The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded as one of the most prominent ballet companies in the world, together with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and the Royal Ballet in London."There are three world-best ballet companies, unquestionably the Royal Ballet, unquestionably the Bolchoi Ballet, and unquestionably the Paris Opera Ballet" - « Il y en a trois meilleures compagnies du monde, sans doute Le Royal Ballet, sans doute Le Bolchoï et sans doute Le Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris.», Philippe Noisette, journaliste, dans La Danse à tout prix, television documentary by Carlos Simoes, 2012, 129 min, broadcast on 26 December 2012 on France 2.
Since December 2022, the company has been under the direction of José Martínez, the director of dance. The ballet company consists of 154 dancers, among them 17 Danseurs Étoiles. The principal dancers give 180 dance performances each year, primarily at the Palais Garnier.Paris Opera Ballet, site of the Paris Opera.
Just as prestigious as the Paris Opera Ballet is its dance school, the Paris Opera Ballet School (French: École de danse de l'Opéra national de Paris), considered to be one of the world's best dance schools.Paris Opera Ballet School - a World of its Own , L'école de danse, un monde à part, review of the press of April 2013. Its former pupils have won a record of 20 Benois de la Danse awards. The school celebrated its tercentennial in 2013.
The competition for admission to both institutions is extremely fierce.See below (paragraph hierarchy). For a dancer to enter the Paris Opera Ballet, it is almost compulsory to be admitted to the Paris Opera Ballet School, to pass the annual competitive examinations in May, and to attend at least the final two classes. 95 percent of the admitted dancers in the Paris Opera Ballet are French.Interview with New San Francisco Ballet Principal, Mathilde Froustey , by Laura Jaye Cramer, 23 January 2014, SF Weekly, extract: "You cannot get into the company if you have not done the school" (Mathilde Froustey).
History
Naming The Paris Opera Ballet has always been an integral part of the Paris Opera, which was founded in 1669 as the Académie d'Opéra (Academy of Opera), although theatrical dance did not become an important component of the Paris Opera until 1673, after it was renamed the Académie Royale de Musique (Royal Academy of Music) and placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully.Christout 1998, p. 86. The Paris Opera has had many different official names during its long history, but since 1994, it has been called the Opéra National de Paris (Paris National Opera).Histoire de l'Opéra national de Paris (in French) at the Paris Opera website. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
Background
The Paris Opera Ballet had its origins in the earlier dance institutions, traditions and practices of the court of Louis XIV. Of particular importance were the series of comédies-ballets created by Molière with, among others, the choreographers and composers Pierre Beauchamps and Jean-Baptiste Lully. The first was Les Fâcheux in 1661 and the most important, Le Bourgeois gentilhomme in 1670.Guest 2006, pp. 5–7. Many of these were also performed by Molière's company at the public Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris, which was later to become the first permanent home of the opera company and the opera ballet.
Also in 1661, Louis XIV had founded the Académie Royale de Danse (Royal Academy of Dance) in an effort "to improve the quality of dance instruction for court entertainments". Members of the academy, as well as the dance teachers who were certified by it, and their students, participated in creating the ballets for the court, Molière, and later the opera.Astier 1998a, p. 3. In 1680, Beauchamps became the chancellor (director) of the Académie Royale de Danse.Astier 1998b, pp. 396–397. Although the Académie Royale de Danse and the Opera were closely connected, the two institutions remained separate, and the former disappeared with the fall of the monarchy in 1792.Astier 1998a, p. 4. The last list of its members was published in the 1779 Almanach des spectacles de Paris Archive Larousse.
Founding and early history On 28 June 1669, Louis XIV granted a privilege to the poet Pierre Perrin giving him a monopoly to form a separate academy for the performance of opera in French. The first production of the company founded by Perrin, the Académie d'Opéra (Academy of Opera),Also referred to as the Académie Royale des Opéra (Powell 2010, p. 178). was Pomone, which was first performed on 3 March 1671 at the Jeu de Paume de la Bouteille and included ballets choreographed by Anthoine des Brosses.Powell 1995, p. 179; Guest 2006, p. 7; Powell 2010, p. 178. It is frequently stated that Beauchamps choreographed the ballets for Pomone (e.g., Astier 1998a, p. 3). According to Powell, this misunderstanding is based on the 'Recueil de Tralage' (ca. 1697; MS 6544, Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris). A manuscript legal document in the Archives of the Comédie-Française makes clear, however, that Anthoine des Brosses, who had earlier served as dancing master for the Théâtre du Marais, choreographed the ballets for Pomone. Beauchamps only took over des Brosses's position with Perrin's company in the late autumn or early winter of 1671, when des Brosses moved back to the Marais to choreograph Jean Donneau de Visé's musical machine-play Le Mariage de Bacchus et d'Ariane (performed at the Théâtre du Marais in the winter of 1671–1672).
