“I want a treasure which contains them all! I want youth!” Frustrated by the futile quest for knowledge, the erudite old Faust sells his soul to the devil in exchange for eternal youth and the beautiful Marguerite… Reworking the legend popularised by Goethe, Gounod focuses on the love story and elevates the significance of Marguerite’s fall and ultimate salvation.

Choosing to lighten the narrative’s philosophical scope allows him to strike a balance between scenes where the supernatural calls for the visually spectacular and others depicting a universe governed by inward actions and feelings.

Transposed to the present day, Tobias Kratzer’s Faust reflects on contemporary society’s obsession with eternal youth. His production’s sophisticated scenography oscillates between hyperrealism and magic, between the world of today and the mysterious atmosphere of German romanticism.  

The Paris Opera continues its new series, Les Voix de la Troupe, to learn more about the talents who have joined the institution's new opera group.

On the occasion of Falstaff, Nicholas Jones, who plays Bardolfo, talks about his career and what led him to leave his native Australia to join the troupe.

Invited for the first time to create a piece for the Paris Opera Ballet, My'Kal Stromile follows in the footsteps of his mentor William Forsythe.

The choreographer explains the genesis of Word for Word and how he drew inspiration from classical dance steps to imagine his own language. In costumes by Chanel, his choreography strikes a balance between heritage and innovation.

My'Kal Stromile talks about his influences, his background and his relationship with music. Finally, he shares how he works in the studio with the Opéra dancers.

In conjunction with Barrie Kosky's new production of Les Brigands, José Sciuto, deputy workshop manager, guides us into the heart of the Paris Opera's painting, sculpture and upholstery workshops to tell us all about this production's abundant sets.

An immersion that allows us to discover the various stages of work and reveals the many and varied facets of these professions.

Mozart’s last opera can be seen as a marvellous tale for children or as an ardent meditation on human existence.

A prince from a far-off land on a quest to find a slightly suicidal princess encounters a giant snake and a swaggering bird catcher, the Queen of the Night and a mysterious High Priest imposing strange rites of passage…

Drawing inspiration from the words of the composer in a letter to his father, the director Robert Carsen provides an elegant and sober Magic Flute, a dark jewel that conquers Death and makes it “our best friend”, – a source of reassurance and consolation.

For his Madame Chrysanthème, Pierre Loti drew on memories of his own visit to Japan in 1885. When composing Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini was inspired by the popular melodies and sonorities of Japanese voices. However, in the literary work, as in the opera, the heroine remains the same: Kiku-san or Cio‑Cio‑san, a young geisha betrayed by her western husband, the symbol of the meeting of two different worlds. Robert Wilson’s ethereal production espouses to perfection the dramatic intensity and underlying violence of this thoroughly Japanese tragedy.