THE BIGGEST MUSEUM IN THE WORLD
A PROGRAM BY KARINE TERSIN
HOSTED BY ERIC BRUNET
DIRECTED BY GENEVIEVE VAUDRAN
THE BIGGEST MUSEUM IN THE WORLD
Welcome to The Biggest Museum in the World
since your region has the world's greatest open-air museum:
the Paris Opera.
It's 1861
and Napoleon III wants an opera house.
He launches a competition and an unknown architect wins:
39-year-old Charles Garnier.
When he presented his design to Empress Eugénie and Napoleon III,
Napoleon III asked: "What's the style? Louis XIV?
"Louis XV? Louis XVI? Neoclassical?"
And Charles Garnier turned around and said:
"No, it's Napoleon III."
This magnificent place standing 80 metres high,
125 metres wide and 172 metres long,
is home to the lyrical arts
but above all, home to the aristocracy of international dance:
154 dancers and 14 Etoile dancers also known as principal dancers.
Let's go for a guided tour.
Hello, Gerard Mortier. - Hello.
Thanks for having us. - My pleasure.
Working here isn't trivial to you, is it?
No. As you know, this building is huge
and the auditorium itself only makes up an 8th of the building,
meaning that this building was built for performances,
pleasure and enjoyment.
It was the most perfect building on the bourgeoisie scene
that came to power.
It rivalled the Palace of Versailles
with its big staircase and big chandelier in the hall.
There are 90 different kinds of marble at the entrance alone,
which Garnier imported from all over,
so, for 1st-time members of the public,
I can understand how it must have been daunting and even scary to come in.
At the time, this building was truly a building
that represented the bourgeoisie in its heyday: it was imperialistic
and a little colonialist.
So, what I do is, in contrast with this building,
I create slightly contemporary dramatizations
and the public has seen right through this
because at times, Garnier opera-goers can be a bit conservative,
in Bastille, it's very different.
So, I would like a new type of audience to come.
I had a lot of young people come and watch a young Mozart show,
I also had many people
come and watch The Temptation of St. Anthony
against a backdrop of gospel and blues music.
So, I'm interested in this building
being embraced by as many people as possible.
I find it staggering that this place, built well over a century ago,
is still dedicated to dance and lyrics
and has remained unchanged and yet, there's still a nice vibe.
Despite minor alterations to it, the opera house has coped well.
It's the 1st time that a building has been built
on a steel framework.
It was the same workshop Eiffel used
who usually built with wood, but this was steel.
Do you know every nook and cranny of this opera house?
No. I still haven't seen the phantom of the opera, he must be hiding.
You were just rehearsing in this extraordinary room.
What is it? A rehearsal room, Dorothée?
Yes, it's a rehearsal room
and, as you can see, there are portraits of all the former dancers
from back in the day who danced at the opera.
For the opening gala, they also open up this room with the stage
and you can see right up to the mirror which looks really pretty.
You have a little story for me. - Yes.
The dance foyer
was a room where rich members came
to woo the dancers in the past.
At the end of the show? - Yes.
How do you cope in regards to your body
which is your livelihood,
which can get tired, which may have to dance even when it hurts?
We're constantly keeping our bodies in check
with massages, a certain lifestyle,
you have to go to bed early when possible,
you have to eat a good plate of pasta.
Nobody can do this kind of dance without having worked,
particularly at our level. So, we must shape our body.
We're in front of the mirror every day
trying to push ourselves to the limit and outdo ourselves every day.
So, we have to look after our body since it's our work tool.
This is the Flou workshop where we make all the costumes
for women, or for the female dancers to be more precise
since this is the opera house.
We have 11 full-time dress designers
and we're already underway with The Lady of the Camellias.
We had to put this underneath, but...
A show is kind of like a child for me.
It's like going through pregnancy.
We work on a show for three or four months
and it's always a race at the end
because there are always last-minute changes.
So, it's a lot of pressure and a lot of commitment.
All of a sudden, they're on stage and it's over
and there's a void.
It's incredible. The work completely possesses you.