In 1672, Lully purchased Perrin's privilege and also obtained new letters patent limiting the use of musicians and dancers by other French companies. With Anthoine des Brosses and Lully as choreographers and Carlo Vigarani as stage designer, Lully's company, now called the Académie Royale de Musique, produced Lully's first opera, Les fêtes de l'Amour et de Bacchus (a pastorale) in November 1672 at the Jeu de Paume de Béquet.Powell 2008, pp. 127, 233 note 44; Powell 2010, p. 178; Jérôme de La Gorce, "Lully's first opera. A rediscovered poster for Les fêtes de l'Amour et de Bacchus", Early Music, vol. 15, no. 3, Lully Anniversary Issue (Aug., 1987), pp. 308–314, . Libretto, 1672; ms score from the Philidor Collection, 1705. This work consisted primarily of excerpts from Lully's prior court ballets connected with new entrées choreographed by des Brosses.Powell 2010, p. 178. A crucial difference, however, from the previous court ballets was that the members of the court no longer participated, and all of the dancers were professionals.Astier 1998a, p. 3. Note however that the Gazette d'Amsterdam reports that nobles did dance in public at certain performances (cited by La Gorce 2002, pp. 189–190).
Lully's next production, Cadmus et Hermione (27 April 1673), the first tragédie lyrique (with a libretto by Philippe Quinault), also premiered at the Jeu de Paume de Béquet and was choreographed by Anthoine des Brosses. Pierre Beauchamps, who had been working with Molière at the Palais-Royal, joined Lully's company in June 1673 (not long after Molière's death), when Lully took over the Palais-Royal theatre, forcing Molière's troupe to move to the Théâtre Guénégaud. Lully and Quinault continued to collaborate on a series of successful productions, in the process creating a new genre of French opera in which dance interludes played an important part in the musical drama.Christout 1998, pp. 86–87. The ballets for these works were created by Beauchamps, des Brosses, and d'Olivet. Jean-Baptiste Dubos explains that Beauchamps and des Brosses were responsible for the ballets ordinaires, while d'Olivet specialized in ballet-pantomime:
Lully paid such great attention to the ballets mentioned here that he engaged for their choreography a 'maître de danse particulier' named d'Olivet. It was he, and not des Brosses or Beauchamps, whom Lully engaged for the 'ballets ordinaires', who composed the ballets of the infernal scenes of Psyché and Alceste. It was also d'Olivet who composed the ballet of the old men in Thésée, of the baneful dreams in Atys, and of the tremblers in Isis. This last was composed solely of pantomimic gestures by men seized with cold, and he did not introduce a single usual dance step into it.Quoted and translated by Powell 1995, p. 185, citing Réflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture, Paris, 1719, p. 357. See p. 247 of the Troisième Partie of the 1740 edition at Gallica.
Initially the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet were all male. Mademoiselle de la Fontaine (1665–1738) became the first professional ballerina when she danced in the premiere of Lully's ballet Le Triomphe de l'Amour on 21 January 1681.Guest 2006, p. 9; Pitou 1983, pp. 249, 325–326. Le Triomphe de l'Amour at operabaroque.fr. Score of Le Triomphe de l'Amour at Gallica. Pierre Beauchamps continued to collaborate with Lully at the Paris Opera until Lully's death in 1687.
Subsequent history
The 18th century saw the creation of an associated school, now referred to as the Paris Opera Ballet School (French: École de Danse de l’Opéra de Paris), which opened in 1713. The operas of Rameau, and later Gluck, raised standards for the dancers. Jean-Georges Noverre was a particularly influential ballet master from 1776 to 1781. He created the ballet Les petits riens in 1778 on Mozart's music. Maximilien Gardel was ballet master from 1781, with his brother Pierre Gardel taking over after Maximilien's death in 1787. Pierre Gardel survived the Revolution creating ballets such as La Marseillaise and Offrande à la Liberté. He remained the ballet master until 1820 and continued to work up to 1829.Babsky 1998, p. 202.
In 1820, Pierre Gardel was succeeded as ballet master by Jean-Louis Aumer, who was however highly criticized for using too much mime and failing to use choreography which furthered plot or character. In 1821, the company moved to a new house, the Salle Le Peletier, where Romantic ballet was born. In 1875, the company moved to the Palais Garnier, where it continues to perform.
Serge Lifar as ballet director In 1929, Jacques Rouché invited 24-year-old dancer Serge Lifar to become the maitre de ballet of the Paris Opéra Ballet, which had fallen into decline in the late 19th century.
As ballet master from 1930 to 1944, and from 1947 to 1958, he devoted himself to the restoration of the technical level of the Opéra Ballet, returning it to its place as one of the best companies in the world.
Lifar gave the company a new strength and purpose, initiating the rebirth of ballet in France, and began to create the first of many ballets for that company. During his three decades as director of the Paris Opéra Ballet, Lifar led the company through the turbulent times of World War II and the German occupation of France. Lifar brought the Paris Opéra Ballet to America and performed to full houses at the New York City Center. Audiences were enthusiastic and had great admiration for the company of dancers.
Era of Rudolf Nureyev In the world of ballet, Rudolf Nureyev is regarded as the greatest classical dancer ever and as one of the most preeminent choreographers.Philippe Noisette, « Que reste-t-il de Noureev ? » Les Échos, 1 March 2013. In 1983, Rudolf Nureyev was appointed director of the Paris Opera Ballet, where, as well as directing, he continued to dance and to promote younger dancers.