27 from the Palais Garnier, with the 275 dancers of the company and ballet school wearing masks for its famous “Défilé du Ballet,” or “Ballet Parade.” And this month, again with no public present, a new production of “Faust” was performed and recorded for rebroadcast in the Opéra Bastille. Similarly, the annual gala of the Paris Opera Ballet was livestreamed on Jan. And at least many people can have a taste of cultural life at home.”

But at the same time we are very privileged because there are probably only 20 or 25 singers in the world participating in a production like this today. “It’s a major challenge to sing to a camera in an empty hall. Kaufmann said in an interview on the Paris Opera website. “Without a public, you can’t give the best of yourself,” Mr. More important, it will be ready to be revived when circumstances permit. In the case of “Aïda” at the Opéra Bastille last month, Lotte de Beer’s new production brought together a glittering cast that also included Ludovic Tézier as Amonasro and Ksenia Dudnikova as Amneris - all for a live performance on television and recorded for rebroadcast there and online. Yet despite this, thanks to the company’s status as a national institution as well as extra government support, the show has more or less gone on. And over the same period dozens of recitals, concerts and ballet evenings have also been canceled. Because of Covid-19 restrictions, there were no paying ticket holders for this or any opera performance in the past year at either of the Paris Opera’s two theaters, the Palais Garnier or the Opéra Bastille.

Finally, the curtain comes down, the lead singers Sondra Radvanovsky and Jonas Kaufmann take their bows, and the opera house bursts into … silence. PARIS - Three hours after Radamès devoted his famous opening aria to his beloved Aïda, the Ethiopian princess and the Egyptian general are living the last moments of their ill-fated passion. There’s no applause for these performers, but they’re working to be ready for live audiences when they return. The Paris Opera, Awaiting Normalcy, Forges Ahead

The paris opera normalcy forges ahead