Act I

Act II

Act III

La Bayadère en répétition (saison 20/21) - Amandine Albisson et Valentine Colasante

La Bayadère

Interview with Valentine Colasante, Sabrina Mallem and José Sciuto

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La Bayadère: the fight scene, step by step

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

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

Born on board the Trans-Siberian Railway not far from Lake Baikal, Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) first learnt traditional folk dancing in Oufa (Bashkiria). He saw his first ballet at the Oufa Opera at the age of seven, however, he did not officially begin training as a dancer until he was fifteen. Two years later, he continued his studies at the Vaganova School in Leningrad during which time he was tutored by dance master Alexander Pushkin from 1955 to 1958. The following year he was accepted into the Corps de ballet of the Kirov Theatre where he soon became a soloist. During one of the troupe’s tours of Western Europe, Nureyev made his debut on the stage of the Palais Garnier on May 15, 1961 for a dress rehearsal of Sleeping Beauty. He would also cause a sensation by performing in the Act featuring the Kingdom of the Shades in La Bayadère three days after seeking political asylum from French customs and immigration officers at Le Bourget Airport on May 16, 1961 after the powers that be at the Kirov had decided to send him back to Moscow without allowing him to continue on the Ballet’s tour to London. As a result, Paris remained a city of great symbolic value for him. He ultimately became the director of the Paris Opera Ballet from 1983 to 1989 after having danced for numerous companies (including the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas and London’s Royal Ballet) and having created Tancrède (Vienna Opera, 1966) and Manfred (Paris Opera, 1979). The Paris Opera Ballet’s repertoire would be enriched by his reinterpretations of Marius Petipa’s choreographic masterpieces. These would include Don Quichotte (1981), Raymonda (1983), Swan Lake (1984), Romeo and Juliet (1984), The Nutcracker (1985), Cinderella (1986), Sleeping Beauty (1989) and La Bayadère (1992). The status accorded a male dancer, which in ballet had been greatly undermined since the 19th century, gained new importance in his works. Nureyev also created a number of contemporary ballets including The Tempest (1984), Bach Suite (1984) and Washington Square (1985). He also offered an extremely diverse contemporary repertoire (Frederick Ashton, Rudi van Dantzig, Roland Petit, Maurice Béjart, George Balanchine, Glen Tetley, Martha Graham, Murray Louis, Jerome Robbins, Bob Wilson, Paul Taylor, Hans van Manen, Lucinda Childs, Twyla Tharp, and William Forsythe). Finally, he began a new tradition at the Paris Opera by naming the new Etoiles on stage at the end of a performance in the presence of the audience. The stage of the Palais Garnier had great significance for him: he would salute his audience there for the last time at the end of a performance of La Bayadère on October 8, 1992. His funeral in January 1993 would also be honoured at the Palais Garnier. Rudolf Nureyev was a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur (1988) and a Commandeur des Arts et Lettres (1992).

1995 :&nbsp;Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.

2000 :&nbsp;Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.

2002 :&nbsp;Promoted to "Coryphée".

2003 :&nbsp;Promoted to "Sujet". Receives the AROP Dance Prize.

2004 :&nbsp;Receives the Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.

2005 :&nbsp;Promoted to "Première danseuse".2006 :&nbsp;Receives the Leonide Massine award (Positano/Italie) and the Ballet 2000 award (Cannes).

2022 :&nbsp;Receives the le Best choreographic performer award from the Syndicat professionnel de la Critique Théâtre, Musique et Danse.

Dorothée Gilbert is made an&nbsp;"Étoile" on November 19th 2007, following a performance of The Nutcracker (Nureyev) in which she dances the role of Clara for the first time.

