La Dame aux Camélias (Paris National Opera Ballet)

• 2008

• Watchlist

John Neumeier adapted his ballet + La Dame aux camélias from novelist Alexandre Dumas's roman of the same title (the same book that reportedly inspired Giuseppe Verdi's +La Traviata and Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film Moulin Rouge), making fervent use of the music of Frederic Chopin. The work tells of a couple who meet while attending a performance of +Manon Lescaut and then enjoy a series of adventures together in and around Paris. The Paris Opera Ballet mounted this particular production in 2008; it stars Agnès Letestu as Marguerite Gautier, Stephane Bullion as Armand Duval and Michael Denard as Monsieur Duval. The Paris Opera Ballet and Orchestra lend added support under the musical direction of Michael Schmidtsdorff.