Théâtre du Châtelet
Grand Second Empire theatre where the Ballets Russes rewrote modern dance in 1909.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris opens on May 19, 1909, when impresario Sergei Diaghilev filled the dress circle with fifty-two hand-picked actresses before a twenty-year-old dancer named Vaslav Nijinsky walked onstage. It traces the theatre back to 1862, when Baron Haussmann had it built as one of two matching houses on the Place du Châtelet, and follows the Ballets Russes years that made this stage their Paris home, including Stravinsky's 1911 premiere here. Listen for how the audience reacted the following year to Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Palais Garnier
Opulent Second Empire opera house with a real underground cistern that inspired the Phantom of the Opera legend.
Moulin Rouge
Iconic Montmartre cabaret with a red windmill, birthplace of the can-can and Belle Époque spectacle since 1889.
Opéra Bastille
Monumental modern opera house inaugurated in 1989 on the eve of the French Revolution's bicentennial.
Cimetière de Montmartre
Victorian necropolis in a former quarry, home to Nijinsky, Degas, Dalida, and Truffaut.