The Paris Opera Ballet - Tapa dura

The Paris Opera Ballet is the cradle of ballet, tracing the origin of ballet as a theatre art back to its foundation by Louis XIV in 1669. Over three centuries dance has retained its place as a potent element in its repertory in a long sequence of ballets and divertissements that have been presented on a succession of stages, culminating in the Palais Garnier and the Opéra Bastille. Ivor Guest, the world's leading authority on French ballet was commissioned by the Opéra to write the history of its ballet company in 1976: this and subsequent editions were published only in French. This revised and updated version is the first to appear in English.

Ivor Guest began his research into the history of ballet more than sixty years ago, and has published more than thirty books on the subject. The ballet of the Paris Opera has remained a special area of study, which over the years has produced, among other works, four volumes that cover the history of that celebrated company in vivid detail, from the moment that ballet became a distinct theatre art in pre-Revolutionary times down to the Second Empire, culminating with the creation of Coppelia. His work has been recognised in France by his appointment as a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.