As part of the Paris Opera Ballet's official tours, Dorothée Gilbert has performed in Australia (Brisbane), the United States (San Francisco, Los Angeles), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brasilia), China (Beijing, Shanghai), Russia (Moscow, Novosibirsk), Japan and elsewhere. (Tokyo), Spain (Madrid) and the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi).Dorothée Gilbert was named Commandeur de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Gilbert Dorothée

2005 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.2011 : Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.2013 : Prix de la Danse du Cercle Carpeaux.2014 : Promoted to « Coryphée ».2015 : Promoted to « Sujet ».2016 : He is made « Premier Danseur ». Prix AROP de la Danse.Germain Louvet is made an « Étoile » on December 28th 2014, following a performance of Swan Lake (Rudolf Noureyev) in which he performed the role of Siegfried.As part of the Paris Opera Ballet tours, Germain Louvet performs in Spain (Madrid, 2019), in Asia (Singapour and Shanghai, 2019) and in Japan (Tokyo, 2020).

2019_08_OPERA_DE_PARIS_08_0109_GERMAIN_LOUVET_2023

2005 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.

2008 : Joins the Corps de ballet.

2014 : Becomes a “Coryphée”. She receives the Prix AROP de la Danse.

2015 : She is made a “Sujet”.

2016 : She is promoted to “Première danseuse”. On Decembre 31st 2017, Léonore Baulac is made an « Étoile » following a performance of Swan Lake (Noureev) in which she performed the role of Odette / Odile.

Léonore Baulac (c)James Bort OnP

1999 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.

2006 : Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.

2009 : Promoted to « Coryphée ». Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.

2010 : Promoted to « Sujet ».

2013 : AROP Dance Prize.

2014 : Promoted to « Première Danseuse ». 

2021 : Benois de la Danse Award.

On March 5th 2014, Amandine Albisson is made an "Étoile" following a performance of Onegin (John Cranko) in which she performed the role of Tatiana. 

As part of the Paris Opera Ballet’s official tours, Amandine Albisson has performed in Spain (Madrid, 2019), the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, 2019) and Japan (Tokyo, 2020). 

Amandine Albisson was named Chevalier de l'ordre national du Mérite.

Albisson Amandine

2007 : After winning the First Prize at the CNR (national conservatory) in Nantes, he enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.
2011 : He joins the Paris Opera Corps de ballet.
2014 : Promoted to "Coryphée". Bronze medal at the Varna International Dance competition.
2015 : Promoted to "Sujet". Cercle Carpeaux Prize. AROP Dance Prize. Nominated for the Benois de la Danse Prize.
2016 : Promoted to "Premier danseur".
2017 : Benois de la Danse Prize, "best dancer" category. 2018 : Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe: Arts & Culture.

Following a performance of La Sylphide (Lacotte, after Taglioni) in which he perfoms the role of James on the stage of the Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo (Japan) on March 3rd 2017, he is named "Étoile".As part of the Paris Opera Ballet’s official tours, he has performed in Spain (Madrid/ 2019), the United States (New York/ 2017), Japan (Tokyo/ 2017 and 2020).

Hugo Marchand

1998 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.2006 : Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.2010 : Promoted to « Coryphée ».2011 : Promoted to « Sujet ».2013 : Promoted to « Première danseuse ».Valentine Colasante is made an "Étoile" on January 5th 2018, following the performance of Don Quixote (Rudolf Nureyev), a ballet in which she performed the role of Kitri.As part of the Paris Opera Ballet’s official tours, she has performed in Australia (Sydney, 2007), China (Beijing, 2008), Russia (Novosibirsk, 2010), Malaysia (Singapore, 2011), the United States (New York, 2017) and Spain (Madrid, 2019).

Valentine Colasante

1996 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.

1999 : Joins the Corps de ballet.

2001 : Promoted to “Coryphée”.

2002 : Promoted to “Sujet”. She receives the Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.

2005 : Promoted to “Première danseuse”. She is awarded the Prix Leonide Massine (Positano, Italy) and the Prix AROP de la Danse.

