JUST ANOTHER REVIEW OF THE 2024 PARIS OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY

 

July 26, 2024

This year's opening ceremony of the Olympics in Paris was different, and at least very inclusive. Most impressive was the performance in the pouring rain by pianist Alexandre Kantorow of Ravel's difficult piece, "Jeux d'eau." Kantorow was completely unprotected in the downpour, and nevertheless played brilliantly, absolutely composed! The grand piano appeared to be wrapped in plastic, but the keys could not have been, and the rain was dripping off his face. One worries about the state of that piano. You can wreck them just by overturning a glass of water....

This writer has never liked the vocal quality of Celine Dion's voice--voices we all like or dislike are so subjective--but wow, her performance at the Opening Ceremonies was amazing and moving, incredibly heartfelt! It was also enjoyable watching the always watchable Lady Gaga vamp it up. Marina Viotti also did a splendid job singing the Habernera from Carmen.

Outstanding was mezzo-soprano Axelle Saint-Cirel, who sang the Marseillais! If only classically trained musicians like her, who have dedicated their lives to perfecting their instrument and creating beauty, could receive the same name recognition (and salaries!) of pop musicians!

Seeing singer Aya Nakamura and her backup singers reaching for their crotches during their performance was disgusting, however. Yes, it's Paris, but c'mon! The mé·nage à trois scene was also controversial and would have been better omitted.

The commentary during the ceremonies of Payton Manning (a football player, I guess?) and Kelly Clarkson did not contribute to the event, but was awfully distracting, such as Kelly Clarkson gushing, "Ooh, that looks just like a movie," during a particularly beautiful scene of special effects. If they had been sitting in my living room making such inane comments, this writer probably would have asked them to shush. I began to count the number of times the hosts misused the word of the year, "iconic." I did that so that I wouldn't pull out all of my hair. The worst offense was a shot of the U.S.A. athletes with their cell phones, where the main commentator noted that they were taking "iconic" pictures with their phones.

But they are doubtlessly Very Nice People (truly, they probably are), and are apparently quite famous, and that's what counts today, right?

Also uncomfortable was how fast the cameras cut from one scene to the next, so much so that you really could never focus on or relish anything the absolutely amazing performers/acrobats were doing throughout the ceremony, nor could you really see the athletes from the various countries as clearly as you can when they are parading through a stadium. That was a shame, as it is inspiring to see the athletes' faces and their tremendous youthful enthusiasm. The boats were at least an original thought, even though they and the final run of the torch made the ceremony drag.

What was amazing to see was the guy who ran and jumped along the rooftops of Paris with the Olympic torch! The horse galloping down the Seine was also fabulous, even though it took a long time to reach the flagpole. The timing of the entire event was off, although the heavy rains throughout may have contributed to that.

Another very unique and rather pretty scene was lighting the torch in a balloon, especially pertinent since the very first balloon flight--the first time people were able to fly!--occurred in the late 1700s in Paris. Nobody mentioned when and where that balloon holding the Olypmic torch would be coming back down to earth, however. This leaves some unanswered questions.

The ceremony had its wonderful moments for sure. Rather than the almost authoritarian regimentation of some past opening ceremonies, a happiness and silliness pervaded the ceremony despite the heavy rainfall. 

 

Criticism aside, it was overall a touching Olympic Opening Ceremony, especially with the wars, starvation, refugee situations, and suffering that currently exist across our precious globe. It is one time on our planet when all the nations come together peacefully. In a way, it is too bad that Russia and Belarus were excluded. Seeing the smiles on the faces of athletes in all countries, including those that are "enemies," makes one realize that we are, at heart, all the same.