to meet Mao Zedong. In the context of the war in Vietnam and the cold war, this encounter marked a turning point in Chinese‑ American relations. John Adams, a major musical figure of the last forty years, made this event of contemporary history the subject of his first opera.Nixon in China tackles the political thaw instigated by ping-pong diplomacy, begun by the invitation of the American table tennis players by their Chinese counterparts, one year before the presidential visit. A mesmerising work in which the pulsations and repetitions typical of minimalism are combined with melodic lines of great lyricism.For its entry into the Paris Opera repertoire, this work has been entrusted to the director Valentina Carrasco, who underlines the importance and the mediating power of Chinese national sport in history. The Paris Opera Orchestra and ChorusWith the support of the Orange Foundation, sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts.© Opéra national de Paris - 2023 Picture: © Everett Collection / Bridgeman Images

Richard Nixon: President of the United States Mao Tse-tung: Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Pat Nixon: First Lady of the United States Chiang Ch’ing: Mao’s wife Henry Kissinger: US National Security Advisor Chou En-lai: Chinese Prime Minister

Nixon in China 22-23 

Nixon in China_trailer

Nixon in China

In February 1972, the American president Richard Nixon went to China to meet Mao Zedong. In the context of the war in Vietnam and the cold war, this encounter marked a turning point in Chinese‑ American relations. John Adams, a major musical figure o