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Opera
Opera

La Traviata

Giuseppe Verdi

Opéra Bastille

from 04 June to 13 July 2026

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Ballet

La Bayadère

Rudolf Nureyev

Opéra Bastille
from 17 June to 14 July 2026
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Opera

La Cenerentola

Gioacchino Rossini

Palais Garnier
from 03 June to 11 July 2026
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Concerts and Recitals

Musical encounter June 18

Studio Bastille
on 18 June 2026 at 1 pm
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Life at the Opera

  • TOÏ TOÏ TOÏ - La Bayadère - Meet Nicolas Le Riche, Bleuenn Battistoni and Paul Marque
    Video

    TOÏ TOÏ TOÏ - La Bayadère - Meet Nicolas Le Riche, Bleuenn Battistoni and Paul Marque

    Watch the video

  • 5 questions about: La Traviata
    aria

    5 questions about: La Traviata

    Discover

  • 5 questions about La Bayadère
    aria

    5 questions about La Bayadère

    Discover

  • Draw-me La Bayadère
    Video

    Draw-me La Bayadère

    Watch the video

  • Imaginary La Traviata
    Video

    Imaginary La Traviata

    Watch the video

  • La Bayadère: the true/false story
    aria

    La Bayadère: the true/false story

    Discover

  • Opera word for word - La Traviata
    Podcast

    Opera word for word - La Traviata

    Ecouter le podcast

  • The makeup for the Golden Idol in La Bayadère
    Article

    The makeup for the Golden Idol in La Bayadère

    Read the article

TOÏ TOÏ TOÏ - La Bayadère - Meet Nicolas Le Riche, Bleuenn Battistoni and Paul Marque

Watch the video

1:26:40 min

TOÏ TOÏ TOÏ - La Bayadère - Meet Nicolas Le Riche, Bleuenn Battistoni and Paul Marque

By Opéra national de Paris

On the occasion of the revival of La Bayadère at the Opéra Bastille, Étoile dancers Bleuenn Battistoni and Paul Marque discuss their studio work alongside guest répétiteur Nicolas Le Riche, and how they approach both the characters and the technique of Rudolf Nureyev’s final great narrative ballet, created for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1992.

For the second consecutive season, the Paris Opera is offering monthly encounters with artists to shed light on upcoming productions, just days before opening night. Titled Toï toï toï, these exclusive events held at the Amphitheatre or Studio of the Opéra Bastille give audiences a chance to discover new productions or explore the repertoire, and to engage directly with the artists at the end of each session.

La Bayadère

Ballet

La Bayadère

Rudolf Nureyev

Opéra Bastille
from 17 Jun to 14 Jul 2026

Discover

© Charles Duprat / OnP

5 questions about: La Traviata

Discover

01 min

5 questions about: La Traviata

By aria

Author of nine of Verdi’s opera librettos, Francesco Maria Piave wrote La Traviata based on Alexandre Dumas fils’ stage version of his novel La Dame aux camélias. The frank and socially aware novel in which money played a central role was reworked by Dumas into a stage drama that opted for lighter scenes more characteristic of vaudeville. For the opera, Piave adopted the basic structure of the play but stripped Violetta of Marguerite’s procative side, thus reinforcing the sacrificial force of Verdi’s heroine.

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La Traviata

Opera

La Traviata

Giuseppe Verdi

Opéra Bastille
from 04 Jun to 13 Jul 2026

Discover

© Little Shao / OnP

5 questions about La Bayadère

Discover

01 min

5 questions about La Bayadère

By aria

In the 11th century, “bayadères” were known as devadāsī, sacred dancers who served in Hindu temples. In the accounts they brought back to Europe, Portuguese explorers discovering India gave them the names bailadeira or balhadera, from which the French word “ballerine” derives.

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La Bayadère

Ballet

La Bayadère

Rudolf Nureyev

Opéra Bastille
from 17 Jun to 14 Jul 2026

Discover
Draw-me La Bayadère

Watch the video

Understand the plot in 1 minute

1:46 min

Draw-me La Bayadère

By Octave

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.  