On June 18th 2012, she is made an "Étoile" following a performance of La Fille mal gardée (Frederick Ashton) in which she performed the role of Lise.As part of the Paris Opera Ballet’s official tours, she has performed in Australia (Sydney/ 2013), Denmark (Copenhagen, 2015), the United States (New York/ 2017), Japan (Tokyo/ 2017), the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, 2019).Myriam Ould-Braham was named Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.

Ould Braham Myriam

2001 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.

2004 : Joins the Corps de ballet.
2006 : Promoted to “Coryphée”.
He receives the Prix du Cercle Carpeaux as well as the AROP Dance Prize..
2007 : Promoted to “Sujet”.
2008 : Promoted to “Premier danseur”. On April 16th 2009, he is made an « Étoile » following a performance of Onegin (John Cranko) in which he performed the role of Lensky. As part of the Company’s official tours, Mathias Heymann has performed in Japan (Tokyo 2007, 2010). Mathias Heymann was named Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Heymann Mathias

2008 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.2014 : Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.2016 : Promoted to « Coryphée ». Gold medalist at the Varna International Ballet Competition.2017 : Promoted to « Sujet ». AROP Prize.2018 : Promoted to « Premier Danseur ».Paul Marque was named “Danseur Étoile” on December 13th 2020 on the Opéra Bastille stage, following a live performance of La Bayadère (Rudolf Nureyev) on the streaming platform “<a href="https://chezsoi.operadeparis.fr/">l'Opéra chez soi</a>”, in which he performed the Golden Idol.As part of the Paris Opera Ballet’s official tours, he has performed in Spain (Madrid, 2019), the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, 2019), Asia (Singapore, Shanghai, 2019) and Japan (Tokyo, 2020).

ETOILE_Paul-Marque (c) James Bort OnP_2-NB

Main roles: The Song of the Earth (John Neumeier, 2015), L’Elu / Le Sacre du printemps, L’Oiseau de feu (Béjart), Hilarion / Giselle (after Coralli and Perrot), Lenski / Onéguine (Cranko), Jean / Mademoiselle Julie (Birgit Cullberg), Un Homme / La Maison de Bernarda (Ek), Pas./parts, In the Middle Somewhat elevated (Forsythe), Iñigo / Paquita (Lacotte after Mazilier and Petipa), Études (Harald Lander), Incitatus / Caligula (Le Riche), Lescaut / L’Histoire de Manon (Kenneth MacMillan), Genus (McGregor), Mahler’s Third Symphony (Neumeier), La Danse Espagnole / Swan Lake, one of the four Princes / The Sleeping Beauty, Espada / Don Quichotte, la Danse indienne and l’Esclave / La Bayadère (Nureyev), Morel / Proust ou les intermittences du cœur, Escamillo / Carmen, the title role of Le Loup (Petit), Dances at a Gathering (Jerome Robbins).

1994 Enters the Ballet School.2000 Joins the Corps de ballet, at age 18.2006 He is named "Coryphée".2007 He is named "Sujet".2008 Prix Carpeaux.2013  He is named "Premier danseur".

BEZARD_Audric-60

2002: Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.

2005: Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.

2011: Promoted to "Coryphée".

2012: Promoted to "Sujet".

GANIO_Marine-05

2010 Médaille d’Or et bourse du Concours international Civitanova Danza Per Domani. Entre à l’École de Danse de la Scala de Milan.2012 Entre à l’École de Danse de l’Opéra national de Paris.2015 Est engagé dans le Corps de Ballet de l’Opéra national de Paris.2017 Promu « Coryphée ».2018 Promu « Sujet ». Médaille de Bronze (catégorie Sénior) du XXVIIIème Concours international de danse de Varna (Bulgarie) Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.2020 Promu « Premier danseur ».

MURA_Francesco-100

1995: Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.
2001: Graduates from the École nationale supérieure de danse de Marseille.
2004: Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.
2010: Promoted to "Coryphée".
2013: Promoted to "Sujet".

