Paris’s Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Reopens Its Season Under Baptiste Charroing

One month after it opened in 1913, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris hosted what contemporaries described as a riot: the premiere of Igor Stravinsky's ballet and orchestral work “Rite of Spring.” A month into his own tenure, new general director Baptiste Charroing is channeling that disruptive legacy — minus the fistfights.

The theater is now presenting its first fully staged opera of the season, Giacomo Puccini's “Manon Lescaut,” running through Nov. 15. The work has not been seen on a Paris stage for 30 years, Charroing said.

What does the new director bring?

Charroing is a trained violist who served as the theater's director of production starting in 2020. His stated goal: honor the house's tradition of overlooked works and quality stagings of standard repertory.

“Before I assumed this position, we had many baroque projects and now I'm trying to balance that with classical romanticism and modern repertoire,” he said. “We have a strong identity with French music. The very first concert at the theater in 1913 you had Paul Dukas and Camille Saint-Saëns conducting their own works.”

He frames Paris as the current world capital of classical music. “At the moment you can spend a week in Paris and experience opera in a different venue almost every day,” he said, noting the theater stages four or five fully staged operas and 22 concert operas per season.

The season's highlight, in his view, is a production of Hector Berlioz's adaptation of Gluck's “Orphée,” planned for April. “I'm lucky because I don't have an established orchestra at the theater, so I can work with different orchestras in Paris and get the best orchestra for the repertoire I need,” Charroing said. “I have Les Siècles doing 'Orphée' and this orchestra is absolutely the best for this type of music.”

Why the house itself matters

The roughly 1,900-seat theater was designed by Henry van de Velde with Auguste and Gustave Perret, brothers known for their revolutionary use of reinforced concrete. It is celebrated for its acoustics, its lush ceiling murals by Maurice Denis, and its red and gold seats. Supertitles appear in French and English above and beside the stage, and common areas have been expanded.

Intermission has been extended to 30 minutes. “This is a very important time for people,” Charroing said.

Who is singing there this season?

The Samoan-born tenor Amitai Pati sings Nadir in a new production of Bizet's “The Pearl Fishers” in December. His brother Pene Pati, also a tenor, sings in a concert version of Puccini's “La Rondine” on Nov. 19.

“This theater is iconic in its history but also in the very high quality of the performers,” Amitai said.

The house has drawn legends before. Alain Lanceron, chairman emeritus of Warner Classics and Erato, saw Maria Callas there in December 1973 on her farewell tour with Giuseppe Di Stefano. He also attended Vladimir Horowitz's two concerts in October 1985, before the pianist returned to the Soviet Union in 1986 after 61 years.

“I see it as a major venue in the musical life in Paris,” Lanceron said. “The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is special because it's intimate and you are in direct contact with the stage wherever you are seated.”

Charroing closes with a word: convivialité. “We share something together,” he said. The house's deepest endorsement came from Debussy, who called it “the house of music.” Charroing added: “I can't argue with Debussy.”