La Bayadère

Ballet

La Bayadère

Rudolf Noureev

Opéra Bastille
from 03 Apr to 06 May 2022

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Imaginary La Traviata

Watch the video

A repertoire work narrated in a visual poem born of popular culture

1:01 min

Imaginary La Traviata

By Marc de Pierrefeu

La Traviata

Opera

La Traviata

Giuseppe Verdi

Opéra Bastille
from 04 Jun to 13 Jul 2026

Discover

© Julien Benhamou / OnP

La Bayadère: the true/false story

Discover

01 min

La Bayadère: the true/false story

By aria

Only at the very end of his career and life did Rudolf Nureyev finally realise his dream of restaging La Bayadère in its entirety, drawing on a careful reading of Petipa’s notes. Premiered by the Paris Opera Ballet in 1992, his version stands as the ultimate achievement of a life entirely devoted to dance.

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La Bayadère

Ballet

La Bayadère

Rudolf Nureyev

Opéra Bastille
from 17 Jun to 14 Jul 2026

Discover
Opera word for word - La Traviata

Listen the podcast

Literary podcast evoking an opera and a stage director's vision

01 min

Opera word for word - La Traviata

By Benoit Maubrey, Marion Mirande

Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata in Simon Stone's production, in the words of Lolita Pille, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Louis Aragon, Joy Sorman  

Copyright :

  • Lolita Pille, Hell, © Editions Grasset & Fasquelle, 2002
  • Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Les heureux et les damnés, traduction de l’américain par Louise Servicen, © Editions Gallimard, 1964
  • Louis Aragon, Aurélien, © Editions Gallimard, 1944
  • Joy Sorman, Sciences de la vie, © Seuil, 2017

La Traviata

Opera

La Traviata

Giuseppe Verdi

Opéra Bastille
from 04 Jun to 13 Jul 2026

Discover

© Christian Leiber / OnP

The makeup for the Golden Idol in La Bayadère

Read the article

A production remembered

03 min

The makeup for the Golden Idol in La Bayadère

By Jean-Jacques Sempéré

Jean-Jacques Sempéré is head makeup artist at the Opera Bastille

Gold makeup involves a rather complex technique : it is important to avoid too yellow a finish and you need to create the metallic look of a statue. To achieve the right effect, the foundation is reworked and enriched with gold powder mixed with glitter. Once the entire body has been covered, we sprinkle it with glitter to get an even more sparkling effect. I use a large brush, which allows me to keep working the greasepaint throughout the makeup process. Being heavy, the metal particles tend to sink to the bottom of the preparation and the liquid, needed in order to combine the ingredients, stays on the surface so you have to stir it constantly to ensure a smooth homogenous blend. When I began working on this kind of makeup in the late nineties, I used a sponge but it absorbed all the liquid so I ended up with a sort of paste that was very difficult to apply…

© Little Shao

The thing about the makeup for the Golden Idol is the sheer surface area to be covered: the entire body and face has to be painted. When you make up a dancer, s/he is virtually naked and clean-shaven: we cover the face, the ears, feet, neck … even his/her ballet shoes! Wwe place a gold stocking over the hair onto which the headdress is fixed. It takes about an hour, sometimes more. It might seem a long time but it goes really quickly: the dancer is very focused, s/he has to prepare, warm up, dress…

I use about one 175ml bottle for each performance, sometimes more, and a large container in which I’ve prepared my mixture of powder and glitter beforehand. In the theatre, makeup is chosen according to the stage lighting and the effect we’re trying to create. For this role, the idea is to transform the dancer into a golden statue. When he is finally made up, dressed and ready to go on stage, he is genuinely transformed. It’s gratifying for us, but also for the dancer who, now in costume, feels sublimated: every muscle in his body is perfectly delineated. The audience really appreciate this character and give him a rousing ovation. Of course, his dancing is spectacular, but his costume and makeup play an essential role in his success.   


Jean-Jacques Sempéré, head makeup artist, was interviewed by Inès Piovesan.

La Bayadère

Ballet

La Bayadère

Rudolf Nureyev

Opéra Bastille
from 17 Jun to 14 Jul 2026

Discover

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    28 mai 2026

    Message to the audience 5,6,12, 28 May and 9 June

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    01 juin 2026

    Tribute to Jean-Philippe Courtis

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    17 mai 2026

    Tribute to Dame Felicity Lott

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    15 mai 2026

    Exceptional Sale of Stage Costumes

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    23 avril 2026

    Tribute to Claude Bessy

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    30 mars 2026

    Announcement of the Arop awards for the 24/25 season

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    19 février 2026

    Paris Opera’s Tribute to José Van Dam

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    11 février 2026

    Carmen: cast change

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