Fierce debate ignited as soaked orchestra plays ‘Olympic Hymn’ in rain covers at Opening Ceremony

27 July 2024, 09:58 | Updated: 27 July 2024, 10:04

Members of the French orchestra wore rain covers as they played at the Trocadero, but their instruments were exposed to the elements.

The Opening Ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was brimming with classical and orchestral music.

Before the arrival of the French National Orchestra, Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 welcomed a barge of refugee athletes, a solo flute played La Marseillaise, Offenbach’s Can-Can soundtracked a spectacular ballet sequence and a mezzo-soprano sang Bizet’s ‘Habanera’.

During the parade along the Seine, we also heard the music of Saint-Saëns and Debussy, and Ravel’s Jeux d’eau (‘Water Games’) appropriately performed by pianist Alexandre Kantorow who played the melody at a rain-drenched piano.

“That poor piano in the torrential rain,” the classical music publishing house Barenreiter commented on X.

One moment that ignited particularly fierce discussion was the now-viral image of the French National Orchestra playing at the rain-soaked Trocadero next to the Eiffel Tower.

The players, much like many of the spectators, were dressed in plastic ponchos to survive the night’s downpours in the French capital. But their string instruments were left exposed to the rain.

Read more: What music was at the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony?

Luthier Christopher Jacoby described the picture as “atrocious” on Instagram: “Um nope. Even though it keeps me in business, this is atrocious. No.”

Star soprano Angela Gheorghiu, widely regarded as one of the greatest sopranos of all time, responded to the images on Instagram with a series of crying emojis.

Another wrote: “All I could think about were their instruments being soaked all night.”

Czech violist Anežka Kroupová added: “Nope... Not even with cheap instruments. It's still an instrument that has a soul and it breaks my heart.”

At the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, comedian Rowan Atkinson took part in a much-loved skit that has become part of UK cultural fabric, that showed him ‘playing’ Vangelis’ Chariots of Fire with the London Symphony Orchestra.

A few years later, during an interview with Classic FM’s Tim Lihoreau, Atkinson confirmed that the whole performance had been prerecorded in order to save the LSO’s precious instruments from the unpredictable London weather.

Rowan Atkinson and that Olympic opening ceremony sketch

“On the night, everyone was miming,” Atkinson said. “Because we were doing it outdoors, the London Symphony Orchestra couldn’t possibly have their extremely valuable instruments risk being rained on. So the only way we could do it was to prerecord the whole thing.

“So Simon Rattle was waving his arms about just like I was, miming to the music.”

It is probable that the same decision was made for last night’s parade in Paris. The French musicians were likely given cheaper instruments to mime on, while their real violins, violas, cellos and basses were well-covered at home.

Harpist Melanie Laurent added: “For those who are worried: of course, they did not play on their usual personal instruments. They were given low-end instruments at the last minute to suit the circumstances.

“The French musicians know how to rebel to obtain better conditions when necessary,” she joked.

The French National Orchestra, alongside the Radio France Choir, performed the Olympic Hymn – a stirring choral cantata composed by Greek opera composer Spyridon Samaras with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. The anthem was composed for the first ever Summer Olympic Games in 1896, and is always heard when the flag is raised and lowered at the opening and closing ceremonies.