The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key higher. Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word.
–F. Scott Fitzgerald, «The Great Gatsby», chapitre III
Under the light at night in Paris, nestled within the Place de l’Opéra in the 9th arrondissement, a grand jewelry box uncovered its top; it was the opening Gala of the Opéra de Paris at the Palais Garnier. This artistic sanctuary unfolded its gilded doors, unveiling the world of splendour to celebrate all its magnificent arts.
A cascade of flamboyant silky and satiny draperies spiraled from the vault of the grand staircase of the Palais Garnier, sparkling like the Milky Way in the sky. Guests adorned themselves in their most marvelous attire, creating a living stained glass window. Ladies dressed in dazzling fabrics reminiscent of the voluptuous paintings of ballet from Degas; while gentlemen, like modern dandies, were clad in impeccable tuxedos. These appealing canvases shuttled here and there, traveling between new arrivals that continuously added a vibrant and joyous tone.
The auditorium welcomed its 2054 spectators into an intoxicating atmosphere, and the twinkling lights of the chandeliers cast a gyrated glow on faces whose eyes reflected the gleam of anticipation and caressed gently the crimson velvets with which embellished the seats and walls of the boxes under the vault bedecked with Chagall’s painting.
The orchestra struck the first note to initiate the grandeur with the “March of the Trojans” from Act I of The Trojans by Berlioz, marking the beginning of this prodigious gala with the March of Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris, a phenomenal ritual that transcended time. The regular cadence punctuated the air; the sound of brass and woodwinds announced the arrival of the dancers from the foyer located at the back of the stage. Students from the École de l’Opéra de Paris, the petits rats leading the March; the Quadrilles, the first soloists, the Coryphées, the Sujets, and finally, the Étoiles emerged to the proscenium to salute the audience. The Étoiles were presented one by one; the recently nominated, Hannah O’Neill, as well as Marc Moreau and Guillaume Diop, honoured their first March as Étoile; while at the same time, this evening, audiences also celebrated the adieux of a former Étoile, Émilie Cozette.
Eclipsing even the stars in the sky, the eminence of this March possessed the entire stage with dancers adorned in costumes, tutus, and tiaras created by the Maison of Chanel. These dancers, graceful and elegant, illuminated the space with their enchanted presence; diamonds sparkled like butterflies of flames, rising, dancing, and intertwining in azure.
Photo: Julien Benhamou
Without a doubt, the choreography of Crystal Pite always finds a collision between the vastness of Nature and Beauty; however, the highlight of this evening after the intermission was The Last Call, choreographed by Marion Motin. It was a contemporary visual poem, a choreography that transcended the space-time between life and death. The dance held off the movement of air in the auditorium; not a breath was allowed as it would disrupt the brutality happening on stage. Violence and beauty crashed into one another in the choreography of Marion Moton, creating impeccable artistry under the illusion of seductive lightening.
As the evening drew to an end, with the fading of the last notes and the falling of the curtains, this night will be etched in the memories for the grace of the artistic power. The opening Gala was much more than a mere spectacle; it was a flamboyant celebration of Art and a sublime manifestation of human creativity.
Since that night, in the glow of the stars, the enchantment resides eternally in the soul.