CHAILLOUX_Yann-71

Main roles: Le Maître de ballet / La Petite danseuse de Degas (Bart), Le Cerbère / Orphée et Eurydice (Bausch), L’Oiseau de feu, one of the two chiefs / Le Sacre du printemps (Béjart), O zlozony / O composite (Brown), Une Sorte de…, Appartement (Ek), Pas./parts, Approximate Sonata, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude (Forsythe), Mikado / Kaguyahime, Doux mensonges (Kylián), Iñigo / Paquita (Lacotte after Mazilier and Petipa), James / La Sylphide (Pierre Lacotte after Taglioni), Thésée / Phèdre (Lifar), Lacenaire / Les Enfants du paradis (Martinez), Le Meunier / Le Tricorne (Massine), Le Pasteur / Fall River Legend (Agnes de Mille), Triade (Millepied), Mahler’s Third Symphony, Gaston Rieux / La Dame aux camélias (Neumeier), Danse arabe / The Nutcracker, Le Producteur / Cendrillon, Tybalt / Roméo et Juliette, Basilio / Don Quichotte, Le Prince Désiré / Sleeping Beauty, Drosselmeyer-Le Prince/ The Nutcracker (Nureyev), Répliques (Paul), In The Night (Robbins), Roméo / Roméo et Juliette (Waltz).

vincent chaillet nb

2011:&nbsp;Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.

2016:&nbsp;Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.

2020:&nbsp;Promoted to "Coryphée". 2024: Promoted to "Sujet" following the annual promotion competition 2023.

DROUY_Celia-56

2009 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.2014 : Joins the Paris Opera Ballet.2018 : Promoted to "Coryphée".2019 : Promu "Sujet".

Axel Magliano nb

Studies dance at Korea's National Academy of Ballet.
2007 : Grand Prix de Lausanne. Joins the American Ballet (New York), and dances soloist roles in ballets such as Allegro Brillante (George Balanchine) or Interplay (Jerome Roobbins). 2009 : Joins the Korean National Ballet Company. Dances many roles such as Odile-Odette/ Swan Lake or Marie/ The Nutcracker (choreographies by Iouri Grigorovitch).
2010 : Promoted to Soloist of the Korean National Ballet Company. Adds to her repertoire Kitri/ Don Quixote (after Marius Petipa) at the Korean Ballet Association Festival in Seoul or Nikiya/ La Bayadère and Clara/ The Nutcracker with the Universal Ballet Company. Gold medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition. Gold medal at the Premio Roma.
2011 : Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.
2013 : Promoted to "Coryphée". Receives the Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.
2014 : Promoted to "Sujet".
2017 : Promoted to "Première danseuse".2018 : Receives the Prix Benois de la Danse.2021 : Cultural Prize France-Korea.

Following the performance of Romeo and Juliet (Noureyev) on June 10th 2021, Sae Eun Park is named "Danseuse Étoile".

Sae Eun Park

2002:&nbsp;Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.

2008:&nbsp;Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.

2011:&nbsp;Promoted to Coryphée. Prix du Cercle Carpeaux

2012:&nbsp;Promoted to Sujet.

2020:&nbsp;Promoted to Première danseuse.

SAINT-MARTIN_Silvia-105

Studies dance at the Kishibe Ballet Studio (Tokyo) and the Australian Ballet School.
2009: Lausanne Prize.

2013: Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.

2014: Promoted to "Coryphée". Silver medal at the Varna Competition. Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.

2015: Promoted to "Sujet".

2016: Promoted to "Première danseuse". Prix Benois de la Danse. 2023: Hannah O'Neill is named "Danseuse Étoile" on March 2nd 2023, following the performance of Ballet impérial (George Balanchine) in which she performed the first principal soloist.

