Current Events
The Golden Age of Classical India: The Gupta Empire In association with the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet and the National Museum, New Delhi, the Réunion des Musées Nationaux has created this exceptional exhibition of Classical Indian artwork. Laid out in chronological order, this remarkable collection of over 100 stone, terracotta and bronze sculptures illustrates the genesis, maturity and diffusion of Gupta art. Named after a ruling dynasty of northern India, the Gupta era (4 to 6 AD) marks the apogee of Indian civilisation. Also known as the Golden Age, this was a period when religious thought, science, literature and theatre flourished, and art attained an unprecedented level of refinement and perfection. Such art and perfection was dispersed, with the spread of aesthetic and iconographic models, into many surrounding regions, from Nepal to South East Asia and Central Asia, where clear influences from Classical India are evident in later art. The first exhibition in Europe, devoted entirely to art from the Gupta era, ‘L’Âge d’Or de la Civilisation de l’Inde: l’Empire des Guptas’ seeks to uncover the artistic and spiritual wonders from an empire and an artistic era that are still relatively unknown in Western cultures.
Les Grandes Eaux Musicales With the arrival of spring, the gardens of the Chateau de Versailles burst into life with a fantastic musical water fountain display, in the annual festival of Les Grandes Eaux Musicales. Lasting throughout the entire summer, this traditional occasion offers the perfect accompaniment to a walk in the park. Dotted with ornamental ponds and splendid, marble and gold fountains, five miles of paths wind among the groves and flowerbeds where Louis XVI once walked. During the festival, visitors to these beautiful gardens witness a fairytale ballet of cascades, sprays and bubbles, orchestrated to 17th and 18th century, French Baroque melodies, selected by composer and musician Hervé Niquet and the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles. The greatest artists, landscapers, composers, sculptors and choreographers are sought after to envision this masterpiece marrying water, music, art and nature. A magical and enchanting spectacle; various shows are organised, starting at 11:00 am with La Grande Perspective (all fountains) and finishing at around 5:30 pm with the Final au Bassin de Neptune. Performances take place on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from 7th April to 30th September 2007 (excluding 1st May 2007).
L'Allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato by Handel As the perfect accompaniment to spring in Paris and the arrival of summer, the Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris joins the Orchestre et Choeur des Arts Florissants, under the direction of William Christie, in a spectacular rendition of L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, by Georg Friedrich Handel. Inspired by two poems from John Milton, and rearranged by Charles Jennens, L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato was composed in 1740, and created with the Royal Theatre of Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. This musical masterpiece follows two initial movements – ‘L’Allegro’, the joyful man and ‘Il Penseroso’, the contemplative man – to culminate in a conflicting, but optimistic epilogue - ‘Il Moderato’. This third movement illustrates the clash of the two points of view, and seeks to organise the triumph of reason, balance and measure, in the definition of happiness and the ideal life. Drawing on her own life, choreographer Robyn Orlin has created an inspired and poetic ballet, using the life of a dancer to illustrate the intricacies of the music, and the synthesis of opposition in a rational control of desire. The first act is presented in a rural context, symbolising the original moment in which a dancer begins to dance. The second act is dominated by the city, evoking the more difficult moments of a dancers career, and the third act moves away from the optimistic vision suggested by Moderato to introduce the fear and the anguish. In recognition of the disasters of the 21st century, Robyn Orlin presents a modern and innovative ballet that attempts to tackle some of the more prominent questions in the contemporary world.
Barbara Hendricks recital After gaining a Bachelor of Music at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, Barbara Hendricks made her operatic debuts in 1974 at the San Francisco Opera and at the Glyndebourne Festival. Since, she has performed at many major opera houses around the world, including the Paris Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden and La Scala. Barbara Hendricks has performed and recorded with some of the world’s most famous pianists, such as Dmitri Alexeev, Michel Béroff, Maria Joao Pires and Peter Serkin, and leading conductors, including Barenboim, Bernstein, Davis, Giulini and Solti. She has also demonstrated a long commitment to human rights causes and has been made Honorary Ambassador for Life of the UNHCR. In 1998 she founded the Barbara Hendricks Foundation for Peace and Reconciliation and in 2001, she sang for the Nobel Prize ceremony and gala concert in Oslo. One of today’s best-selling recording artists, Barbara Hendricks has been acclaimed as one of the leading and most active recitalists of her generation with one of the most diverse musical and lingual repertoires. This year, for one night only, she returns to Paris, accompanied by Love Derwinger on the piano, for a recital of melodies by Schumann, Fauré, Mahler, Francis Poulenc, Schoenberg and Kurt Weill.
First performed under the direction of Franz Lizt in Weimar, Germany in 1850, the Lohengrin was an immediate success. Several excerpts have become famous concert band pieces, including the Bridal Chorus, more commonly known as ‘Here Comes the Bride’, and the young King Ludwig II of Bavaria found this delightful masterpiece so moving that he used it as the inspiration for his fairy-tale castle ‘Neuschwanstein’ (‘New Swan Stone’). Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813 –1883) was a composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas. He exerted a strong influence on the operatic medium and his later masterpieces greatly advanced the art of opera. He later came to call his operas ‘music dramas’, in the adoption of this new form of opera, which denoted a fusion of all of the musical and dramatic elements. Wagner also introduced new musical forms and harmonies, and his musical style is considered the essence of classical music’s Romantic period, due to its unparalleled exploration of emotional expression. From May to June, 194 years after his birth, Wagner’s tale of the Swan Knight, in his romantic Lohengrin opera, is brought to the Bastille Opera as the perfect accompaniment to spring in Paris. Produced by Robert Carsen, it is interpreted by Ben Heppner, Mireille Delunsch, Jean-Philippe Lafont and Waltraud Meier who are accompanied by the Choeur et Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Paris (Choir and Orchestra of the Paris National Opera).
Museum Night For one night only, around 1000 museums across France and Europe will take part in the exceptional Museum Night. Various additional events, such as debates, concerts, screenings and shows, are organised to participate in, whilst visitors are invited to admire the wonderful light displays that turn the permanent collections into a fascinating night-time show. Home to the Musée du Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay and many other fabulous museums, Paris offers a variety of wonderful collections and spectacular buildings to enjoy. The Nuit des Musées hopes to offer visitors a unique opportunity to tour their favourite collections and cultural establishments in a more intimate and evocative atmosphere.
French Open 2007 The second of the Grand Slam tournaments, the French Open (Roland Garros) takes place for two weeks, between mid May and early June. First held in 1981 at the Stade Français, the French Open became an international event in 1925, and has since witnessed some of the most memorable and spectacular tennis matches in history. The Roland Garros tournament has played host to the debuts of Borg, Graf, Wilander, Lendl, Kuerten and Nadal, as well as some of the most exciting matches, such as Noah/Wilander in 1983, Lendl/McEnroe in 1984 and Graf/Sanchez in 1996. The main matches are played in Centre Court (Philippe Chatrier), the Suzanne Lenglen court and Courts 1 and 2. All visitors are welcome to take part in the action and watch some of the most talented tennis players, in a display of power and precision. |
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