After 26 years on British soil, Marianela Nunez, the star of the Royal Ballet, has been yet awarded with another medal!

In 2023, following the first performance of Frederick Ashton‘s Cinderella, she was rewarded for her 25 years with the famous English company. On 1 January 2025, the Argentine ballerina was awarded the title of “Officer of the British Empire“. Equivalent to the French “Legion of Honour“, this prestigious title is conferred honorarily on the subjects of King Charles III.

Since 2000, when she became Principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, the artist has gradually established herself as one of the symbols of British art. Over the course of her brilliant career, she has been voted Best Dancer 4 times by the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. Invited to perform on every continent, she has appeared in Giselle in Paris, as Aurora in the Sleeping Beauty in Buenos Aires and Manon in Milan, becoming the ambassador of British ballet around the world.

Following her series of performances of Cinderella, she will be Tatiana in John Cranko‘s ballet Onegin at Covent Garden in 2025.

To assist at the performance of Marianela Nunez in Onegin, go to our website !

Marianela Nunez – c – Manuel Cascallar

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Despite enduring extremely difficult living and working conditions for well-known, tragic reasons, the company will present The Snow Queen, a ballet inspired by Hans Christian Andersen‘s tale, set to music by Grieg, Massenet, Offenbach, Johann Strauss, and Berlioz.

Featuring the soloists and ballet corps of the National Opera of Ukraine, the performance will also include the Prométhée Orchestra, conducted by Sergii Golubnychyi, in choreography by Aniko Rekhviashvili, who directed the company from 2013 to 2019.

To book your tickets, click here !

The Snow Queen by lethe National Opera of Ukraine (c) Ksenia Orlova

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The 2024-2025 season at the TCE encapsulates Michel Franck’s artistic choices. He has always been adept at presenting a wide range of repertoires, with perhaps a slight preference for baroque music. Opera enthusiasts are especially spoiled this season with offerings like Handel‘s magnificent masterpiece, Semele, featuring the beloved soprano Pretty Yende. This new production by Olivier Mears, directed by Emmanuelle Haïm, promises to be a highlight. France’s premier tenor, the dynamic Benjamin Bernheim, will perform his first Parisian Werther, staged by Christof Loy, alongside the impressive mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti. Viotti also stars in another major production, Der Rosenkavalier, an eagerly anticipated event with Marlis Petersen and Regula Mühlemann.

A noteworthy event is the revival of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, directed by Olivier Py. Patricia Petibon, who previously moved audiences as Blanche de la Force, now takes on the role of Mère Marie, symbolizing the continuity and transmission of operatic history. The season also features acclaimed soprano Anna Netrebko, and eagerly anticipated recitals by Philippe Jaroussky, Pretty Yende, and Jakub Józef Orliński.

Concert versions of operatic works will undoubtedly generate the most excitement. Highlights include Julien Chauvin’s presentation of Handel‘s La Resurrezione and Jephtha with an outstanding cast including Michael Spyres, Joyce DiDonato, Mélissa Petit, and Francesco Corti. A rare performance of Handel’s oratorio Deborah will be conducted by Ton Koopman. Mozart’s works are also prominent, with the Da Ponte trilogy entrusted to Alexis Kossenko (Don Giovanni), Giovanni Antonini (Le nozze di Figaro), and Marc Minkowski (Così fan tutte). Another beautiful Mozart opera in concert form, Mitridate, re di Ponto, will be conducted by Christophe Rousset. Notable performances include a Requiem featuring Lisette Oropesa, Eve-Maud Hubeaux, Cyrille Dubois, and Nahuel di Pierro.

Among the season’s highlights are Weber‘s romantic opera Freischütz, conducted by Antonello Manacorda with Charles Castronovo and Golda Schultz, and Rossini‘s Le Comte Ory with Cyrille Dubois. Elsa Dreisig will star as a divine Alcina in Handel’s opera, alongside Emily D’Angelo, Sandrine Piau, and Alex Rosen. Andrea Chénier by Giordano will feature the stellar voices of Riccardo Massi, Anna Pirozzi, Enkhbat Amartuvshin, and Sophie Pondjiclis. Audiences can also look forward to Marie-Nicole Lemieux in Rossini‘s L’Italiana in Algeri and Sabine Devieilhe in both Mozart and Boulez, celebrating his centennial.

The dance segment is equally unmissable, with performances by prominent choreographers such as Akram Khan, Carolyn Carlson, Mats Ek, and Sharon Eyal, along with an emotional holiday appearance by the National Opera Ballet of Ukraine. The season will be filled with major concerts and events. Martha Argerich opens the season with Lahav Shani and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Renowned pianists like Elisabeth Leonskaja, Evgeny Kissin, Grigory Sokolov, Mikhail Pletnev, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Nikolai Lugansky, Nelson Goerner, David Fray, Adam Laloum, Benjamin Grosvenor, and a new generation of stars including Jonathan Fournel, Bruce Liu, Dmitry Masleev, Jan Lisiecki, and the Jussen brothers will grace the stage. Other notable soloists include Gidon Kremer, Tabea Zimmermann, Thibault Cauvin with the pop artist and guitarist -M-, Sol Gabetta, Gautier Capuçon, Emmanuel Pahud, Nemanja Radulovic with his Ensemble Double Sens, and Edgar Moreau performing Bach. The loyalty of great conductors like Zubin Mehta, Daniele Gatti, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra underscores the exceptional nature of the 2024-2025 season, making it a must-see. Reservations are now open for all the events of this extraordinary season!

