Le Carnaval des Animaux transforms the façades of Place des Terreaux into a gigantic living theatre. For eight minutes, Camille Saint-Saëns' music accompanies a visual journey in five acts, where illustrations, musical scores, and animals come to life as the melodies unfold.
A huge piano appears, the notes engulf the buildings, and the grand opening glissando reveals a majestic lion dressed in Lyon silks. A procession of dinosaurs marches to the rhythm of the xylophone, before a huge wave plunges the square into the depths of the sea, into Aquarium, inhabited by fish and fantastical creatures.
Then comes the grand finale: real, extinct, and imaginary creatures come together in a joyful parade of light and colour, a celebration of Saint-Saëns' fantastical music and the rich diversity of the living world.