It must be a funny feeling to leave.
All of the costumes are tailor made, particularly the dance costumes
because we have a specific technique.
The costume mustn't hinder movement.
The dancer must feel able to move around totally freely
without the costume getting in the way.
We're in the costume department.
It's a historical site dating back to when the Opera was built in 1870.
We're in the stitching workshop,
in other words,
the place where they create costumes for the...
..for the dancers.
This means that the 154 dancers at the Paris Opera
come here every time there's a new costume.
Yes.
There are dancers who are a lot more meticulous than others,
some are more detail-oriented, others don't care, how do you manage?
With the Etoile dancers, I never cut the panties in the same way
for an Etoile dancer.
All of them want something very particular
so that they can be identified on stage.
That's real progress
compared to dance in the past. It's very flexible.
It's not a corset that...
It gives... - There's underwiring.
It gives a really nice shape.
It's a tight material.
This, for example, will completely hug
the male or female dancer.
Oh, right.
It's a lot more comfortable.
When you wear a corset with underwiring, it's different.
It's another kind of outfit, so there's a support which...
Prepare for 123.
This is Jean-Henri, hello. - Hello.
You're the stage manager. - Yes.
What does that entail?
It's the person who, in a ballet like this,
is in charge of making notes, with the director
or the choreographers,
on all the technical movements of the show: Body movements...
REHEARSAL "THE BREATH OF TIME"
..lights, light changes, light effects
and potential special effects.
So, you, during the show,
are working with everyone.
Absolutely, with everything that moves on stage.
What happens if you're ill?
It's tough, but no one is irreplaceable.
I always have colleagues here.
I'm not alone since we have over 300 shows a year,
I have colleagues ready to step in, but we're never ill.
Have a good rehearsal, it's starting soon.
What is this rehearsal for?
This is a contemporary creation
called The Breath of Time.
Are you civil servants?
Yes. - Tell me more.
We're not exactly civil servants,
we don't get the holidays
or the benefits that certain civil servants do.
No, we're civil servants in the private sector.
So, you're... - We have job security which is great.
But this opera house is special, you don't get to see that everywhere.
Admittedly, when I'm in Place de l'Opéra
and I see this monument, I think: This is my office!
Even before working here,
I'd think: what a monument! You'd be so lucky to work there.
As you start to know your way around, it's huge,
there's so much history in these walls and...
Yeah, that's amazing.
Over the years, has there been a moment that gave you chills?
Etoile dancer nominations
because we've known each other since we were young, we're a family.
We went to dance school together, so...
When you see their journey
and all that hard work and effort they put in every day,
and then after a few years, a dancer is named as an Etoile dancer,
it's a magical thing to be a part of, even for us.
It's brilliant.
Could you fix it so that Marie-Agnès can go up?
We're technically not ready yet. - There you go.
OK, thanks.
Brigitte Lefevre, hello. - Hello.
You're the head of Ballet at the Paris Opera.
What does your role entail?
Anything concerning dance is my responsibility.
I also have to work in a team, I would be useless alone,
but if I'm not able to optimize everyone's performance,
I'm not doing my job properly.
They say that the Paris Opera is exemplary around the world.
Is that true? Does it stand out from the rest?
Here, all day, every day and perhaps now more than ever,
it is a model of excellence.
Admission to the school is selective: there are 154 dancers, not 170
just for the sake of it.
There's really a framework in place for the number of dancers allowed
to make sure that only the best get in.
What's the criteria to nominate an Etoile dancer?
There are grades or ranks
which qualify each person.
So, the rank goes from quadrille, coryphée,
sujet and premier danseur.
To change rank, they must take an exam.
Understandably, that's what they hope for,
but it's about doing your best
to be appointed the highest rank of Etoile dancer.
And I'm the one, as director of dance,
who goes to the general manager and puts forward
a list of who should be nominated.
Today we have reality TV,
middle-of-the-road pop stars...
They're not quite the stars of days gone by.