Get your tickets now for the new 2024-2025 season at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées

© Hartl Meyer

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For ballet, it is indeed at the Palais Garnier that we will admire great titles like Onegin, the masterpiece by the great choreographer John Cranko, or Sylvia in Manuel Legris‘s new classical choreography, and the moving Mayerling by Kenneth MacMillan. Garnier will also host the magnificent choreographers of the season: Maurice Béjart, William Forsythe, Mats Ek, Sharon Eyal, Hofesh Shechter, and Alexander Ekman, not to be missed. However, the grand stage of the Opéra Bastille welcomes two absolute masterpieces of white ballet with Paquita by Pierre Lacotte for the 2024 year-end holidays and the immortal Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky. With choreography by Rudolf Nureyev, these are two shows that must be seen at least once in a lifetime. It is highly recommended to book these dance shows as soon as possible because demand is always very high for the Paris Opera Ballet.

Alexander Neef marks this 2024-2025 season at the Opéra Bastille with originality. As he did with Beatrice di Tenda or La Vestale last season, long-forgotten great titles return, such as Castor et Pollux by Rameau or Les Brigands by Offenbach, which are on the bill at the Palais Garnier. The new productions at Bastille are particularly anticipated, notably Puccini’s Il Trittico. Three operas in one evening to move from laughter to tears with a major international star finally on the bill at the Paris National Opera. The well-known soprano Asmik Grigorian will draw crowds, and it is best to book tickets in advance to avoid missing the event. Another new production will make a big splash this 2024-2025 season. One of the greatest events of the season is undoubtedly Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, with staging by the well-known theater director Wajdi Mouawad. The cast is exceptional, featuring the incandescent Sabine Devieilhe in one of her greatest roles, the superb Huw Montague Rendall (also Gordon Bintner, Sophie Koch, and Jean Teitgen) with direction by the exciting conductor Antonello Manacorda. Although we always lament the incomprehensible absence of Karine Deshayes at the peak of her vocal powers, many French colleagues are on the bill, such as Ludovic Tézier. One of the greatest baritones of his generation, he is a regular at Bastille, but this time he embodies his very first Wotan in Das Rheingold, the first episode of a long-announced tetralogy finally on the bill! (tickets to be reserved as soon as possible).

By inviting great French opera stars, Alexander Neef has undoubtedly learned the lesson of the immortal Régine Crespin, who was celebrated everywhere else in her time except on the stage of the Paris National Opera. Do not miss the invaluable Julie Fuchs and the boisterous Lawrence Brownlee and Lionel Lhote in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment, with two other adored stars, Susan Graham and Felicity Lott, in Laurent Pelly’s perfect production. Opera tickets will quickly be snapped up to see Roberto Alagna or Benjamin Bernheim as Chevalier Des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon. The greatest tenors of their generation have partners like Amina Edris and Nadine Sierra. There are many eventful operas this season at the Opéra Bastille because among the revivals, there is, for example, Bellini’s I Puritani with a dream cast (Lisette Oropesa and Lawrence Brownlee). Ambrogio Maestri is an invaluable Falstaff to see absolutely, as is Pene Pati in this very successful production of Faust (Tobias Kratzer); as we can see, the great voices are well represented at Bastille with also the splendid soprano Elena Stikhina in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, celebrated in 2024 for this anniversary season. Verdi’s Don Carlos is worth seeing for its exceptional cast as the greatest artists are gathered, including Charles Castronovo, Marina Rebeka, Ekaterina Gubanova, and Christian Van Horn. There is no shortage of opportunities to book seats at the Paris National Opera this 2024-2025 season, which promises to be truly magnificent.

Book your tickets now for the new 2024-2025 season at the Opéra Bastille

© Christian Leiber

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On the ballet side, it’s a true celebration with a repertoire festival. Masterpieces of the white ballet such as Tchaikovsky‘s The Sleeping Beauty by Rudolf Nureyev or Pierre Lacotte’s Paquita are mostly at the Opéra Bastille, but the Palais Garnier also includes great classical dance masterpieces in its 2024-2025 ballet season. Classical dance returns with strength in the programming with works like Onegin, the masterpiece of the great choreographer John Cranko. Aficionados will also not want to miss Sylvia, and should book their tickets early! Set to the music of the highly esteemed Léo Delibes, Sylvia is the very first ballet created at the Palais Garnier, which will be presented in the version by Manuel Legris, a famous Étoile dancer of the Paris National Opera and now the renowned director of the La Scala Ballet in Milan. This addition to the repertoire is an event. Other shows that quickly sell out include the season‘s Gala with the Ballet parade, as well as the Demonstrations and the Dance School Show, which are doubled by two exceptional performances. The first unites Maurice Béjart, August Bournonville, and Antony Tudor, while the second features the prestigious names of choreographers William Forsythe and Johan Inger. Throughout the rich 2024-2025 season, dance and ballet enthusiasts will flock to evenings where the new generation meets more established choreographers. Mats Ek’s brilliant Appartement is paired with Sharon Eyal’s OCD Love. All ballet lovers await the creation of the brilliant Hofesh Shechter, and those who have not yet seen it will benefit from the revival to buy their tickets to see the delightful Play by Alexander Ekman, a must-see. Speaking of essentials, Mayerling, the absolute classic masterpiece by choreographer Kenneth MacMillan, will undoubtedly bring a few tears, especially when performed by the Paris National Opera Ballet, one of the most prestigious companies in the world.

