To underline continuity, directors will have operas from four centuries to interpret, starting with Jean-Philippe Rameau’s exotic 18th-century divertimento, “Les Indes Galantes.” There are also new productions of “Les Troyens,” the two-part epic by Berlioz that opened the Bastille Opera in 1989, along with Shostakovich’s “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” Borodin’s “Prince Igor,” Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra,” Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” and a rare rendering of Scarlatti’s “Il Primo Omicidio.” Finally, the principals take their bows before calling everyone onstage for a final magical tableau vivant. It opens with students of the Paris Opera’s Ballet School, ages 8 to 18, leading ballerinas of the dance company itself, climaxing with the sweeping curtsies of the principals, or “étoiles.” Then come the boys, opening the way for the male corps de ballet and the company’s soloists. But since the first parade in 1926, the foyer has been its point of departure. To achieve a dramatic perspective, the back stage is opened to reveal the Foyer de la Danse, a heavily gilded room where wealthy patrons once gathered to meet - and hopefully win over - young ballerinas.

Still, even for gala regulars, the “défilé” is often the highlight of the evening. The evening’s main performance will be the Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin’s work “Decadance,” followed by a gala dinner for 800 guests in the theater’s glittering Grand Foyer, overlooking the Place de l’Opéra. The “Défilé du Ballet,” or the Ballet Parade, has begun.įollowing custom, this 20-minute ritual involving no fewer than 250 dancers, will open the Paris Opera Ballet season on Sept. Gradually, lines of young girls in tutus come walking with balletic grace toward the 2,100-strong audience in the Palais Garnier, the 19th-century home of the Paris Opera. PARIS - As trumpets sound the opening bars of Berlioz’s “Marche des Troyens,” first one, then more tiny heads appear on the horizon, a good 150 feet from the orchestra pit.

Paris opera garnier programme