At the Paris Opera, the dancers may not be those kinds of stars,
but when I think of Aurélie Dupont, Kader Belarbi,
when I think of each of our top dancers
who should all be named, they are truly stars.
Brigitte Lefevre, thank you. - Thank you.
1858, Napoleon III was coming out of the old opera house
a few hundred metres away from here on Rue Lepelletier
when three bombs went off. 150 were injured, eight were killed.
Napoleon III would forever be haunted by the attacks.
When a few years later he ordered the construction of this opera house,
he asked Garnier to create a special access path for him
so that he wouldn't have to go through the great hall - and here's his box.
He also asked Baron Haussmann
not to plant any trees on Avenue de l'Opéra
so conspirators wouldn't be able to take cover under them
to plot a new attack.
Provisions were made for Napoleon to be here
to admire the stage and public
and he was able to hide from the members of the public
and their wandering eyes
thanks to these small panels
dotted all around the box. Good idea, Garnier.
Kader, you hold the very difficult title
as the most senior member of the Etoile dancers at this Opera.
It's a real accolade
because it's recognition from the public, the house and our elders.
It's a long haul to be nominated Etoile dancer,
but I think it's just as hard to go down that route
because it's kind of lonely at the top of that pyramid.
We have to be on top of our game,
our technique and our standing
and that really is a challenge.
We have this title for life.
So, we're lucky to be Etoile dancers as there aren't many of us:
there are six female Etoile dancers and I think, nine male ones.
So, it's the elite.
It's the dancing elite.
The supreme title.
Do the Etoiles have a bouquet of red roses waiting for them?
Do people see the show every night? - Well, yes.
It does happen, but more discretely. We tend to get letters.
We do receive flowers, just not the guy holding them.
I get the carriage and the lady.
Marie-Agnès and Kader, thank you. - Thank you.
I'm a young choreographer.
It's the first time I've been invited here
and I'm currently living the dream being in this opera house.
I've already been here for five weeks.
Is a company like this OK with modernity, transgression
and moving away from traditional choreography?
Here's the proof: I'm French, originally from Algeria,
I'm 35 and a hip hop, contemporary and jazz choreographer.
The director of dance, Brigitte, had a lot of faith in me.
She definitely took a risk,
but I think this place needs to breathe.
It needs a breath of fresh air. That's why this show is called
The Breath of Time - it's about breathing.
The gold decorations are a part of what we see,
but the interior and the art is the most important thing.
And maybe one day, we'll see hip hop in this house,
it's open-minded, that's what I've realized. Very open.
CHOREOGRAPHY
When you're an Etoile dancer,
you're an Etoile dancer for life,
but after the age of 40, many of them reinvent themselves.
Many Etoile dancers become dance teachers here or elsewhere.
Since we're on the subject,
I say we dress up as tooth fairies
and go and watch one of Eric Camillo's classes.
I spent all my school years and career at the Paris Opera.
We are seven ballet teachers.
We try to protect the Paris Opera's crown jewels
and we do that through dance classes.
In other words, there's a certain style, a work ethic
and hard work to be done.
So, that's the small role I play
because I only work at the start of the day.
Then the ballet masters and coaches take over.
Brisé, brisé, brisé and feet.
Make sure that last move is balanced.
The 150 dancers at the Paris Opera
have all come here at one point.
We're at the costume and decoration workshop. Hello, Michel.
Hello. - What are you working on?
A necklace for The Lady of the Camellias.
It's very pretty. - For the production in June.
It's the new big production here.
How long have you been doing this for?
Working at the opera house? It'll be 31 years on June 2nd.
When there's a big production like this,
what do you do? All the jewelry? Only jewelry?
No, not just jewelry. This ballet requires a lot of jewelry,
but otherwise, we also work on painting fabrics, dyeing,
masks...
Anything to do with decorations on costumes
such as hat frames, paint for ballet shoes,
hand-painted ballet shoes, shoelaces,
it varies widely.
What's this behind you?
It's a necklace for Marguerite in The Lady of the Camellias.
What's all this paint, Michel?
