The Palais Garnier in a new light. This Thursday, September 7, the artist JR dressed up the facade of the Opéra Garnier, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, as part of an ephemeral installation. Under scaffolding for several months, the facade is currently the subject of intense work. This installation covers the facade of this historic monument, which is also one of the two stages of the Paris Opera along with the Opéra Bastille.

“Letting appear the entrance to a huge cave opening onto a perspective of rock and light”, this work is a “visual evocation of the origins of ballet and opera, when song and dance celebrated the deities of the Archaic Greece within caves created for festivities,” the institution states in a press release.

The Opera has also announced the projection of extracts of lyrical and choreographic works on this facade, visible from the square, for four evenings (September 9, 10, 16 and 17). A second installation, a stage curtain, is planned for November.

Restoration work on the facade is planned until the end of 2024.