“Giselle” (chor. Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot) June 27-30 at 7:30pm. Hardly
a season goes by without “Giselle” on the Palais Garnier bill.
Created in 1841 at the Paris Opera, this ultra-romantic work has
never ceased to make little girls the world over dream of becoming
ballerinas. A timeless tale of ideal yet ill-fated love, complete
with tragic heroine and lighter-than-air supernatural creatures.
Opéra National de Paris-Palais Garnier, Paris Opera Ballet Company
pl de l’Opéra, 1er, Mº Opéra, tel: 08.36.69.78.68
“Raymonda” (chor. Rudolf Nureyev) June 30 (continuing in July) at 7:30pm.
Winding up the Bastille season, at the same time as “Giselle”
at the Palais Garnier, is another romantic blockbuster. Originally
choreographed by Marius Petipa in 1898 and restaged by Nureyev
in 1983, “Raymonda” is set during the Crusades: a chivalrous knight
sets out to rescue his beloved in an exotically flamboyant decor.
Opéra National de Paris-Bastille, Paris Opera Ballet Company pl
de la Bastille, 12e, Mº Bastille, tel: 08.36.69.78.68
Spectacle de Ballets (“Perpetuum” chor. Ohad Naharin; “Appartement” chor.Mats Ek)
June 1 & 3, June 5-10 at 7:30pm. Among the season’s long-awaited
programs at the Opera is this double-header by two of the world's
leading contemporary choreographers: classical iconoclast Mats
Ek, at the helm of Stockholm’s Cullberg Ballet and Ohad Naharin,
director of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company. Opéra National de
Paris-Palais Garnier, Paris Opera Ballet Company pl de l’Opéra,
1er, Mº Opéra, tel: 08.36.69.78.68
“Zap! Zap! Zap!” (chor. Blanca Li) June 1 & 3, June 5-9 at 8:30pm; June 4 at 3pm.
A 75-minute one-woman show of song and dance by dancer-choreographer
Blanca Li, who parodies the world of television, using the art
of zapping as a metaphor for contenporary restlessness and greed.
Théâtre National de Chaillot (Salle Gemier) 1, pl du Trocadéro,
16e, Mº Trocadéro, tel: 01.53.65.30.00
“La Yerbabuena” (chor. Eva La Yerbabuena) June 5-9 at 8:30pm. To close the season
after flamenco star Belen Maya’s appearance at the Abbesses annex
on June 3, 30-year-old Eva La Yerbabuena presents a flamenco program
representative of a generation striving to revitalize this popular
traditional art form. Théâtre de la Ville/Abbesses 31, rue des
Abbesses, 18e, Mº Abbesses, tel: 01.42.74.22.77
“O Dido” (chor. Pina Bausch/Tanztheater Wuppertal) June 16 to July 1 at
8:30pm; June 25 at 5pm. There’s probably no show harder to get
tickets to in Paris than Pina Bausch’s annual spring creation
at the Théâtre de la Ville, but you can always show up just before
curtain time for eventual cancellations. Her neo-expressionist
collage style has a zany life-is-a-cabaret quality; absurdist
vaudeville skits, drag sequences and plenty of gag-sparked audience
participation,,, Her recent themes have had a distinct geo-cultural
edge: created on location in Rome, “O Dido” unmasks the underground
life thriving in this ancient, sacrosanct city. Théâtre de la
Ville 2, pl du Châtelet, 4e, Mº Châtelet, tel: 01.42.74.22.77