These are pots for the colors to paint the dancer's ballet shoes
so that the color matches the pantyhose.
So, this is the color of the ballet shoes in Romeo and Juliet.
Yes, that's paint.
That's dye and then we create the color for the ballet shoes.
Would they be flesh-coloured?
It depends on what's needed. - What's this for?
For Isabelle Ciaravola, she'll be dancing
and she needs shoes in a certain color,
I don't know which one yet, but she'll need these.
All of them?! She only needs one pair!
It depends. She may need one or two pairs in one evening.
The shoe is really interesting because it's very rigid, look.
She's put varnish on it
to make the sole even stiffer.
And she's cut the sole
so that it bends easier and makes the neck of the foot look prettier.
The aim is to have a very arched foot. - Yes. It's important.
So, where do you dye all these objects?
We have trays for that now and the set-up is better than before.
We have dyeing trays,
but we still dye things in pots and pans over a stove.
Valérie, are you the one who deals with the dye?
Among other things, we all deal with dye here.
You're currently choosing your colors.
I'm using yellow to make a flesh color.
I'm adding yellow to the mix.
Is there a standard flesh color or do you adapt to the dancer?
Of course. The same goes for the ballet shoes.
We try to get the closest match to their complexion.
This is how you make flesh-coloured dye.
With this here, I have to dye my piece of white fabric...
..in this color.
Not just any color, this one, the dancer's flesh color.
Do you now know just by looking at it? - Kind of.
So, this tea color... - I'm going to try.
..will end up being flesh-colored.
Right. I'm going to dip the fabric in.
Shall I pass it to you? - Yes, thank you.
Is that going to be a leotard?
It'll be a body, a leotard or panties, I'm not exactly sure, but...
..but in any case, I'm dyeing the fabric
and then the stitching workshop will work its magic.
It's too light. - I don't want to be a pain, but...
It's too light and too pink.
So, I'm going to slowly go towards yellow.
OK. Have a good day. - Thank you, you too. Bye.
So, ladies and gentlemen, to be honest, I'm petrified.
I'm under the roof of the opera house.
We're exactly 36 metres above the stage, the set,
and these cables, as they're called,
hold up the decorations.
We're going to be very careful because that's a void down there.
Ladies and gentlemen: 36 metres.
There are 15 levels at the Paris Opera House
and we're right at the bottom,
five floors below the stage, below the main set
in a secret, extraordinary location.
Gilles Modolo, we're in the capstan room
because this was built by shipwrights
during Napoleon III's time.
Even before his time. Essentially, the technology used in sail ships
and large merchant vessels
used these capstans and they wind all these cables and hawsers.
In fact, we use the same sailing terminology
that's why certain words can't be used and every term is very specific.
I suppose we don't call this a rope.
That's a term...
A banned term.
They're called cables or hawsers depending on their width and use.
Essentially, these capstans,
what were they used for?
These capstans were used to move opera decorations.
We're in the dark depths of the opera
in a basement about five stories below the stage
and here we're in the kingdom of the Phantom of the Opera.
Did he exist? - Of course, he's still around.
Everyone says that perhaps a little piece of us is in the phantom
but this place here is quite interesting
because it is the center of the theater
and he has all these pathways he can slip through unseen
and secret doors to get back to his box.
There are plenty of places in this house
where the phantom's presence is felt.
The phantom's secret
is that he was in love. Who with?
He was in love with a singer.
But I think the phantom exists in this opera house
because a lot of people in this house are in love.
It used to be referred to as flamboyantly indulgent
and was even looked down upon.
It is kind of flamboyantly indulgent,
but that's what's nice.
When you enter Palais Garnier, it's different,
you leave your troubles behind
and step into another world.
We've come to the end of the show.
Even as an architect student, Charles Garnier once exclaimed:
"There's no choosing between the arts, one must be God or an architect."
He wasn't God, but he was a great architect
and one of the few to have a building in Paris bear his name,
like Gustave Eiffel with the Eiffel Tower.
It's the end of the show, see you next week.
Subtitles: Babel Subtitling