Théâtre du Châtelet, on place du Châtelet since 1862

The Théâtre du Châtelet on place du Châtelet opened on 19 April 1862 in the presence of the Empress, with Rothomago. Gabriel Davioud built it for Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann, facing its twin on the site of the old Grand Châtelet, for the Cirque Impérial company forced off the boulevard du Temple.

From 1876 Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days was performed there 2,195 times over sixty-four years. Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes danced there from 1909: Petrushka premiered in 1911, L’Après-midi d’un faune and Daphnis et Chloé in 1912, and Satie and Cocteau’s Parade in 1917. Mahler and Richard Strauss conducted there.

From 1929 Maurice Lehmann made it the home of spectacular operetta; Le Chanteur de Mexico, with Luis Mariano, ran for about a thousand performances. The City of Paris took over its management in 1979. Stéphane Lissner brought in Patrice Chéreau and Pierre Boulez, and the César film awards were held there from 2002 to 2016.

Renovated from 2017 to 2021 and directed by Olivier Py since 2023, the theatre stages musicals, opera, concerts, dance and family shows. It faces the Seine and the Théâtre de la Ville, in the 1st arrondissement.