Opéra en Plein Air at Jardin du Luxembourg

One of my favorite things to do is find myself in places where I shouldn’t be….or at least find myself in places that I could be but are closed off to the rest of the world. If I am given the opportunity to experience someplace without all the hustle of crowds, I’m in.  For instance, I have found myself in the Alhambra in Granada, Spain after hours.  My family was able to walk throughout the General Life Gardens during out stay in a parador on site.  The sun was setting behind the Sierra Nevada mountains as we were standing on Moorish look outs constructed hundreds of years earlier.  Amazing.  Taking advantage of Nuit Blanche a few years ago, my daughters and I made our way to Versailles and walked through gardens and buildings that aren’t open to the public.  That may not really count as having a place all to yourself, but it was magical none the less.  Happened to be my twin daughters nineteenth birthday…not many people get to celebrate birthdays in hidden gardens at Versailles.  Well, perhaps Marie Antoinette had a few there.  

Another fun way to experience Paris in an out of the ordinary way is to take advantage of Opéra en Plein Air in the Jardin de Senat at Palais du Luxembourg.  An evening of opera under the stars is fabulous.  The park closes down and only a few hundred are allowed in to see performances not only here in Paris, but in gardens and chateaux throughout France.  This years performance is Rigoletto by Verdi.  Whether you like opera or not, to experience a theatrical performance done by the French is always worth the price of the ticket.  They twist and turn  well known works with costuming and stage sets that defy imagination.  A few  years ago I saw The Magic Flute and was mesmerized.  And that is saying a lot as the opera was sung in German with French sub-titles on a screen overhead.  Talk about being removed from something.  I know absolutely no German,  occasionally glanced at the screen for the French version which then had to be translated in my head into English…..let’s just say that there was significant lag time between all that.  But it just didn’t matter as it all sounded great, the weather co-operated and I was under the stars in Paris listening to it all.

This year’s performance is June 10 through the 13th with ticket prices ranging from 42€ to 89€.  I did sit in the cheap seats when I went and they were just fine.  And yes, I know, cheap is relative at these prices.  Tickets will have to be purchased at FNAC which is the French Best Buy/Borders/Ticket Master combined.  Two locations that would be easy for tourists to get to are on the Champs Elysées (74, avenue des Champs Elysées) and  134, rue de Rennes.  Both are big shopping districts so you wouldn’t be going far out of your way to get to either one.    

If you can’t make it to the actual performance, click on the video below to see what it’s all about.

Additional Information:

Opéra en Plein Air
Jardin de Senat
June 10 through 13
Métro: Odéon

Photo credit: Benoit&Aurélie@flickr.com