Grime-streaked floodwater nearly slapped the 10-foot ceilings of the lower of the building’s two chambers, lurching up a winding stairway and foreclosing access to the lobby below. But when the New York-based playwright Rajiv Joseph, who recounted his experience by telephone on Wednesday, peered down into the morass on Aug. 27, the grief was instant and deflating.
Pierre Bergé, 86, Co-Founder Of Yves Saint-Laurent And Powerful Arts Patron
“His ambitions carried him far from fashion into the worlds of politics and culture. Though his clients were mostly rich and conservative, he was a staunch supporter of the Socialist Party, a contributor to liberal causes and a patron and arbiter of literature, theater and music.” President Mitterand appointed Bergé head of the Paris Opera, where his six-year tenure was stormy even by the standards of that notoriously contentious institution.