Châtelet - Les Halles, Paris

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The opera I saw at the Théâtre du Châtelet was a concert performance of Le Chateau de Barbe-Blue (Bluebeard's Castle) by Bela Bartok (1881-1945), which I remembered from a staged production in Frankfurt am Main in 1994 and 1997.

Since this is such a short opera (only one hour) they always try to find something to combine it with to make a full evening. The solution in Frankfurt was to sing the same opera twice but have the action run backwards, so to speak, on the second time through. The seven ominous doors in Bluebeard's Castle were all gradually sealed up with bricks during the first showing, and the bricks were gradually removed during the second, with the character of Judith reacting accordingly, getting helplessly trapped the first time and emancipating herself the second. At the time I liked this idea, and I went to several performances, but it didn't fill the house.

The solution in Paris was to precede Bluebeard with Daphnis et Chloe by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) for orchestra and chorus but without the dancers, the connection being that both works were composed at about the same time, around 1911.

The big attraction of this program, and the reason all three performances were sold out weeks in advance, was that the great Jessye Norman came out of retirement, so to speak, to sing the role of Judith in Bluebeard. Which she did exceedingly well. She is sixty years old, but still at the height of her powers.

Second photo: Entrance hall.

Third and fourth photos: Inside the Théâtre du Châtelet.

Fifth photo: Out in front of the theater after the performance.

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If the weather is at all conducive at intermission time, you can step out onto the upper terrace of the Théâtre du Châtelet to have some fine views of the Seine with its bridges, and the Ile de la Cite off to the right.

The bridge in the foreground in the first photo is the Pont au Change, and the metal one further on is the Pont Notre Dame. The towers of Notre Dame are visible in the center of the photo, and the building on the right is the Tribunal de Commerce on the Quai de la Corse.

Second photo: A closer view of Notre Dame and the Tribunal de Commerce.

Third photo: The road by the river is the Quai de Gesvres.

Fourth photo: Opera goers taking in the view at intermission time.

Fifth photo: Théâtre de la Ville, as seen from the Théâtre du Châtelet on the other side of the square.

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The Place du Châtelet on the right bank of the Seine is unique in that it is flanked by two large and (from a distance) identical-looking theaters, both of which belong to the city of Paris. (Click on the first photo to see the entire scene.)

The one on the right is the Théâtre de la Ville, which is where the great actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1943) used to hold forth, in fact the theater was named after her from 1949 to 1967, and one of the cafes on the ground floor still bears her name.

Spoken drama is still an important part of their program, but they also do numerous dance productions, classical music concerts and "musics of the world" featuring recitals by musicians from India and the Middle East.

The one on the left is the Théâtre du Châtelet, which is essentially a municipal opera house with about 1800 seats.

Second photo: Season poster at the Théâtre de la Ville.

Third photo: The Théâtre du Châtelet as seen from across the bridge on the Ile de la Cite, with a river barge going past.

Fourth photo: Place du Châtelet as seen from the Théâtre de la Ville.

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In a lovely quarter a modern building is surrounded by history and classical monuments. It is a shopping mall that didn't impress me but... I'm not a shopping expert. However, Fernanda is THE shopping expert, and didn't dedicate to it the usual eternity.
I really appreciated more the outside, the contrast with the quarter, and its light effects.

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Chatelet Les Halles is a large area in the centre of Paris, most renowned for the giant underground shopping centre, that also stretches to the streets! The church Saint Eustache is located in the area les halles, and it is also home to the Trade Office, as well as many restaurants and squares. There is also a 20 screen cinema, a swimming pool and just a lot of space to sit and chill...and have ice cream! I would recommend visiting this area for the fantastic shopping and delicious eateries!

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The Theatre de Ville (once the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre) stands opposite the Theatre Musical de Paris (Th. Chatelet) with a matching facade but longer, and the Fountain du Palmier at the center of the Place. Away from the Seine, around the corner is a square with the Tour St.-Jacques. Somewhere nearby there is also a merry-go-round but they seem to move it each time I go by. (There is one near the Eiffel Tower that seems to stay put).

I was desperate to have a french tattoo and so asked everyone where to get one. Chatelet was the place! Although I haven't got my french tattoo (yet), it's a lively area; like Central Paris or something. This area is good to explore Parisian culture and the french lifestyle.

There are few meusems and parks within a walking distance but didn't bother to visit until a french guy grabbed me and showed me around,lol.

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The Forum des Halles is an enormous underground shopping centre and hardl to avoid when walking around in this part of Paris. I am not really into shopping (yes, really!!), so normally I would avoid a place like this as much as possible. But, as the Forum les Halles is also known for having quite a few sculptures, fountains, and mosaics, I couldn't resist to stop by. But what a dumb choice that was! If I could redo my visit, I certainly wouldn't go here. Yes, I found some of the sculptures, but they were just a big disappointment.

In the first photo you can see the "Pygmalion" by Julio Silvia, located inside the Forum des Halles. This was one of the sculptures I was looking forward to see and my main reason to visit Les Halles. I really liked the sculpture, but I absolutely disliked the state it was in. The main part of the sculpture was covered in bird droppings, which didn't make this work of art look very appealing. In an attempt to capture some of the emotion of the sculpture I zoomed in quite a bit with my camera, resulting in this close-up photo. I am quite happy with the end result of the photo, but it does disguise the truth quite a bit. So my advice is: don’t visit Les Halles if you are not a fan of shopping! Although the sculptures look quite beautiful on photos, the lack of maintenance has destroyed quite a bit of their appeal.