Christian Lacroix Sprinkles Fairy Dust on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

PARIS — Christian Lacroix is writing a new chapter in his decades-long collaboration with the Paris Opera Ballet. For its current revival of George Balanchine’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” he has designed not only the costumes, but also — for the first time — the sets. During a dress rehearsal for the ballet, which opened at Opera Bastille on Thursday and runs until March 29, Lacroix said his costumes were faithful to those originally designed by Barbara Karinska. “With Balanchine, you have to respect the indications of the original production. I worked off Karinska’s sketches from 1962,” he said, noting that a representative from the George Balanchine Trust was on hand to approve every detail, down to hair length and the height of the dancers’ tiaras. “I don’t find it frustrating at all, especially since I got to express myself with the scenery, which on the other hand has nothing to do with the original set,” he said, adding that his rendering of a forest at night was inspired by the 1967 film version of the ballet. “I’ve always wanted to do a set design using painted canvas. It’s really a 19th-century technique whereby it’s cut out and stuck on a transparent net. You’re

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