A tres chic audience jammed the lobby of the exquisite, classical-style hall, whose 2,010 seats were sold out and four tiers of ornate balconies were filled to the top. Lovingly restored to its original grandeur, you could feel the subway rumble underneath its wooden floors.

Eyes of France fixed on stage

Helene Grimaud

REVIEW

• Jarvi, CSO charm Paris with spectacular performance • Janelle Gelfand's travel blog

The tension was palpable as the musicians walked out together European-style, and took their places on a small stage scattered with microphones. Not only was this their Paris debut, but the concert was being taped live for future broadcast on Radio France. Added to that, a camera was poised at the back to film a few minutes for Envoye Special, a French television news program that was filming a documentary about the Cincinnati Symphony's piano soloist, French native Helene Grimaud.

There were a number of Americans in the audience (I sat next to a vacationing couple from Los Angeles). The orchestra's presence offered a chance for local business leaders and the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce to entertain VIPS from European aerospace companies, with the idea of enticing them to locate their American operations in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area.

Pierre Fabre, president and CEO of CFM International, a joint venture of GE and Snecma Moteurs, was pleased.

"The orchestra is very, very good, and it's also a Franco-American concert," he said at intermission. "In the last month, Ohio has been in the press a lot because it was the swing state in the (presidential) election. I think it's a good thing to bring the orchestra here for something good following that."

Landmarks abound

The stately theater sits on Paris' Right Bank, not far down the Seine River from Notre Dame. When it opened in 1862 , it was the largest hall in Paris. Although originally designed for drama, it has been used for operetta, variety shows, ballet, concerts and even as a movie theater.

Its highlights include the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky's ballet Petrouchka in 1911, performances by Serge Diaghilev and the Ballet Russe and Richard Strauss conducting his opera, Salome (1907).

This is also where the Parisian public discovered Broadway musicals such as Showboat in the 1920s through the '60s.

And, perhaps on this night, they discovered Cincinnati's secret as well.

E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com