Why do you ask? Because these works are the foundation of the foundation. The ones we’ve all heard of, the ones we sing without always knowing what they are, the ones we know without knowing. And now it’s time to discover them for real.
You’ve probably already whistled a Tchaikovsky aria or parodied L’amour est un oiseau rebelle without really knowing where it came from. Swan Lake or The Nutcracker? Carmen or The Magic Flute? Revisit your classics – they’re all in Paris this year!
Carmen
Does “L’amour est enfant de bohème” mean anything to you? It’s a phrase taken from the most famous song in the opera Carmen. The story takes place in Seville, one of Spain’s most beautiful cities. Arrested following a quarrel, the bohemian Carmen seduces the brigadier Don José , promising him her love if he helps her escape. What follows is a story of love, rejection, arrests and furious jealousy.
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The Barber of Seville
With its jean jacket and vintage Peugeot look, Rossini’s comic opera is given an improbable reinterpretation. You’ll see that opera sung in an 80s pop set… it’s surprising! Damiano Michieletto ‘s staging alternates between picturesque realism and dreamlike fantasy in a unique setting, turning The Barber of Seville into a zany comedy that’s both madcap and blatantly true.
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La Traviata
This is a classic, classic performance. Verdi’s La Traviata is a 2.5-hour opera of pompous costumes and impressive coffers. La Traviata is based on Alexandre Dumas fils’s La Dame aux camélias, a tragic story, as you might imagine. Torn between love and morality, the heroine succumbs to a disease that gangrenes both her body and her soul. Sung in Italian, the opera has French subtitles.
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Swan Lake
More iconic would be difficult. Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is the most performed ballet in the world, and yet few people have ever seen it for real! You’re familiar with its most famous music, and you’ve probably even seen the film starring Nathalie Portman… It’s time to see the original, the costumes, the dances and the magic of a classical ballet ! Performed by the Ballet and Orchestra of the Russian National Opera for a major tour of France and Europe, the ballet plunges us into the ill-fated love story of Prince Siegfried and Princess Odette, struck by a curse: she turns into a swan by day and becomes a woman again by night. Only the promise of eternal love can free her from this spell.
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Boléro and Daphnis et Chloé
The Opéra Bastille presents two exceptional ballets in one : Benjamin Millepied’s Daphnis et Chloé and Maurice Béjart’s Boléro, set to the music of French composer Maurice Ravel. The first part is lively and colorful, with sets and costumes by Daniel Buren (designer of the famous columns). The second part is more sober and powerful, with a solo dancer performing Maurice Béjart’s magnificent and famous Boléro de Ravel .
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Banner photo: michael-afonso via Unsplash
In collaboration with fever