Hannah-O'Neill-james-bort-nb (c) James Bort OnP

An Austrian citizen born to Czech and Hungarian parents, Ludwig Aloysius Minkus (1826-1917) was trained at the Wiener Musikverein (Vienna), where he started to compose for his instrument, the violin. He began his career as Concertmaster at the Vienna Court Opera, and then moved to Saint Petersburg in 1853 where he became conductor of the Serf orchestra of Prince Nikolai Yusupov. In 1858, he served as Concertmaster to the orchestra of the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow and then conductor in 1861, while having his first successes as ballet composer at the Moscow Imperial Theatres with Arthur Saint-Léon’s ballets Fiammetta (1864), Le Poisson d’Or (The Golden Fish, 1867) and Le Lys (The Lily, 1869), but above all with 1869 with Marius Petipa’s Don Quixote. The following year, he was appointed official ballet composer at the Bolshoi and, in 1872, in Saint Petersburg. He had a fruitful working relationship with Marius Petipa, until the director of the Imperial Theatres Ivan Vsevolozhsky offered the position to Tchaikovsky in 1887. He composed the score of many choreographies: Camargo (1872), Le Papillon (1874), The Bandits (1875), Les Aventures de Pelée (1876), La Bayadère (1877), Roxana, the Beauty of Montenegro (1878), The Daughter of the Snows (1878), the Grand pas in Le Corsaire (1881), the divertissement in Paquita (1881), Night and Day (1882), The Magic Pills (1886), The Sacrifices to Cupid (1886) and Kalkabrino (1891). He also worked with Saint-Léon and taught for a long time at the Moscow Conservatory, and was even named Inspector of Orchestras to the Moscow Imperial Theatres. When in 1866 Émile Perrin commissioned him to compose two tableaux of La Source (by Saint-Léon) for the Paris Opera, Minkus was no stranger to the Parisian public, which had discovered him thanks to his Don Quixote. Besides, his ballet Fiammetta (renamed Néméa, or the avenged love) had received good reviews two years earlier in the house. Before his last success, Mlada (created in 1896 but composed in 1879), Minkus retired to Vienna in 189 where he died in 1917 of pneumonia, alone and in utter poverty.

Vinicio Cheli studied set and light designing at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence. Between 1974 and 1989 he worked at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino festival and the Piccolo Teatro of Milan where he became the lighting assistant for Giorgio Strehler before assuming responsibility for entire productions.Since 1989 he has worked on opera productions including operas of Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Rossini, Strauss, as well as Les Contes d’Hoffmann, From the House of the Dead, Fidelio, Norma, Carmen, Erwartung, Turandot, Lucrezia Borgia, Lucia di Lammermoor, Pelléas et Mélisande, Manon, Madama Butterfly, Le Roi de Lahore, L’elisir d’amore, Faust, Mireille, Medea, L’Heure espagnole, L’Enfant et les sortilèges and Cavalleria rusticana. He has also worked on plays and ballets including La Bayadère, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. He collaborated with such directors as Nikolaus Lehnhoff, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Luca Ronconi, Werner Herzog, Hugo de Ana, Klaus Michael Grüber, Franco Zeffirelli, Luc Bondy, Andrei Konchalovsky and Giancarlo del Monaco at venues including the Rossini Opera Festival, the Salzburg Festival, the Festival Baroque in Versailles, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, La Fenice, the Opéra Bastille, the National Theatre of Prague, the Opéra de Monte Carlo, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Opéra Garnier, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Arena di Verona, the New National Theatre in Tokyo, the Teatro Real, the Metropolitan Opera, the Teatro Verdi, the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, the Chorégies d’Orange and the Royal Opera House of Muscat. He has lectured in theatre lighting at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan and at the Professional School of La Scala.

Creatives

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Interview with Valentine Colasante, Sabrina Mallem and José Sciuto

La Bayadère: the fight scene, step by step

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Creatives

Interview with Valentine Colasante, Sabrina Mallem and José Sciuto

La Bayadère: the fight scene, step by step