The Sun King at the Dôme de Paris: back this winter — reviews and photos

Hear ye, hear ye, ladies and gentlemen — Le Roi Soleil is ready to reclaim its throne at the Dôme de Paris! After an initial Paris run from December 4, 2025 to January 18, 2026, followed by a tour across France, the cult musical by Kamel Ouali and Dove Attia, now produced by Décibels Productions, returns to the capital from December 19, 2026 to January 17, 2027.

Since its opening in 2005 at the Palais des Sports, this dazzling show, recounting the loves and ambitions of Louis XIV, wowed more than 1.6 million spectators across 380 performances in France, Switzerland and Belgium. Its timeless anthems, from "Être à la hauteur" to "Je fais de toi mon essentiel", defined a generation and, in the process, crowned two figures of song: Emmanuel Moire, regal as the Sun King, and Christophe Maé, unforgettable as the rebel brother.

• To be read
• Top picks of the week: October 19–25, 2026 in Paris and Île-de-France

And good news for the Court’s devoted followers: Emmanuel Moire takes up Louis XIV’s crown! By his side, Flo Malley (The Voice, Salut les Copains, Paradis Latin) becomes the Duke of Beaufort, while Louis Delort (The Voice, 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille), as the king’s brother, promises to stir a little mischief among the gilded halls of Versailles.

On the women's side, the female roles bring a touch more charm to the Court: Lou (The Voice Kids, Molière le spectacle musical) plays Marie Mancini, Clara Poulet becomes Madame de Maintenon, Vanina embodies Isabelle, the girl from the people, and Margaux Heller (The Voice, Flash Dance) portrays Madame de Montespan.

This revival follows in the footsteps of other major comebacks like The Ten Commandments, Notre-Dame de Paris, or Romeo and Juliette, iconic milestones of French musical theatre. After its September and October 2026 performances, Le Roi Soleil returns to the Dôme de Paris for the year-end holidays and through January 17, 2027.

Our verdict:

Forget your golden memories of 2005… The King Sun in a 2025 version lands at the Dôme de Paris with a complete overhaul, decidedly modern and sometimes disorienting. Gone are the baroque sets: the ubiquitous 2D screens now dominate the stage design. A bold shift that, in the first act, leaves the whole thing a little cold, less immersive than hoped. But after intermission, the technology finally finds its breath: Versailles lights up, the pomp unfurls, and the show expands in scope. A direction that will divide, certainly, but fully embraces its aim of updating a classic.

And this modernity doesn’t stop there: this new version offers a lot more dialogue, more scenes performed, more context—a richer narrative that clarifies the story and better establishes the stakes. On the costume side, pastel tones, far from the gilded, frills of yesteryear, are rather surprising for so flamboyant a reign. A sober elegance that fits the show’s artistic line, even if it may disorient lovers of opulence.

On stage, the new troupe rises to the challenge: Emmanuel Moire, the backbone of the show, still exudes magnetic presence; Lou Jean, aka Marie Mancini, shines with the crystalline charm of her voice; and Louis Delort brilliantly reinterprets the role of the king’s brother once played by Christophe Maé. As for the soundtrack, there isn’t a false note: the pop-rock arrangements are strictly the 2005 ones and haven’t aged a day. You may regret the absence of an orchestra— once present in several performances—but you can’t deny the timeless strength of these tunes. The two, three new songs don’t add much to the story, despite attempts to flesh out the score.

The pace, meanwhile, never lets up: not a second of silence, the sequence of tableaux, rap, breakdancers, and a closing surge of glory. A few hiccups remain, notably an interaction with the audience that breaks immersion and some moments whose meaning still escapes…

In the end, this 2025 edition is a bold gamble: denser, more explicit, sometimes uneven, less emotional than the first version, but carried by a contemporary energy that it owns. A fresh reading that shakes up without denying the legacy of a cult show.

The only real drawback in the room: visibility varies greatly depending on your seat (to situate, we were in the Gold Circle, row 10 center, and sightlines remained quite limited), and the allowed smartphones can break the immersion at times… the magic wavers briefly.

This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.

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