Signes - Ballet - Season 22/23 Programming - Opéra national de Paris

  • Ballet

    Signes

    Carolyn Carlson

    Opéra Bastille - from 21 June to 16 July 2023

    Agathe Poupeney / OnP

See all informations

Signes

Opéra Bastille - from 21 June to 16 July 2023

Ballet

Signes

Carolyn Carlson

Opéra Bastille - from 21 June to 16 July 2023

1h25 no interval

  • Pre‑opening for the young : 19 juin 2023 à 20:00

    Opening night : 21 juin 2023 à 20:00

About

Listen to the synopsis

0:00 / 0:00

In few words:

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.

Media coverage

  • The original music by René Aubry feels as if it were made for Carolyn Carlson's footsteps.

    Sortir à Paris
  • The sets and costumes designed by Olivier Debré make this ballet mesmerizing, extraordinarily invigorating.

    Sortir à Paris
  • Carolyn Carlson has created many other ballets since Signes. However, this play with time, space, color, and light remains one of her most poetic ones.

    France info

Performances

Book your tickets today with the Season Pass

Available in audiodescription

Advantages

Full

Book your tickets today with the Season Pass

Available in audiodescription

Advantages

Full

Whether you’re a member of Arop or not, the friends of the Opera can reserve seats for you on all performance dates, including those not yet open for sale and those announced as sold out.

Backstage

  • Podcast Signes

    Podcast

    Podcast Signes

  • Carolyn Carlson about Signes: Smiles, gestures and colors

    Video

    Carolyn Carlson about Signes: Smiles, gestures and colors

  • Hannah O’Neill rehearses Signes: a spiritual approach to movement

    Video

    Hannah O’Neill rehearses Signes: a spiritual approach to movement

© Agathe Poupeney / OnP

Podcast Signes

Podcast

Podcast Signes

By Jean-Baptiste Urbain

"Dance! Sing! 7 minutes at the Paris Opera" offers original incursions into the season thanks to broadcasts produced by France Musique and the Paris Opera.

For each opera or ballet production, Charlotte Landru-Chandès (opera) and Jean-Baptiste Urbain (dance), present the works and artists you are going to discover when you attend performances in our theatres.

© Benoîte Fanton / OnP

Carolyn Carlson about Signes: Smiles, gestures and colors

07:14’

Video

Carolyn Carlson about Signes: Smiles, gestures and colors

Carolyn Carlson about Signes

By Antony Desvaux

In 1997, Carolyn Carlson and Olivier Debré created Signes for the Paris Opera Ballet. On the occasion of the revival of this work in 2023, the choreographer recounts her collaboration with the painter, whose colorful paintings form the framework of Signes, and the composer René Aubry.

Carolyn Carlson evokes the smile, one of the signs at the heart of the ballet, and the two characters, the woman in yellow and the man in blue. Finally, she looks back on her relationship with the Paris Opera, and in particular the experience of G.R.T.O.P. (Groupe de Recherches théâtrales de l’Opéra de Paris) between 1974 and 1980.  

Hannah O’Neill rehearses Signes: a spiritual approach to movement

04:59’

Video

Hannah O’Neill rehearses Signes: a spiritual approach to movement

By Antony Desvaux

In 1997, Carolyn Carlson and Olivier Debré created Signes for the Paris Opera Ballet. On the occasion of the ballet's revival in 2023, Hannah O'Neill recounts her rehearsals with the choreographer at the Opéra Bastille.

The Étoile dancer talks about the ideas of space and time that drive the choreography, and the attention Carolyn Carlson gives to gestures, their thickness and momentum. Finally, Hannah O'Neill explains how Olivier Debré's paintings and René Aubry's music inspire and nourish her interpretation.

Quiz

Discover opera and ballet in another way

QR code

Dive into the Opera world and get insights on opera and pop culture or ballet and cinema. Scan this code to access all the quiz and blindtests on your mobile.

Partners

  • Association pour la Recherche sur la maladie de Charcot

On-site Services

  • Cloakrooms

    Free cloakrooms are at your disposal. The comprehensive list of prohibited items is available here.

  • Bars

    Reservation of drinks and light refreshments for the intervals is possible online up to 24 hours prior to your visit, or at the bars before each performance.

  • Boutiques

    A selection of works items are available on our various boutiques: Online store and The Opéra Bastille Shop.

    LEARN MORE.

  • Last-minute tickets

    Special reduced rates for people under the age of 28, unemployed and seniors over 65 are available. 

    LEARN MORE.

  • Parking

    You can park your car at the Q-Park Opéra Bastille. It is located at 34 rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris. 

    BOOK YOUR PARKING PLACE.

Media and technical partners

  • Sponsor of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts

  • The Paris Opera's streaming platform

Back to top