Caligula

Drawing his inspiration from the story of the Roman emperor who, in the collective imagination, embodies a man in the grips of megalomania, Nicolas Le Riche overturns clichés to embark upon an intimate exploration of a richer, more complex personality.

First performed in 2005, Caligula is Étoile Dancer Nicolas Le Riche‘s first choreography for the Paris Opera Ballet. Intrigued by the complex and troubling personality of the Roman emperor, the choreographer evokes the torments of a frail, cruel man capable of loving the moon and idolizing his horse, a man impassioned by theatre and constantly playing a role himself.

Constructed as a tragedy, the choreography follows the inexorable progression of this solitary hero towards death. Accompanied by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, which illustrates the irremediable passage of time, the dance, in all its depth and energy, translates the poetry and the violence inherent in a life consumed at lightning speed by excess.