Johannes Brahms was an immensely prolific choral composer. His experience in choral conducting (the Wiener Singverein from 1872 to 1875, the Detmold and Hamburg ensembles at the end of the 1850s) brought him complete mastery of all things vocal. The mixed chorus cycles reflect the traditional themes of German Romanticism, in particular the multitudinous facets of amorous sentiments. Brahms's imagination for this repertoire is boundless, and the composer displays considerable skill in counterpoint and polyphony.
An emblematic composer of German Romantic music, Franz Schubert is acknowledged to be the undisputed master of the Lied. He was the first composer to attach such importance to the genre, not only in terms of quantity - he composed no fewer than 600 Lied - but because the spirit of the Lied permeates his entire instrumental output. His exquisite sensibility found its chosen land amidst the great themes dear to Lied: wandering, solitude, separation, thwarted love and liberating death.

From Il barbiere di Siviglia and the Cenerentola by Rossini to La Traviata by Verdi, the artists of the Academy will perform a musical Italian tale full of laugh, fantasies and love stories during this recital on the Stage of the Palais Garnier.  

Mozart composed this Singspiel when he was 12. The stage director Mirabelle Ordinaire carries the pastoral universe of this youth piece in a contemporary fair where the wizard Colas uses his tricks to gather the two lovers, Bastien and Bastienne.

Représentations tout public
18 November 2020 at 15:00
20 November 2020

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20:00
21 November 2020

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The singers and pianists of the Academy invite you to discover the different voices in a recital made of arias and songs.

“I want subjects that are new, noble, great, varied and daring. Daring to the point of excess, new in form and ideally suited to composition...” So wrote Verdi in 1853. By appropriating Alexandre Dumas’ novel La Dame aux camélias, Verdi tackles the tragic story of the impossible love between a courtesan and a young bourgeois gentleman in an era marked by patriarchy. Violetta is a passionate, touching, scandalous woman who is powerless in the face of stifling social conventions.

Famous for his adaptations and reinterpretations of classical texts and his hyperrealist scenography, Simon Stone sets La Traviata in the Paris of today. His “Violetta 2.0” is an arresting public figure who circulates in a world epitomised by excess, obsessed by appearances and desperate for the recognition that the social networks seem to promise.

The musicians and members of the Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus are offering a series of lunchtime concerts preceded by an introductory meeting. The complete programme is available on the website at operadeparis.fr from September 1st onwards.    

Camille Saint-Saëns is one of the most long-winded composers of his time. His work beamed all over Europe. The artists of the Academy will perform some of the most famous pieces of the composer but also some unknown works from his chamber music repertoire.  

The final work of a life utterly devoted to dance, La Bayadere 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 Bayadere a flamboyant spectacle.

Directed by Elisabeth Platel, the Paris Opera Ballet School is presenting its "Classes on Stage" for the first time. As part of the programme designed to be performed on the Palais Garnier's front-of-house stage, spectators will discover, in a more intimate format than that of the "Demonstrations", the students' daily training at the School. More than a class set to dance, the "Classes on Stage" will showcase the art of classical dance through a series of exercises performed in close proximity to the audience. Accompanied on the piano, our students, to whom the teachers will give advice and corrections, will be keen to perfect their technique and bring the repertoire to life as they work on variations from ballets of the past.

“I am convinced that in ten years, Carmen will be the most popular opera in the world” predicted Tchaikovsky in 1880. In the 21^st century, Bizet’s last opera remains one of the most famous works in the opera repertoire. Carmen is a woman of many facets who, when confronted with the complexity of romantic relationships, wishes to live and feel alive.
Calixto Bieito offers the opera a new universe in a production that drives the characters into the darkest corners of their psyches. Carmen retains the profoundly Iberian contours of Mérimée’s heroine and the fiery temperament of a woman who lives by petty crime. Calixto Bieito explores the humanity of the characters and frees them from the folklore and clichés generally associated with the myth. “My Carmen is made of flesh and blood, she embodies no one other than herself: a woman of her time with her own DNA.”

From operetta to musical, the artists of the Academy will perform a program of light and happy music.