Opera de Paris - DON QUICHOTTE

After Cendrillon, Jules Massenet’s music is once again in the limelight with Don Quichotte, his last opera – created in 1910 for the Russian bass Shaliapin – a work that has not been performed at the Opéra Bastille for over 20 years. The composer retained only a few of the main emblematic episodes of Cervantes’ lavish novel: Don Quixote’s love for Dulcinea, his knightly ways that lead him to pursue brigands in order to recover her necklace, his battle with the windmills and his death as he lies beside his servant Sancho Panza. Inspired by this refined and moving music, director Damiano Michieletto’s new production seeks to reveal the poetry of Don Quixote, but also his suffering. That of a deeply lonely man, haunted by his memories.

program

Don Quichotte
Jules Massenet

Place

The Paris Opera (French: Opéra de Paris, or simply the Opéra) is the primary opera company of Paris. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique. Classical ballet as we know it today arose within the Paris Opera as the Paris Opera Ballet and has remained an integral and important part of the company. Currently called the Opéra national de Paris, it primarily produces operas at its modern 2700-seat theatre Opéra Bastille which opened in 1989, and ballets and some classical operas at the older 1970-seat Palais Garnier which opened in 1875. Small scale and contemporary works are also staged in the 500-seat Amphitheatre under the Opéra Bastille.

The company's annual budget is in the order of 200 million euros, of which 100 million come from the French state and 70 million from box office receipts.
With this money, the company runs the two houses and supports a large permanent staff, which includes the orchestra of 170, a chorus of 110 and the corps de ballet of 150.Each year, the Opéra presents about 380 performances of opera, ballet and other concerts, to a total audience of about 800,000 people (of which 17% come from abroad), which is a very good average seat occupancy rate of 94%. In the 2012/13 season, the Opéra presents 18 opera titles (two in a double bill), 13 ballets, 5 symphonic concerts and two vocal recitals, plus 15 other programmes. The company's training bodies are also active, with 7 concerts from the Atelier Lyrique and 4 programmes from the École de Danse.