An evening at the Garnier

First off, pictures will be up soon, and I never made it to the Pantheon today. C'est la vie. 


But, to sum up my evening, it shall be in 3 words:

Magnificent
Beautiful
Wonderful

The Opera Garnier is just breathtaking. Picture the Boston Opera House, but older and steeped in more history. And a much more prestigious stage. The ballet tonight was Paquita by Joseph Mazilier and Paul Foucher. This wasn't a ballet I was familiar with, but I enjoyed it immensely. Here are the following reasons:

*Costumes. So beautiful, especially the women's. I recognized some pieces from my Fashion class, and since the ballet is set in Spain, the Spanish women's black and gold costumes were stunning. Those and Paquita's white sequined tutu were just mesmerizing under the lights.

*Speaking of mesmerizing, the dancers were in top form. The two main characters, Paquita & Lucien, were phenomenal. Their leaps, pirouettes, just beautifully done. Imagine these two gorgeous amazingly in-shape dancers who move like feathers. I always smiled when he lifted her. For some reason, during any ballet, when the man lifts up the women and she glides through the air, *ah* I just melt.

*Music! The music had that Spanish influence which was lovely, and even the dancers partook in the effort. I've never seen a ballet with so much input from the dancers; they clapped, played tambourines, stomped their feet, snapped. The orchestra (which I'm always partial to more than the dancers) and dancers blended so well together.

So yes, my glamorous evening at the opera was a success. It makes me want to see The Nutcracker when I get home!