A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

The title pretty much says it all. Last year I was particularly stuck on what to get Mr French, so I went online and purchased tickets for a night at the Royal Opera at Versailles (70€). I think his heart sank when he first saw the package; just a teeny tiny envelope. But then he looked inside and saw two tickets for a night at the Opera, and knowing how much I love opera (I’d rather sit through a 2 hour long lecture on Quantum Physics, where nobody dies!!!) he was incredibly touched.

Every time we go to a show Mr French invariable comments, “That was fantastic, we really should do that more often.” And we mean to, but life, and kids and the French vacation schedule get in the way. So I thought I’d do a bit more, and fatten up that envelope. I went on a spree and found tickets to hear Biréli Lagrène, his favorite gypsy guitarist, and, I simply couldn’t resist tickets for a Broadway musical during our NYC stay. In the end I found 6 different performances I knew he’d love, filling up the first 6 months of the calendar year.

Not everyone speaks French fluently, so musical events are the way to go for most people coming to town. The opera is a start, but not for everyone (ahem) and fortunately, countless places play all kinds of music every night of the week. If live music is not your thing, there is always dance, or even the Bartabas horse show. All fantastic performances, French not required.

Some of my favorite (affordable) resources are /

Billet Reduc for discount tickets to small concert halls and church performances. They feature shows that go beyond the ordinary, like the Russian Army Choir (33€)

TickeTac is particularly helpful, as you can select by genre, venue and/or date and (my personal favorite) the reduction you’d like! They have such a fantastic line up of shows that I was just inspired to buy 2 seats at Sara Barras Flamenco (58€) for this holiday season.

FNAC Spectacle for special shows I know about well in advance. I just learned that Lilly Wood and the Prick (33€) are coming to the Olympia this June. I have no idea who Lilly is, but since she plays with a prick, I’m pretty sure I’m going to enjoy the show.

Of course, not everyone is in Paris, but no matter where in the world you may find yourself, there is sure to be something on stage, for the show must go on…