Yesterday, Saturday, Chun went to this exhibition Japonisme/Gio Ponti at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs with a friend. Some of his friends told him about this exhibition about Gio Ponti, a renowned Italian architect, and there he was.
In the first part of this exhibition, Japonisme, were displayed different japanese art pieces. Chun always liked the delicacy of the Japnese art. He didn’t spend the time to study carefully each art piece, he simply walked through the exhibition halls and picked some of his favorites at a first quick glance.
The Ponti part was impressive. Some of the scupltures and objects designed by the Italian architect were always displayed. The artist had different inteesting (and somehow, crazy) ideas and put them into life.
Then in the evening, Chun went to the Générale of the famous French opera Les Troyens, by Hector Berlioz. It is a very long opera, originially composed of 5 acts, and today’s production put it into only 3 parts with 2 intermissions. But it still lasts for 5 hours, from 6pm to 11pm.
Conducted by our Musical Director Philippe Jordan, the orchestra was perfect, the singers too. Chun was however found Dmitri Tcherniakov‘s staging not so convincing. While the first part of the performance was very impressive, with enormous sets moving around the stage and in the end opening up showing the gigantic space of the stage of the Opera Bastille, and also people walking while on fire (oh yes!), the second and third parts happened to be in a psychiatric rehabilitation centre which is not very appealing and not so coherent with the synopsis….
But of course this grand opera is particularly important for the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet. The music of our Défilé is from this opera…… A melody that every dancer of the company would know note by note, reminding us of our glorious but also bitter periods.
Tale of Chun 
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