Best of / Dance / Opera

Must-see operas and ballets in Paris this autumn

Opera, classic ballets and spectacular contemporary choreography at Paris’s major performing arts venues

From the Palais Garnier and the Opéra Comique to Chaillot, the Théâtre National de la Danse, La Seine Musicale and the Opéra Bastille, the capital's major venues welcome the world's greatest opera singers and most prestigious dance companies. Classical or modern repertoire, there's something for everyone.

Back-to-school operas in Paris

The Paris Opéra opens its operatic season at the Opéra Bastille with Giuseppe Verdi's bittersweet comedy inspired by Shakespeare's Falstaff (from 10 to 30 September 2024), followed by one of the world's most popular operas, Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini (from 14 September to 25 October 2024). Then, still at the Opéra Bastille, there is the contemporary version of Charles Gounod's dramatic Faust (from 26 September to 18 October 2024) and the enchanting Magic Flute, the last opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (from 2 to 23 November 2024).

As for the Palais Garnier, it will be showcasing Jacques Offenbach's opéra bouffe Les Brigands (from 21 September 2024) and Igor Stravinsky's neo-classical opera The Rake's Progress, from 30 November 2024. Daniel-François-Esprit Auber's poetic Domino Noir returns to the Opéra-Comique stage from 20 to 28 September 2024. George Benjamin and Martin Crimp's contemporary one-act lyrical fable Picture a day like this will also be on show from 25 to 31 October 2024.

The autumn's operas and ballets in pictures

La Flûte enchantée
The Rake's Progress
Picture a day like this de George Benjamin et Martin Crimp
Direction musicale Sir George Benjamin — Mise en scène Daniel Jeanneteau, Marie-Christine Soma
Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2023 © Jean-Louis Fernandez
Mayerling de Kenneth MacMillan l Palais Garnier l 2024
Représentation Blanca Li - Didon et Enée l 630x405 l Espace Chapiteau La Villette l © Dan Aucente
Affiche Falstaff Opéra l 630 x 405 l © Opéra Bastille
Faust l Charles Gounod l Opéra Bastille l © Christophe Pelé OnP
Affiche Madame Butterfly 2024 Opéra l 630 x 405 l © Opéra Bastille
William Forsythe et Johan Inger l 630 x 405 l Palai Garnier l © Ahgathe Poupeney / OnP

Classical ballets and contemporary dance on the autumn programme

From 20 September 2024, Chaillot Théâtre National de la Danse will resume its themed Chaillot Experience weekends, where dance, music and artistic performances will take place in several areas of the theatre.

The Palais Garnier opens its dance season with the Gala (1 October 2024), followed by the Paris Opera Ballet performing choreographies by William Forsythe and Johan Inger (4 October to 3 November 2024) and Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling (29 October to 16 November 2024). The prestigious American company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to the capital for 11 exceptional performances at the Palais des Congrès de Paris from 18 to 26 October 2024. The Carolyn Carlson Company presents its latest ballet The tree, fragments of poetics on fire on 22 and 23 October 2024 at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

The choreographer Benjamin Millepied unveils his new creation Grace, Jeff Buckley Dances, a tribute to the famous singer and guitarist Jeff Buckley, at the Seine Musicale in Boulogne-Billancourt from 5 to 8 November 2024. Finally, Blanca Li will be taking to the Chapiteau at the Parc de la Villette from 17 to 31 October 2024 with her choreographic version of Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas.

A selection of ballets and operas for the new season in Paris

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