Heidi Ellison
Funny Girl
Fanny Brice Revisited
Until recently, musical comedies were unheard of in France, but now that the Parisians have taken to them like showgirls to glitter, American musical comedies are popping up all over the place. Americans in Paris will open at the Théâtre … Read More
Barbara Hepworth
Forgotten in France: A Great British Sculptor
At the press opening of the Musée Rodin‘s exhibition of the work of Barbara Hepworth (1903-75), not one but two journalists, one French and the other Canadian, told me they had never heard of the great modernist British sculptor before … Read More
Les Climats Restaurant
Yesterday's Canteen, Today's Luxury Restaurant
The next time someone asks me to recommend a restaurant for a special occasion, I will have one on the tip of my tongue: Les Climats. This beautiful space with a handsome Art Nouveau decor – complete with high arched … Read More
Courbet/Hodler: Une Rencontre
Courbet Country
Any fan of the painter Gustave Courbet (1819-77) will relish the drive from Besançon to his hometown of Ornans in eastern France, near the Swiss border. You may even feel like a tiny figure in one of his luxuriant landscape … Read More
Les Grands Verres Restaurant
Dining in the Glass House
Everybody likes a museum café, but the name doesn’t really cover the super-sized Les Grands Verres at the Palais de Tokyo. With its cavernous space, it should be lovable, not just likable, and it is, far more so than its … Read More
Peter Hujar: Speed of Life
Resurrecting the Chronicler of a Certain Time and Place
Photographer Peter Hujar (1934-87) lived in the best of times and the worst of times for a gay man. The heady days of the Gay Liberation movement, which took off after the Stonewall riots of 1969, were followed only a … Read More
Solstice Restaurant
Disproving the Adage "Those Who Can't, Teach"
Chef Éric Trochon is a Meilleur Ouvrier de France who has trained many a talented young chef as a teacher at the École Ferrandi and is also a partner in the excellent Left Bank restaurants Freddy’s and Semilla. Now he … Read More
Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna at the Théâtre du Châtelet
Making the Classics Sexy Again
When he walked out onto the stage of Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet Sunday afternoon, he was greeted with whoops and hollers, just like any rock star, but although he may look like one, Teodor Currentzis is no such thing. He … Read More
Greco
In a Manner of Painting
The first time I saw an exhibition of El Greco’s paintings, I thought they were profoundly weird and incomprehensible, but over time I have grown to love them and seek them out in the museums I visit. Now we can … Read More
Yaya Restaurant
Cliché-Free Greek Cuisine
Friends who have been to Greece (I haven’t yet, unfortunately) say that the food is simple, fresh and delicious, although others add that such dishes as moussaka and souvlaki can become rather monotonous. Not having much experience with Greek restaurants … Read More