The Duality of Paris: From the Pantheon to the Opera

Today is my last full day of my trip in Paris, and my trip in Europe as well. It is a really full trip and I really, really enjoyed it. My journal was falling a little behind and I was even lazier on my blog update because that was a little more complicated and the Wi-Fi at the hotel did not work really well. I will hopefully give a more formal conclusion to this trip after I get back to Boston.

So I had some other notes on my previous days that I forgot. Since it’s the last day, I will just add them here.

There are a lot of Japanese in Paris. I have barely seen any Japanese in Boston, at least, but in museums and in the brunch restaurants I have seen many Japanese at different times. Some of the audio guides, like the ones at louvre museum and the Conciergerie, also offer Japanese as one of their available languages. I have also seen people open Google Translate or Apple Translate to translate the English text. I have heard some people say Japanese people don’t like America a lot because America is the only country that has used nuclear bombs and Americans used them on Japan. It might be all rumors, but I’m just curious about why so few Japanese are in America. In contrast, people like Japanese culture and art—both Americans and Europeans—and even in the 19th century, artists in Europe were already inspired by Japanese culture after they opened up; you can see some of these artworks at Musée d’Orsay.

Also, there are a lot of Greek bookstores along the street, and my friend has said there are copies of Xi Jinping’s political theories on sale, and it’s even on display.

Today I also went to Shakespeare and Company. It’s a really cool place and phones are not allowed there. Instead, you can read, and there are a lot of lively conversations. People talk about friends they know, their lives, and books; it’s definitely worth checking out even if you don’t buy anything. There’s a second-floor reading room for you to just enjoy the books, and the interior decorations invite you to travel back at least 50 years, so you can really enjoy the moment.

The Pantheon is also so great. It is a perfect place to see the duality of France: France as a Catholic kingdom with myths and kings, under the colorful stained glass accompanied by chanting and hymns. On the other side, it is also a republic calling for Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, pulling down the churches and the Ancien Régime, calling for scientific enlightenment and picturing themselves as a secular country. You see the blend of all periods of France—all different types of France fuse together into this amazing building. You can also visit Rousseau, Voltaire, Marie Curie, Pierre Curie, and other influential figures here as well.

Another place worth mentioning is the Conciergerie. It used to be the kitchen for Henry V, and then it was used as the prison during the French Revolution. It was used to imprison Marie Antoinette, so even if there weren’t a lot of things to see, I still went there. An interesting thing—and you might like it or not—is that they offer an iPad for the tour and all information is on the iPad. On one hand, they did it because a lot of relics were gone and they had to find a way to show the past; but the sound of the iPad also kind of ruined the antique vibe and the seriousness of the prison. But this is definitely a bold attempt and I encourage innovation at least.

The Metro in Paris: Yes, I have tried to take several subway lines at different locations, and the experience exceeded my expectations greatly. The stations and trains are really neat and clean, and most of them are so modern as well. The overall subway experience is better than Boston in aspects of environment, convenience, and even diversity. The announcements in the subway are read in French, English, and Spanish, while in most US cities it is just English. I talked about how the train can be late, but in the city, the subway lines are really on time and there’s one subway every two minutes. So you won’t wait for a long time either. The overall experience is definitely 👍.

Okay, enough for that. Now let’s go back to Carmen and the characters.

At first, I thought the play was in Palais Garnier, but when I checked my tickets two days before, I realized it was actually in Opéra Bastille, another opera theater operated under the Paris Opera. This is my first time writing reviews, but I want to try—don’t criticize me because I am very fragile and vulnerable (jkjk).

I loved the motif of duality in the play. In the first act, there were men (soldiers) and women (the factory workers), and even if they lived in two completely different worlds, they had the same lust and desire. The soldiers are really violent and have many inappropriate behaviors toward the women, but as their song goes: they just gossip and wait for the next girl. In the same way, the women also gossip and fight about men, and both men and women are fundamentally the same: they both degrade into animal-like creatures, and the only remaining pursuit is sex.

And it is in this kind of environment where Carmen meets Don José. They don’t just fall into this superficial definition of love: both of them “see” something deeper. Indeed, vision is another heavy motif in the play. When the messenger, Micaëla, tells Don José about her mother in the village, Don José “sees” his village and his mother through the kiss. Don José sees the promise and responsibility behind love, while Carmen sees liberty and freedom. When Don José confesses to Carmen, he asks for promise and responsibility. He wants Carmen to stay with him so he can save her while saving himself. Carmen sees freedom in love, and though both of them see love as a deeper relationship than desire, their perception is fundamentally different.

There is also the swapping of cameras, but unfortunately, this only appeared once and I’m not too sure about the meaning behind it. I would just assume this is also a hint on the "vision"—that there’s a deeper feeling, like missing home, the love of a mother, and also a heavenly relationship.

There is a religious motif in the play as well, and it also follows the duality: God, Heaven, as well as Hell and the Devil. Both Micaëla and Don José refer to "protecting themselves from the devil." And who is the devil? It seems like, in their conversation, they are referring to Carmen. But the devil can also be the environment—the men and women in general, who are just animals driven by their instincts. It is this environment that makes Carmen, and it is this environment that kills Carmen.

As for lights, the play used a lot of side lights to create wash effects. Thus, you can see Carmen and Don José clearly when they walk onto the front stage. However, the average men (soldiers) and women (workers) have faces that are less visible, and thus it is a little blurry and could be anyone. Another reason why side lights are used so often is that the opera is very violent, and there is also one completely nude man on stage, which is one part that the opera gets criticized for a lot.

And I promise, I will select some images and media and put them on the blog as a final conclusion of this trip. I love it a lot overall, and this will not be the last time I talk about this trip, though I might procrastinate as school is about to begin. But stay tuned.