Paris (AFP)

The Paris Opera on Sunday appointed Paul Marque, 23, principal dancer, after an exceptionally broadcast online performance of the ballet "La Bayadère" due to the pandemic.

"On the proposal of Aurélie Dupont, dance director, I have the great pleasure to announce the appointment of Paul Marque star dancer", announced Alexander Neef, general manager of the Opera, mounted on stage at the end of the ballet.

The nomination, which is traditionally done in front of the public, is not without surprise because Paul Marque did not play the main role of the warrior Solor, but the minor - but very physical - one of the Golden Idol.

The young dancer, one of the most gifted in the company, however, had replaced at short notice a principal dancer in the role of Solor for the very first rehearsal on Friday.

"La Bayadère", which tells of the thwarted love of Solor and the dancer from the temple Nikiya against the backdrop of a fantasized India, is a three-act ballet created in 1877 in Saint Petersburg, with the choreography of Marius Petipa, the father of classical dance.

The work remained unknown in the West until, in 1961, Rudolf Nureyev caused a sensation by recreating at the Garnier opera in 1961 the "Kingdom of Shadows" - a hypnotizing process of 32 ballerinas in white tutu on a slope.

Having become director of dance at the Opera, Nureyev revisited La Bayadère in his three acts and included it in the repertoire in 1992, just before his death.

The platform "The Opera at home" was officially launched Sunday with this performance given for a price of 11.90 euros.

According to the Opera, at least 9,800 people paid to see the show online on Sunday.

On a model that mixes free and paid, the platform currently offers a catalog of 34 ballets, operas and concerts.

Star dancer is the supreme title granted to ballet artists at the Paris Opera, after a system of promotion by ranks.

Paul Marque joins 14 other active stars, including five men and nine women.

He entered the Paris Opera Dance School in 2008, before joining the corps de ballet in 2014.

© 2020 AFP