Sporting several varieties of faux facial fur, a feminist group called La Barbe (The Beard) yesterday invaded the Paris Opera stage, where a presentation of the 2013-14 season was in progress.
The director of drama, Christophe Ghristi, paused his speech and stepped aside to let the women make their point - every single opera in the 2013-14 season is written and directed by men, and only one will be conducted by a woman.
The audience of subscribers weren't so gracious, or patient. A representative of the collective only managed a few seconds of her prepared speech before the whistles and catcalls began.
In the brief discussion that followed, Ghristi attempted to defend the Opéra by claiming that women were exalted on the operatic stage.
"But of course the woman plays the part of the tragic heroine" responded one of the collective. "The power remains with men."
Here's how it went down, conveniently captured on video:
