Grand yet Human

Theatre d'Orange

The contrast of the opulent Avignon and the crusty Orange is stark. And while Avignon is a circus of formulaic sidewalk cafes all serving the same menu it’s handsome, festive and playful. It’s also home to our first $1,000-night, dinner included. Not the kind of thing you forget.

To our eyes Orange was shopworn and faintly dark. It is after all a bastion of the National Rally. Yet its archeological jewel, the Roman theatre, glowed in the spring sun. The small city is entirely unremarkable and best seen on the way to or from Chateauneuf du Papes to the south or a dozen wine appellations in the Vaucluse to the east. We’re fans of southern Rhone wines on either side of the broad river.

After lunch in an ordinary bar with a dour waiter, we walked around the corner to the theatre which was built in the early 1^st century AD. There we joined a dozen or so visitors. We had it all to ourselves. The handsome Roman theatre is thought to be the best preserved in Europe. It’s a behemoth with a 200-foot-long stage backed by a 121-foot-high wall that projects crystalline sound to the audience. Oddly, despite its dimensions it’s scale is still human. You’re part of the scene.

The 2,000-year-old theatre is more than an archeological marvel. It’s a living, breathing embrace to be enjoyed as much as studied. That’s the way we found it, families exploring its nooks and crannies, visitors absorbing its energy and photographers trying to capture its grandeur and its graceful appeal.

The theatre which seats 10,000 is as relevant today as it was in 50 AD. This year it hosts the Chorégies d’Orange, its annual opera and choral festival, the Harlem Gospel Choir, the Positiv Electronic Festival, La Traviata and Cinderella.

The Romans built the theatre to bring their culture to the Celtic masses. Today it brings an eclectic world of culture to Orange. It’s timeless.