Report from the 13 March 2016
The AROP Awards Evening
The AROP Awards ceremony was held at the Palais Garnier on the evening of 13 March 2016. Four winners were on hand to receive the Prix de la Danse and the Prix Lyriques.
The honourees for the 2014-2015 season were: Hannah O’Neill (Première danseuse of the Ballet, and winner of the Prix de la Danse), Hugo Marchand (Premier danseur of the Ballet and winner of the Prix de la Danse), Olga Seliverstova (soprano, winner of the Prix Lyrique) and Pietro di Bianco (bass-baritone, winner of the Prix Lyrique).
The four artists were welcomed by Jean-Louis Beffa (President of AROP), Benjamin Millepied (the Paris Opera’s Dance Director), Myriam Mazouzi (Director of the Paris Opera Academy) and Christian Schirm (Artistic Director of the Paris Opera Academy).
The winners of the Prix de la Danse executed a pas de deux from Jerome Robbins’ Goldberg Variations whilst the winners of the Prix Lyrique, accompanied by other artists from the Paris Opera Academy performed a recital of arias and ensembles from Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
Over a thousand members of AROP were present to applaud the winners. They will gather again at the end of the year to pick the artists who have excelled during the 2015-2016 season!
Since its creation, AROP’s mission has been to support the Paris Opera’s young artists. As a result, each year since 1986, the members of AROP have awarded the Prix de la Danse to one young female dancer and one young male dancer from the Paris Opera Ballet who performed numerous variations during the previous season. So far, 55 dancers have been honoured, 23 of whom have since been made Étoiles. The Prix Lyriques, meanwhile, honour one female and one male singer who have stood out from among the soloists of the Paris Opera Academy at performances during the previous season.
