Le Palais Garnier, 150 ans d'un théâtre mythique: the historical exhibition at the library-museum

2025 celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Palais Garnier, the monumental building so beloved by Parisians. To mark the occasion, the Bibliothèque nationale de France and theOpéra national de Paris are retracing the history of this theater, a blend of heritage and artistic creation, in a historical exhibition running from October 14, 2025 to February 15, 2026. A place of legends, events and trivia, theOpéra Garnier reveals itself through some one hundred items, paintings, drawings, posters, photos, books, manuscripts, costumes and objects linked to this temple of lyrical and choreographic art.

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Since its inauguration on January 5, 1875, the Palais Garnier has welcomed over a million visitors a year, attracted as much by the beauty of the building as by the operas and ballets it presents. Divided into three parts, this exhibition examines the historical, social and legendary dimensions of the Opéra. Once a national palace, this elitist edifice, designed by Napoleon III to establish his status as emperor, has become a symbol of republican pride, used for visits by foreign heads of state.

In fact, it was André Malraux who commissioned a new ceiling from Chagall in 1962, demonstrating the still-political dimension of the 20th century. Charles Garnier had conceived his work in connection with the lyrical arts, but dance came to the fore in the 1920s, with the seasons of the Ballets Russes. The repertoire changed over the years, as did the expectations of stage directors, so that the Paris Opéra eventually became a temple of dance and opera, supported by the construction of theOpéra Bastille.

Many legends are linked to the Palais Garnier, contributing to the myth that surrounds the place. At the beginning of the 20th century, various facts were distorted, creating a veritable aura, from the lake to the ghost, from the number 13 step to the story of the collapsing chandelier... Literature and cinema made a major contribution to this, notably with Gaston Leroux 's Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, published in 1910, which built the legend of a disquieting and dangerous Palais Garnier with a sulphurous reputation. Food for the imagination!