Goings-On Apr 24. Part II
8 greatest events in Paris
There are only two cities in the world that I always go back to when I need to please the eye and feed the soul - London and Paris. Predictable, I know - it’s basically like calling Debussy your favorite composer. I’m used to keeping something of a mental competition chart between these two cities. In the 2010s London would have easily taken over the French capital due to the sheer range and quality of its cultural events. However, in the 2020s (and likewise in the 1920s) Paris seems like the place to be if you want to see the creme de la creme of contemporary culture. No offense to London, but there have been at least two occasions when I saw the same exhibition at both Tate and Pompidou, and the difference in approach was basically night and day. I’m sure my admiration is nakedly apparent by now, and you have all the rights to suspect me of being biased - I’m one hundred percent parisienne in my soul, with all negative connotations that this might entail.
While writing this April’s Goings-On I have noticed an interesting pattern - no matter the place, April doesn’t offer anything particularly new compared to March or May, but it does leave some time to catch up. This digest is the second part out of four and is solely dedicated to Paris, describing 8 outstanding events worth your attention.
Until Mar 23 / Opera / The Exterminating Angel by Thomas Adès and Calixto Bieito Opera Bastille
I should have mentioned this in my March digest, but there is only one week left to attend this event - one of the greatest contemporary operas on one of the world’s leading stages. Although I still think that classics like Cosi Fan Tutte, Tristan and Isolde, etc. could be interpreted forever, there’s no denying that Thomas Adès is a genius composer. The new generation has a lot to say as well.
Inspired by Luis Buñuel’s 1962 surrealist film, which offered a scathing critique of the bourgeoisie, the work begins with a dinner among upper-class friends in a plush mansion after an opera performance. But, gradually, a mysterious force prevents the fifteen guests from leaving the reception. In this confinement for no apparent reason, drawn out over several days, the veneer of propriety cracks, revealing the worst of human nature.
Until 2.04 Mark Rothko, Fondation Louis Vuitton
Only two weeks left to see this major blockbuster of 2023/2024. I would definitely call my visit there something of an achievement, like it was with Breughel’s show in Vienna in 2018, Vermeer in Amsterdam in 2023, Yayoi Kusama’s tour through 2020-2023, etc. This unprecedented exhibition may not change your opinion on Rothko, but it might change you.
Apr 4-7 / Ballet / Norwegian National Ballet / Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
Don’t let the title fool you - this isn’t a show by the Norwegian National Ballet, but instead a single beautiful performance called Light of Passage, staged by our beloved Crystal Pite in collaboration with the Royal Opera House. I remember how much effort it took to attend it during its premier days in London, so I can say with full confidence - take your rare chance to see it now.
Apr 2-18 / Ballet / Assembly Hall by Crystal Pite & Jonathon Young / Theatre de la Ville
The very meta plot combines reality with myth, the two planes gradually merging. A group of modern day medieval re-enactors meet in their derelict community hall to consider their situation: membership declining, debts mounting. In short, the end is in sight, unless something drastic can be done. As the meeting progresses, so the line between reality and re-enactment blurs, and eventually it becomes impossible to tell them apart.
Having mentioned it five times already, I finally caved in and decided to watch it myself. I’ve tried to find some good press coverage, but it seems there is nothing I can really trust. I hope by the time I begin writing May’s newsletters, I will be recommending it to you from personal experience, and with an actual review.
Apr 7-18/ Ballet / Liberté Cathédrale by Boris Charmatz / Theatre de la Ville
I would not expect to see anything close to normalcy. Having known Boris as an artist and as a person, he is someone who’s all too happy to trap his audience in an absurd tragedy. This is one of his latest pieces, that was finished after his appointment to the legendary ‘Pina Bausch’s Wuppertal Theater’. If you are not into radical contemporary dance, you’ll be better off skipping it. Otherwise you’re welcome to take a seat and try to keep track of what’s happening - I must admit, it’s not an easy task.
Apr 12-14 / Ballet / Into The Hairy by Sharon Eyal / Chaillot
I’ve just booked the last good seats for the evening of April 13. Eyal is in high demand in France and every single performance gets sold out very quickly. People say this show is a masterpiece. Do you think I deserve some kind of special pass after attending more than 15 of this choreographer’s performances? Do I have to pass a special test on her oeuvre first? Anyhow, whether you’re looking to be thrilled or left in awe - you’ve come to the right place. I don’t know how she does it, but it gets me every single time.
Apr 23-30/ Ballet / Sweet Mamba by Pina Bausch / Theatre de la Ville
Having premiered in 2008, the penultimate work by the legendary Pina Bausch is still a massive success anywhere it makes an appearance.
In “Sweet Mambo”, six women and three men appear and disappear in an evocative landscape consisting of an infinite forest of ethereal fabric. They communicate through desire and fear, laughter and pain, loneliness and tenderness.
In Bausch’s universe, linear narrative is superfluous: questions are more important than answers. Everything is possible and everything co-exists in what is a collage of human experiences. It is an absurd and tender universe, violent as well as melancholic: small everyday stories, a brief confession, an invisible gesture, a joyous laughter, a drowned sigh. In her absence, the great choreographer gives us a wink, urging us to explore and embrace the complexity of our existence.
Until 1.07 / Exhibition / Brancusi / Centre Pompidou
The exhibition will be open to the public this weekend. Brancusi is definitely an artist that deserves significantly more attention from academia than he gets. Nevertheless, I surely don’t remember any exhibition of such scale in the past decade. I highly recommend visiting. This feels like a must-see.
While writing this newsletter I returned to boxing and entertained myself by translating the lyrics of Israeli songs (despite the joy of understanding, sometimes I prefer to remain in the dark about the meaning). However, my biggest discoveries this week were Poor Things (Emma Stone is insanely talented and the movie is remarkable) and The Gentlemen (why did it take so long for a TV show from Guy Ritchie to come out??).
Have fun!
Talk to you soon,
Miri