Full coverage of Rice at the 2024 Olympics
In the minutes before the Orchestre National de France prepared to play Edith Piaf’s “L’Hymne à l’Amour” to close out the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, music director Cristian Măcelaru '06, '08 had a moment of confusion.
“I kept looking backstage because when we’d rehearsed, I understood she’d be right next to me,” Mǎcelaru said, referring to singer Celine Dion. “I kept waiting for someone to make an announcement in my earpiece, then she came on screen and she was on the Eiffel Tower.”
The now-iconic performance of Dion in the tower accompanied by the orchestra across the Seine River at the Trocadéro was one of many surprises for the event’s estimated 1.5 billion viewers worldwide as well as for those involved, including Mǎcelaru.
“There were only a handful of people who had the complete picture,” said Mǎcelaru, an alumnus of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. “Because the event was so big, everyone really just knew their own piece of the puzzle.”
The biggest surprise of all wasn’t delivered by opening ceremony organizers but by Mother Nature.
“Even the night before, there was no rain in the forecast,” Mǎcelaru said. “The day-of when we saw it started raining, we learned that the rain was going to peak while we were on stage.”
The orchestra had prerecorded the “Olympic Hymn,” which has been standard procedure for several years, but the musicians still wanted to play live. Around 1 p.m. Friday, Mǎcelaru said his team was able to secure lower-quality string instruments, which were delivered via special escort at 9:05 p.m. The string musicians grabbed an instrument and walked on stage along with brass and wind musicians, who opted to play their own instruments. Everyone, including Mǎcelaru, was outfitted with a poncho to combat the rain.
“Just before we were supposed to start playing, I said, ‘You know what? Forget it. I’m not going to conduct in a poncho. I can do better than this,’ and I ripped it off,” Mǎcelaru said. “Most of the orchestra took their ponchos off at that point as well. During the ‘Olympic Hymn,’ the rain stopped and for the duration of the ‘Olympic Hymn,’ it did not rain one bit.”
Chatting with Rice News barely more than 72 hours after his opening ceremony experience, Mǎcelaru shared that he’d known about the performance for several years, a secret he admitted was difficult to keep. Ultimately, he said he’s proud to be a part of something “so beautiful.”
“This was a truly stunning three-hour telling of French culture, French people and Paris, celebrating everything that’s beautiful about the city,” Mǎcelaru said, emphasizing the orchestra’s role as a cultural ambassador for France.
Just like the raindrops that rolled off his back during the orchestra’s Olympics performance, Mǎcelaru is already on the move. He’s in Santa Cruz, California, where he’s serving as music director and conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Recently appointed the new music director for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Măcelaru also serves as artistic director of the George Enescu Festival and Competition, artistic director and principal conductor of the Interlochen Center for the Arts’ World Youth Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne, Germany.
“We are incredibly proud and excited to see Cristian Măcelaru, one of our distinguished alumni, directing the Orchestre National de France at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games,” said Shepherd School Dean Matthew Loden, who noted that Măcelaru studied with the late Larry Rachleff and received degrees from Rice in 2006 and 2008. “Cristi’s remarkable achievements and his ability to bring people together through the universal language of music exemplify the excellence and spirit of the Shepherd School. This moment is a testament to the dedication and talent nurtured within our community, and we look forward to celebrating his continued success on such an international stage.”
Măcelaru, who has credited the Shepherd School with equipping him with the necessary skills to excel in his career, has made several guest conductor appearances at the Shepherd School since graduating and plans to return as soon as next spring. In May, he hosted Traveling Owls in Paris for a behind-the-scenes look at a Orchestre National de France rehearsal and performance (video below).
“I don’t know if I will ever have a concert or be in a performance that has such a large viewership,” Măcelaru said of his opening ceremony experience, adding with a smile, “I think the only way to top it is to find a way to be involved in 2028 when the Olympics return to Los Angeles.”