Also noteworthy, the chamber music concerts offered by members of the Paris National Opera Orchestra always enjoy great success. Recitals make a notable return to the Palais Garnier.

Music lovers who are fond of great voices will book their seats in advance to not miss the recitals of Benjamin Bernheim, the greatest French tenor of his generation, or the sublime Elina Garanca in French and international melodies. Two great stars are making their return to Garnier, Natalie Dessay and Renée Fleming, an event! Among the new opera productions at the Palais Garnier, there will be laughter with the comic opera that opens the season. Offenbach‘s The Brigands is directed by Barrie Kosky, who has brightened the nights of the Komische Oper in Berlin with his whimsy. The superb cast motivates reservations. What promises to be the season’s great success is almost sold out for the fall of 2024 but will fortunately be revived at the end of the season. One of the most anticipated opera performances at the Palais Garnier for the 2024-2025 season is Rameau’s Castor and Pollux, bringing together a perfect cast with Reinoud Van Mechelen, Marc Mauillon, Jeanine De Bique, and Stéphanie d’Oustrac under the expert direction of the brilliant Teodor Currentzis. This superb baroque opera is eagerly awaited by all specialists. Another anticipated production is the revival of Stravinsky‘s The Rake’s Progress, a chance to rediscover the incredible world of Olivier Py, who delivers a great spectacle here. The story of the Faust myth revisited is embodied by young and very great voices to discover urgently (Golda Schultz and Ben Bliss).

The last events of the 2024-2025 season at the Palais Garnier are exceptional concerts. A concert of the Rolex Ambassadors brings together Sonya Yoncheva, Juan Diego Flórez, Bryn Terfel, Rolando Villazón, Yuja Wang, and the musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic, while the 150th anniversary of the Palais Garnier will be celebrated with a gala featuring Lisette Oropesa and Ludovic Tézier. One must rush to get available tickets as the event is significant!

Get your tickets now for the new 2024-2025 season at the Palais Garnier

© Opéra national de Paris website

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Every self-respecting Frenchman is a master of the art of criticism. Parisians even have the reputation of being champions in this field, as it is well known that “J’aime rien, je suis parisien” (‘I don’t like anything, I’m Parisian’). The famous opening ceremony was therefore awaited with posed detachment before arousing enthusiasm and joy, the last note of music heard. Céline Dion brought an emotional close to an event where diversity and celebration seemed to be the watchwords.

It came as no surprise that Thomas Jolly, a well-known theatre and opera director, had not forgotten classical music, though his strong presence was a surprise. Throughout the parade, music lovers recognised the familiar tunes of Saint-Saëns, Ravel and Offenbach in a surprising and explosive mix of genres. Everyone will remember Gojira‘s hard rock accompaniment to a revolutionary Carmen sung by Swiss mezzo Marina Viotti. Jakub Józef Orliński, break dancer and superb countertenor, created a surprise by performing ‘Viens Hymen’, from Rameau’s Indes Galantes usually sung by a soprano.

The Orchestre National de France conducted by Cristian Măcelaru was also in the spotlight, as were the star dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet, Germain Louvet and Guillaume Diop, who performed an unforgettable solo over the rooftops of Paris. Alexandre Kantorow, a super-talented young pianist, played Maurice Ravel’s Jeux d’eau in the pouring rain, looking like nothing!

But the image that the whole world will remember forever is that of French mezzo Axelle Saint-Cirel draped in the blue-white-red flag, proudly posed at the very top of the Grand Palais. The 2023 winner of the Concours des Voix des Outre-mer performed Rouget de Lisle’s La Marseillaise in a gentle version arranged by Victor Le Masne (the evening’s music coordinator), in a moment of appeasement and universalism where the communion of peoples was also based on music. 

Discover all upcoming performances by these artists here

Axelle Saint Cirel © AFP

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Dans les yeux d’Audrey © E. Flaudrin

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Discover Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui at the Grand Théâtre de Genève

Idoménée Grand Théâtre de Genève © Marc Asekhame

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Born in Milan, Alessandra Ferri was a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet and the American Ballet Theater, before becoming prima ballerina assoluta at La Scala in Milan. Invited by the world’s leading companies, she has worked with the greatest choreographers, who have created works especially for her.

“Her vast experience, her natural leadership qualities and her exceptional career as one of the great prima dancers of our time make her the ideal person to lead our Vienna Ballet” says Lotte de Beer, Director of the Vienna Volksoper.

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