Grace and Fire

grace and fire

gérard uféras

To Myka, Anton, Pavel, Thelma and Abigael

This edition © Kulturalis Ltd, 2025 Photographs © Gérard Uféras, 2025 Foreword © Gérard Uféras, 2025 Preface © Marie d’Harcourt, 2025 Afterword © Giulia Frache, 2025 First published in 2025 by Kulturalis Ltd 14 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP United Kingdom www.kulturalis.com ISBN 978-183636-010-0 (EN) www.gerarduferas.com Project Manager: Neil Titman Design: Matt Wilson (mexington.co.uk) Translation: Charlie Gobbett in association with First Edition Translations Ltd, Cambridge, UK Printed and bound by Lito Terrazzi Reproduction by Opero, Verona 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the authors and publisher.

Title page: G LY N D E B O U R N E F E S T I VA L O P E R A 1991

CONTENTS

F O R E WO R D

6

P R E FAC E

8

01 A P H A N TO M AT T H E O P E R A

19

02 T H E FA B R I C O F D R E A M S

45

03 I N T H E C O M PA N Y O F S TA R S

77

04 PA R I S D’A M O U R

93

05 B O L S H O I T H E AT R E

117

06 D I O R, 30 AV E N U E M O N TA I G N E

1 47

07 A DAY I N T H E M U S E U M

163

08 T E AT R O A L L A S CA L A

1 93

09 TO G E T H E R

209

A F T E R WO R D

254

AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S

2 56

SA L Z B U R G 1 996 Salzburger Festspiele

SA L Z B U R G 1 992 Salzburger Festspiele

34

GÉRARD UFÉRAS: GRACE AND FIRE

0 1 : a p h a n t o m a t the o p e r a

35

GÉRARD UFÉRAS: GRACE AND FIRE

PA R I S 01 / 1 999 Abraham Pelham, Haute Couture, spring–summer 1999

PA R I S 07/1 9 99 Valentino, Haute Couture, automne-hiver 1999/2000

88

GÉRARD UFÉRAS: GRACE AND FIRE

PA R I S 06/2005 Orpheus und Eurydike

by Pina Bausch 0 3 : i n the c o m p a n y o f s t a r s

89

M O S C OW 0 9/2019 Swan Lake, with Yulia Stepanova and Artem Ovcharenko

132

GÉRARD UFÉRAS: GRACE AND FIRE

0 5 : b o l s h o i the a t r e

133

M O S C OW 05/201 9

136

GÉRARD UFÉRAS: GRACE AND FIRE

Onegin by John Cranko, with Ekaterina Besedina, Oxana Sharova, Anna V. Grigorieva, Ekaterina Smurova, Olga Barichka, Anastasia Denisova

M O S C OW 0 4 /2011 Lost Illusions

by Alexei Ratmansky 0 5 : b o l s h o i the a t r e

137

0 6 : D i o r , 3 0 a v e n ue M o n t a ig n e

149

156

GÉRARD UFÉRAS: GRACE AND FIRE

0 6 : D i o r , 3 0 a v e n ue M o n t a ig n e

157

PA R I S 04 /2 02 2 Pop Air exhibition, Grande Halle de La Villette

PA R I S 1 0/201 6 Galerie de Paléontologie et d’Anatomie comparée, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle

0 7 : a d a y i n the mu s eum

179

1 2 /2 02 2 The Nutcracker, with Agnese di Clemente

200

GÉRARD UFÉRAS: GRACE AND FIRE

1 2/201 7 La Dame aux camélias by John Neumeier, with Agnese di Clemente

DUNKIRK CA R N I VA L 02 /2 0 23

248

GÉRARD UFÉRAS: GRACE AND FIRE

PA R I S PA R A LY M P I C GAMES 08/2 024 0 9 : t o gethe r

249