From Greco to a Funny Girl, a day near the Grand Palais

This exhibition is an event since it is the first major exhibition to be dedicated to El Greco, his nickname because he was born in Greece, or more exactly in Crete, in 1541. As the region was dominated by Venice at that time, it was quite natural for him to come and settle in the Serenissima where he trained according to the model of Titian and especially Tintoretto. Inspired by Michelangelo’s sculptural forms he later discovered in Rome, his genius was finally recognized in Spain, as of 1577, leading to commissions and praise in Toledo. The exhibition combines, on the one hand, portraits of a rare psychological intensity such as that of Saint Mary Magdalene as a penitent and on the other hand, large formats such as this astounding Assumption of the Virgin from the Chicago museum but initially made for a convent in Toledo. This is one of the first commissions he carried out in that city, it shows Titian’s influence in the composition but is very characteristic of Greco’s mannerism with its artificial colours and elongated figures. We better understand the fascination he has had on the painters of the twentieth century modernity: Modigliani, Picasso, Giacometti and even Bacon. 

Very close to the Grand Palais, at the Théâtre Marigny, why not get entertained by this new version of Funny Girl, the cult musical made famous by Barbara Streisand and Omar Sharif. When the light dims to give way to the show, a voice, a drollness, a sort of charisma holds the audience spellbound. The end of this year is the opportunity for the first time in Paris, to discover this 1964 legendary musical and its many hits like People, Don't Rain on My Parade, The Music That Makes Me Dance,... This musical marvelously combines "theater in the theater", the fascination for Broadway and its backstage as well as the tumultuous life of the stars, and it recounts the great success of Fanny Brice, the queen of the Ziegfeld Follies from 1910 to 1930. Here, while she awaits her husband Nick Arnstein’s release from prison, she reminisces about the different steps of her career, from the unattractive teenager to the recognized star…