By Michele Narov 4:10pm

Paris Opera Ballet

Olivia Flatto at the Paris Opera Ballet Summer Soiree at Lincoln Center. (Amber De Vos/ PatrickMcMullan.com)

After 16 Years, an Elite French Ballet Company Returns to Lincoln Center

At 6 p.m. last Wednesday, a gaggle of elegant ballet fans crowding out onto the balcony of the David H. Koch Theater murmured excitedly about the return of the Paris Opera Ballet to New York City for the first time in 16 years.

These were the attendees of the Lincoln Center’s summer soiree, a fundraising gala that featured cocktails and appetizers before the company’s performance and a late dinner. One ballet enthusiast told The Observer that he and his wife had seen the company several times before in Paris. “For dance fans of both traditional ballet and contemporary ballet, this is as good as it gets,” said Steve Pesner. “And this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see them in New York.” Read More

By Beth Landman 6/05/12 2:00pm

As Seen in SCENE

Julian Niccolini is ready to take on the downtown crowd

Julian Niccolini’s Next Season

Enter the Four Seasons restaurant on East 52nd Street, and you feel like you’ve stepped back in time. Soaring ceilings, chain metal curtains, a tapestry by Picasso and that dramatic pool haven’t evolved since the Mad Men era, when the space, designed by Philip Johnson and Mies van der Rohe, first awed diners.

There is one significant change, however. In place of the previous low-key owners, a puckish Julian Niccolini and his partner Alex von Bidder have overseen the grand restaurant since they purchased it with Edgar Bronfman in 1995. Tuscan born Niccolini has the gift of gab and breathes life into the elegant room as he works it masterfully, from table to table, speaking with irreverence and routinely playing pranks on his regulars. Now, after 17 years of honing his skill charming the Midtown power set, Read More