L'Opera Bastille

Tonight, finally, the ballet. We saw John Neumeier's choreography of Mahler's Third Symphony. It was very focused on the lines made by the dancers: they would generally move, then hold the pose while others changed around them, giving the stage a kind of kaleidescope effect. The first two movements used all male dancers, and the athleticism was spectacular. It's also the first time I've been to the Opera Bastille, and while it may lack the charm and the grandeur of the Palais Garnier, it's a well-functioning opera house. The stages revolve in all four theaters, so that while one stage is set up for a certain ballet, the other side of that stage can be dressed or used for rehearsal. The aucoustics are fantastic, and so are all of the sight lines.
Our sight line included two men sitting right in front of us, separated by a woman who accompanied one of them. The guy on our left turned on his cell phone so that he could use the light to see his program, and the guy on our right reached over and slapped his hand. So the cell-phone-guy put said cell phone up to the other guy's face TWICE and got it slapped away. First of all, let me assure you that these were men in at least their sixties, and not 10-year-old boys (as one might assume). Also, note that cell-phone-guy made his move not just once, which was ballsy enough, but twice. I would have started laughing out loud if I wasn't absolutely sure that I, too, would get slapped.