Something Old, Something New
13 – 19 December 2025
Saturday 13 December
To Graz by plane. The production of Leonard Bernstein’s masterpiece On the Town at the Graz Opera proved to be a joyous affair, making full use of the theatre’s considerable resources — musicians, actors, singers, dancers. Musical director Marius Burkert coaxed an enthusiastic, infectious performance from the orchestra. Combined with the opportunity to overnight at a nearby Zaha Hadid-designed apartment, this outing turned out to be the perfect pre-Christmas treat.
Sunday 14 December
To Geneva by plane. The Christopher Wheeldon stage production of An American in Paris, which I’d originally seen in Paris in 2014, was still making the rounds, as an opportunity arose to see it at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, with some of its original cast (Robbie Fairchild, Max von Essen) still in it. I hoped a fresh viewing would lead me to revise my opinion of this gloomy, heavy-handed show. No such luck: Wayne Marshall’s conducting of Gershwin’s blissful music proved the only saving grace of a performance otherwise dragged down by its lack of levity.
Back to Paris by train.
Monday 15 December
Paris – At the Palais Garnier, the Paris Opera Ballet offered another of its specialty mixed bags of wildly differing interest. Two older Trisha Brown pieces (1994, 2004) didn’t appear to stand the test of time… or the hands into which they were entrusted. A David Dawson ballet from 2018, Anima Animus, making its Paris Opera Ballet debut, relied on classical steps and athletic energy to build pleasing images that ultimately delivered little emotional punch. Thankfully, the evening concluded with Drift Wood, an intriguing, atmospheric creation by Imre & Marne van Opstal, whose unpredictability blissfully drew me in.
Tuesday 16 December
Paris – For some reason, Netflix suggested I watch The Woman in Cabin 10, a 2025 thriller starring Keira Knightley which appealed to me because it was directed by Simon Stone, a well-known stage director — his 2021 Aix-en-Provence Tristan und Isolde struck me as daring and innovative. Stone’s trademark visual instincts were still in evidence, yet the film was carried mostly by Knightley’s intense performance.
Wednesday 17 December
Paris – At the Maison de la Musique et de la Radio, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Bastien Stil offered a festive concert of John Williams hits, ranging from Indiana Jones to an extended selection of themes from Star Wars. Pop-style lighting effects enhanced the experience. The result was joyful and exuberant. Nathan Mierdl’s Schindler’s List solo marked an apex of the evening, with strong support from Stéphane Suchanek’s melancholy, emotive cor anglais.
Thursday 18 December
Paris – Took an opportunity to see Jean-Jacques Beineix’s 1981 Diva at the UGC Maillot. The pleasure of being immersed in 1980s nostalgia — the hairdos, the clothes, the reel-to-reel recorders — and the variety of unusual locales didn’t make up for the dated cheesiness of a film that hasn’t aged that well overall. Some performances — by Richard Bohringer and Dominique Pinon, notably — held up better than others.
Friday 19 December
Paris – After a visit to the Minimal exhibition at Pinault Collection’s Bourse de Commerce, I saw a preview of Paul Feig’s 2025 thriller The Housemaid, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried at the UGC Les Halles. In spite of the many plot holes and an overabundance of twists, the cast somehow saved the film from floundering under its own weight. And there could have been less contrived ways to end the story.
And so, for now, the lights dim… until the next act.