Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The theatre of the Celestines occupies the site of a former convent founded in 1407 by the Celestines, religious order installed after a donation by Amédée VIII of Savoy. The abbey, including the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, experienced three fires (1501, 1622, 1744) before its dissolution in 1779. The buildings were sold in 1785 and partially destroyed by the drilling of adjacent streets. The site also housed the library-printer brotherhood from 1686.

In 1792, the Society of Celestins transformed the old church into a first theatre, the Théâtre des Variétés, inaugurated on April 9. After temporary closures (1833-1838) and fires (1853, 1871), the city of Lyon launched a contest in 1873 to rebuild the building. The architect Gaspard André designed the current Italian theatre, inaugurated in 1877, but suffered a new fire in 1880. Reconstructed in the same way, it reopened in 1881 and was listed for historical monuments in 1997.

Theatre played a major cultural role in the 20th and 21st centuries. In May 1968, it will clandestinely house threatened Egyptian antiquities. Renovated between 2003 and 2005, it has a second room, the Celestine, flooded in 2018. Its façade, illuminated for the holidays, also participates in the Fête des Lumières. Directed by figures such as Charles Moncharmont (1906-1941) or Claudia Stavisky (2000-2024), he welcomed artists such as Sarah Bernhardt, Louis Jouvet, or Jean Marais.

The history of the building reflects its Lyon anchor: from the medieval convent to the contemporary spectacle. Its architecture, preserved despite the fires, includes intact scenic machinery and restored wall decors. Theatre remains a symbol of Lyon's cultural life, combining heritage and innovation, as evidenced by its recent participation in bright events.

The programming of the Celestines was marked by bold directors. Albert Husson (1968-1978) will hide archaeological treasures, while Charles Gantillon (from 1941) will reveal authors such as Beckett or Ionesco. Jean Meyer (1978-1985) and Claudia Stavisky (2000-2024) will continue this tradition, making theatre a place of creation and memory, classified and protected since 1997.

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