La Dame

It was an extraordinary day in which I was almost run down in the Place de la Concorde and I was given a free ticket to the ballet La Dame aux Camelias at Opera Garnier by a lovely young Frenchman who had been stood up. I sat in box 37, probably the best seat in the house. La vie est belle.

La Dame is a ballet on music by Chopin with the same plot as La Traviata. This is the Chopin year--he was born in 1810. There is not nearly enough Chopin in our lives.

I liked it a very great deal, perhaps as much for the lack of any Tchaikovsky as anything else. The dancing was delicate and dramatically crystal clear. I went to please my niece who would like it if I were a ballet fan. If they were all like this, I definitely would be.

The set for the opening of the ballet from my seat. This is definitely a seat.

The lead dancers were Delphine Moussin and Benjamin Pech. She is a striking looking woman with a long neck who was easy to pick out on the stage throughout all her many costume changes. He carried her around the stage in a very impressive manner.