Culture Vultures

The Gaîté metro station, on metro line 13, was rebaptized a year ago in the name of the French-American artist and resistant Josephine Baker. The choice of which station to name in her honor was obvious for her son Brian Bouillon-Baker, who was at the initiative of the request made to the Ministry of Transport and RATP. The station is located a few steps from the Bobino Theater, which is where the singer and dancer performed for the last time, on April 9, 1975, two days before her death. Place Joséphine Baker is just around the corner too. This Fall Brian Bouillon-Baker brings his mother back to the Bobino in a show which is part recreation of his mother's hits and part biography. It's a full circle! Tickets are now available for this fall's 6 dates. Reservations To whet your whistle enjoy this teaser: In case you've been stuck in a cave for the last year, Josephine Baker's cenotaph was installed in the Pantheon of illustrious French people in November 2021. …

I recently revisited the Musée Picasso in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris and highly recommend the current temporary exhibition, entitled Maya Ruiz-Picasso, Fille de Pablo (on until 12/31/2022), held to celebrate the addition of nine new masterpieces to the national collection. Maya (a nickname, her actual name was María de la Concepción) was Picasso and Marie-Thérèse Walter’s daughter, born in 1935. She wasn’t Picasso’s first child — he had a son, Paulo, from a previous relationship, with Russian ballet dancer Olga Khokhlova. He also had two other children after Maya, with painter Françoise Gilot. The exhibition focuses on Picasso’s relationship with Maya and its influence on his work. Despite the occasionally confusing museum signage, Picasso’s relationship with his daughter is a great guiding thread through a big body of work that can be daunting at times. The museum is quite big and there is much to see, so you can easily spend three or four hours wandering the halls. Going…

Have you been to The Theatre des Champs-Elysées? Despite the name, it is not on Les Champs-Elysées but not far at all, Avenue Montaigne. I must say that I did not know much about the place (despite being a Parisian!) and I was so pleasantly surprised when I visited it. It is a hidden gem with a rich history and a fantastic program. It is one of the most beautiful theaters in Paris and now they are offering FUSAC readers a chance to hear two American lyrical singers at 30% off.

First up is Charles Castronovo, tenor, with Ludovic Tézier, baritone, performing Messa di Gloria by Giacomo Puccini. This brilliant work written with passion and which allows us to delve into the most intimate and spiritual side of Puccini. Use this link for a 30% discount: Choix des places [Théâtre des Champs-Elysées | 12.05.2022 - 20:00 | Messa di Gloria - Puccini] - Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (theatrechampselysees.fr) The week after offers us A rare display of d…

Three of the rising American stars of music in France are female. They offer three different styles all inspiring and uplifting. They are all performing in the Paris area this November.

Karina Canellakis

Born in 1981 in New York City in a family of musicians, Karina Canellakis studied at the Julliard School and made a name for herself as a violinist. While at the Berlin Philharmonic Academy, Simon Rattle noticed her interest in conducting and encouraged her to continue in this direction. She worked with the Chicago Orchestra, then won the 2016 Georg Solti Prize while an assistant with the Dallas Orchestra. She was subsequently invited to conduct many prestigious orchestras in North America, Europe and Australia. Her performances and positions are frequently "first female" accomplishments in the world of conducting dominated by men. In November she is in Paris at the Theatre des Champs-Elysées, Karina Canellakis where she will be conducting the Orchestre N…

Magic at the Gallery of Compared Anatomy For the writer Paul Claudel, The Gallery of Compared Anatomy was "rien de moins que [le] plus beau musée de Paris […]. À chacun de mes passages en France, je reviens visiter cette galerie sublime avec un sentiment de vénération religieuse, qui chaque fois, me donne envie d’enlever non seulement mon chapeau mais aussi mes chaussures."  One of the most unusual museums you’ll see in Paris, the Gallery of Compared Anatomy and Paleontology, part of the Muséum first opened in 1898. They have an exceptional collection of skeletons (as well as organs) of all the terrestrial and marine creatures known to man, displayed as if they were marching all together towards the end of the earth. It is impressive all these bones in one place and it allows the comparison of sizes, forms and means of locomotion of these creatures. Look at a giraffe next to a horse, next to a cat and understand what they share and what makes them different. Upstairs is the p…