Scene - Life After New Year's

Before Spring, More of the Fall-Winter Season

Paris:- Saturday, 2. January 1999:- What is left of the fall season in Paris plays on. Before long it will be folded up and then the new season will unfold - but until then, there is plenty. And there are one or two new items here as well.

To get really long-term, I take this opportunity to bring to your attention the eclipse of the sun by the moon, scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 11. August, between 12:16 and 12:32. In Rouen and Reims and 4,998 other towns and villages, it will be total; in Paris only 90 percent.

Baring dense clouds, this will be very visible - or is it nearly invisible? - in the Paris region; something which has not occurred since 1724 when Louis XV was a young lad of 14. Still undecided? The next eclipse is programmed for 2081. If eclipses are your bag, book your flight today!

Billed as Paris' newest museum, I found a brochure for the Musée du Montparnasse at the office of the Syndicate d'Initative on Montmartre. So it should be so - they are related; by artists.

You can't miss Montparnasse because it has this insanely ugly, very high, brown tower; underneath which runs the Avenue du Maine. On the west side, there is the Musée Bourdelle, and across the avenue, with the entry at 21. Avenue du Maine, is the new museum.

If I remember correctly, this is in an artist's and artisan's cul-de-sac full of old ateliers, and possibly a place Foujita visited often. The exhibition is called 'From Foujita to Kuroda,' or the Japanese in Montparnasse. This current show continues until Sunday, 21. February.

Open daily except Mondays and Tuesdays, from 13:00 to 19:00. Entry: 20 francs. Métro: Montparnasse, and all the 90-series buses, plus the 28, 58 and 89. Info. Tel.: 01 42 22 91 96.

Rembrandt et Amsterdam in Paris - Gathered together from 18 separate collections, this Rembrandt exhibition features 51 drawings and watercolors, done of street and canal scenes in Amsterdam and the dunes near Haarlem. Most of the works are quickly done sketches and show another angle to Rembrandt; that of the on-the-scene 'reporter.'

Rembrandt et Amsterdam, at the Institut Néerlandais, 121. rue de Lille, Paris 7. Métro: Assemblée Nationale. Except Mondays, daily from 13:00 to 19:00, until 14. February.

Passions Pasquier - or 'Point et Countrepoints' is an exhibition at Paris' mint about which I know nothing. This is a place to keep an eye on, because soon - someday - these people will be minting 'Euros.' At the Hôtel de la Monnaie, 11. Quai de Conti, Paris 6. This exhibition continues until Sunday, 31. January; daily except Mondays from 11:00 to 17:30.

L'Antre Magique - is the 'first Magic theatre for enfants' where card tricks are shown with 'nothing up the sleeves' because the little dears don't have any. This has been dreamed up by Christian Gambin.

There are afternoon sessions from 14:30 to 16:00 and 'Soirées Fantastiques' at 20:30 on Fridays and Saturdays. Afternoons are on Wednesday, Saturday, Sundays and holidays. L'Antre Magique, 50. rue Saint-Georges, Paris 9. Metro: Notre-Dame de Lorette. Info. Tel.: 01 39 15 84 48.

Don't Forget Versailles - Louis- Philippe asked Eugène Delacroix for three works to put into the historical gallery in the Musée de Versailles, and two of the paintings are now supposed to be masterpieces: 'La Bataille de Taillebourg' and the 'Entrée des Croises à Constantinople.' In addition to these, there are other Delacroix' sketches and engravings on show at the Château de Versailles, until Sunday, 17. January, from 9:00 to 17:30 except on Mondays.

Two Rudolf Nureyevs or None - Although a bit misleading, there's nothing better than to celebrate the beginning of new year than with two ballets choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev.

'La Bayadère' is at the new Opéra Bastille and 'Don Quichotte' is at the splendid Opéra Garnier, which everybody simply calls, 'the Opéra.' The first, until Sunday, 16. January and the second, until Friday, 15. January.
Opéra Bastille and Opéra Garnier; just one Info. Tel.: 08 36 69 78 68. Métros: Opéra and Bastille.

Alexis Gruss - is Gruss senior and he goes for 'classic' circus, elegant circus, circus with non-stop costumes and the main acts are done by dancing horses and lesser acts have lots of trained animals too. Until Sunday, 7. March; on the Pelouse de Madrid, in the Bois de Boulogne. Métro: Info. Tel.: 01 44 17 96 22.

