Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Monte-Carlo Opera House, also known as the Garnier Hall, is an iconic showroom located in the Monte-Carlo district of Monaco. Designed by architect Charles Garnier at the initiative of Marie Blanc (widow of François Blanc), it was inaugurated on 25 January 1879 by a show by Sarah Bernhardt. Its construction, carried out in just eight months, imposed the temporary closure of the adjacent casino.

For more than six decades, the opera was directed by Raoul Gunsburg, appointed by Prince Albert I in 1892. Under his direction, until 1951, major works such as Massenet's Don Quixote and Ravel's spells were created, consolidating his international reputation. The building, aging, closed in 2000 for restoration work at a cost of €26 million.

Re-opened in 2005 by Prince Albert II, the opera returned to its brilliance with an inaugural gala followed by the representation of the Voyage to Reims de Rossini. Artists such as Picasso and Léon Zack have marked history there by creating decors, while master decorators such as Visconti and Charles Roux have shaped his visual identity until the 20th century.

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