Degas at the Opéra, Introduction

KAYWIN FELDMAN: Hello and welcome to Degas at the Opéra. I’m Kaywin Feldman, Director of the National Gallery of Art. Edgar Degas was a regular opera goer and particularly loved the ballets performed between acts. He took inspiration from his paintings while watching these performances at the Paris Opéra. In Degas’s life, the Opéra had two homes. The first burned down in 1873, and the second is the magnificent Garnier Opéra house that still stands today. But in some ways, Degas’s opera existed primarily in his mind, based on his experiences as a regular patron and on stories and descriptions from backstage regulars and the ballerinas who modeled in his studio. And it was there, in his studio, where he created these scenes—sometimes real, and sometimes invented—using innovative techniques across all media. KIMBERLY JONES: And that is what makes Degas such an extraordinary chronicler of the Paris Opéra, because he puts you there even when you couldn’t possibly be there. JULIE KENT: I think that’s one of the really beautiful things about everything that Degas captures, is the work, the shared work that every dancer puts into their craft, starting at a young age. //But so many of [Degas’s paintings] just feel like the backdrop to my life. KIMBERLY SCHENK: Degas is known as an experimenter. His touch is so intuitive. KAYWIN FELDMAN: To tell this story, we offer three different perspectives…from Kimberly Jones, Curator of Nineteenth Century French Paintings here at the Gallery; Julie Kent, Artistic Director of the Washington Ballet and former ballerina with the American Ballet Theater, and Kimberly Schenck, Head of the Gallery’s Department of Paper Conservation. I hope you’ll enjoy your visit.