Trapeze At Villette - The 'Arts Sauts Company' has reinvented the trapeze in a new imaginary aerial space, one that will give you an urge to fly higher than usual too. Until Sunday, 17. January, at La Villette. Call for exact location: Info. Tel.: 08 03 07 50 75.

The RATP's 'Winter Bus' Tours - Some of these are to sites in Paris and some are further away; many tours cost about 200 francs, but there are some for less and some for more.

This all can be found at a little RATP office, just to the right side of the Madeleine. At the same kiosk, there are also a series of attractive brochures for the RATP's regular Paris bus lines.

For example, if you take the one for the bus number 21, it will entitle you to a five franc reduction if you get off on the Pont Neuf, and take a cruise on one of the Vedettes du Pont Neuf.

Okay, so the reduction is less than the price of a bus ticket; it's the thought that counts. If you are one of these 'done it all and seen it all people,' this RATP service kiosk is for you. You know, you leave the driving to them, and get to watch Paris drivers fight it out from the safety of a nice, big bus.

The 'Winter Bus' season continues until 30. March 1999. The kiosk is open Monday to Friday from 9:30 to 12:00 and from 13:00 to 17:00. Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. The 'Summer Bus' season has longer opening hours and is open on weekends.

Painters At the Marine Museum - For a pleasant museum full of many wonders, the Musée de la Marine at Trocadéro is almost exceedingly discrete, but posters for the current exhibition are now on view around town.

For the 36th time, the Musée de la Marine is presenting its ever-growing collection of marine paintings. Many of these are done by 'official' navy painters, but the exhibition also shows works by independent artists. This year, homage is paid to two departed official painters: Jean Cluseau-Lanauve and Jacques Bouyssou.

Except for Tuesdays, open daily from 10:00 to 17:50. Musée de la Marine, Palais de Chaillot, 17. Place du Trocadéro, Paris 16. Métro: Trocadéro.

Modern Art In Lille - 'L'Envers du Décor' is at the Musée d'Art Moderne in Lille until Sunday, 21. February. Open daily except Tuesdays, from 10:00 to 18:00. Take the métro line 1 to 'Pont de Bois' and then the 41 bus to the Parc Urbain-Musée.

I can't pass up mentioning any Francisco de Goya exhibition. The show is subtitled 'Un Regard Libre' and you can see it until Sunday, 14. March. fnac and the SNCF have joined ticketing forces to make the visit fairly easy.

There's a promo transit rate, starting at 129 francs, for TGV first class, so that's 258 for a round-trip. It takes 60 minutes one-way and there's a train from Gare du Nord every half hour. In Lille, look for the Palais des Beaux-Arts, which is at the place de la République. Info. Tel.: 03 20 06 78 00. Lille itself offers a combo price for the exhibition and lodging.

L'Heure Espagnole - is by Maurice Ravel and will be performed by the Orchestre National d'Ile de France on Saturday, 16. January at 20:30 in the Salle Pleyel, under the direction of Jacques Mercier.

According to Mr. Mercier, you are supposed to laugh along with this piece of Spanish 'boulevard' music; so if you find it amusing, you already have his okay to enjoy yourself.

The imposingly-named Orchestre National d'Ile de France has series of concerts running through to May. Best of all, this Orchestra has an email address.

Orchestre National d'Ile de France, at the Salle Pleyel, 252. rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris 8. Ticket sales at 24. rue des Archives, Paris 4. Contact by email: orchestrenationalidf@compuserve.com or Info. Tel.: 01 43 68 76 00.

Le Misanthrope - by Molière is playing at the Maison des Cultures du Monde, adapted and directed by Dominique Houdart, with Hubert Jappelle, Jeanne Heuclin and Catherine Larue. Until Thursday, 28. January, this show is on from Tuesday to Saturday, at 21:00.

At the same location, the Padox Café-Concert, featuring Jeanne Heuclin singing Yvette Guilbert and the Commune de Paris. This takes place Friday and Saturday at 19:00 and on Sundays at 12:00. The Maison des Cultures du Monde, 101. boulevard Raspail, Paris 6. Métro: Notre-Dame des Champs. Info. Tel.: 01 45 44 41 42.

Café de la Danse - Starting on Wednesday, 6. Januar, the 'Belles Nuits du Ramadan' takes off with 15 evenings of 'oriental music' at the Café de la Danse, 5. passage Louis-Philippe, Paris 11. Métro: Bastille. The 'Café' is located between the rue de Lappe and the passage Thiéré. Info. Tel.: 01 48 87 50 50.