“Beauty and the Beast” comes to the Opera Royal at the Versailles Palace

Last night's arrival of "Beauty and the Beast" to the Royal Opera of Versailles, with the Basque National Symphony Orchestra and the Malandain Ballet Biarritz, with the support of San Sebastian, European Capital of Culture 2016, had caused great expectation. The public waited for the doors to open in a queue running parallel to the Opera entrance.

Among those attending the event were Ana Oregi, Basque Government Minister for the Environment and Regional Policy, and Joxean Muñoz, Deputy Minister of Culture, both representatives of the Basque Government who travelled to Versailles to support the Basque Orchestra on its return to the Opera Royal.

The excellent acoustics and high pit led to the show developing in a completely different fashion to the performances in Biarritz. The musicians, conducted by maestro Ainars Rubikis, felt it immediately the first notes were drawn from their instruments. The clock read 20:05. The show was on. Among the many impressive moments of the performance, the movements of the Beast, marked, fast-moving and with a spectacular ending, where the entire ballet corps is covered by an enormous golden cloak, from which the dancers exit one at a time. Perfect finishing touch when the beast removes the mask in a faint light, as if he doesn't want to reveal his identity, even with his face uncovered.

As happened at the end of "Cinderella" the performance presented by the Basque National Orchestra and the Malandain Ballet Biarritz two years ago, long and heartfelt applause brought a perfect first performance to a close. On stage, Thierry Malandain, Ainars Rubikis and the entire Ballet corps, with the Orchestra from the pit, bowed time and again to an absolutely delighted audience with its clapping and cries of ‘bravo'. In addition to this warm reception, the importance of the musical event was endorsed by the numerous members of the press present, largely French, but also international. Also worthy of note is the attendance of the performance by three North American programmers who came to Versailles for a live experience of this new expression of "Beauty and the Beast", created by Thierry Malandain around fragments of several works by Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky.