Dialogues of the Muses: The Paris Opera House and the Arts

5 November [Sat], 2022 - 5 February [Sun], 2023

Book now

The Paris Opera House is known as a glorious sacred space for ballet and opera performances. This exhibition explores the history of the Paris Opera House from the seventeenth century to the present, examining the relationships between various fields of art and their appeal from a total art perspective. The focus is particularly on the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the age of romantic ballet, grand opera, and the Ballets Russes. Introducing the multifaceted appeal of the Paris Opera House from artistic, cultural, and sociological perspectives, using works from the Bibliothèque nationale de France and other sources in Japan and abroad, this exhibition reveals its historic significance. In making the many connections between the opera house and the various arts, this exhibition is an utterly unprecedented venture.
Composition of the Exhibition
Overture: The Birth of the Palais Garnier
ActⅠ : 17th - 18th Centuries
（1）The Spectacular Machine play of Louis XIV’s Reign（2）Fête Galante（3）Neoclassical aesthetic innovations
Act II: 19th century [1]
（1）The Salle de la rue Le Peletier（2）Grand Opera（3）Romantic Ballet（4）Set Designers and Costume Painter
*The Theater in Paris
Act III: 19th century [2]
（1）Innovation in the Grand Opera（2）Edgar Degas and the Paris Opera（3）The Artists who painted the theater（4）Richard Wagner’s Aesthetics
*Writer and the Opera * “Japonisme” and the Paris Opera
Act IV: 20th and 21st Centuries
（1）The Ballets Russes（2）Modern Art and the Paris Opera（3）Painters, Designers, and Art for the Stage（4）Supremacy of Stage Directors and Choreographers
*From Cinema and Musicals
Epilogue: L'Opéra Bastille

Exhibition overview

Exhibition title: Dialogues of the Muses: The Paris Opera House and the Arts

Exhibition period: 5 November [Sat], 2022 - 5 February [Sun], 2023

Opening hours: 10:00 – 18:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays) * Last admission 30 minutes before closing

Closed: Mondays (except January 9), December 28 to January 3, January 10

Organizer: Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation

Under the auspices of: Embassy of France / Institut français du japon

In collaboration with: the Bibliothèque nationale de France

Venue: 6,5F Galleries

Concurrent Exhibition: October 25 [Tue.], 2022 – February 5 [Sun.], 2023
Selections from the Ishibashi Foundation Collection　Special Section　Art in a Box: The Box in a Valise by Marcel Duchamp and It’s Aftermath (4F Gallery)

Ticket prices (incl. tax)

	On-line ticket	Same day ticket
General	1,800 yen　*Credit card payments only	2,000 yen
University college high school students	Free entry　Advance booking required Students must present their student ID upon entrance to the museum.
Disabled visitors (plus one accompanying assistant)	Free entry　Advance booking required
Children through junior high school	Free entry　Advance booking not required

*Online tickets must be purchased up to 10 minutes before the end of each time slot.
*Same day tickets on sale at museum are available only for time slots that have not reached full capacity.
*Booking is not accepted when a time slot is full.
*This admission fee gives the visitor access to the concurrent exhibitions.

Art works

Édouard MANET《Masked Ball at the Opera》1873

Charles GARNIER《Facade of the Paris Opera (Opera Garnier)》1861 ©Bibliothèque nationale de France

François-Gabriel-Guillaume LÉPAULLE《Trio from act V, scene 3 of Robert le Diable (Robert the Devil)》1835 ©Bibliothèque nationale de France

Edgar DEGAS《The dance class》 1873-76, Paris, Musée d'Orsay<br />
Photo ©RMN-Grand Palais (musée d'Orsay) / Adrien Didierjean / distributed by AMF

Edgar DEGAS《The dance class》 1873-76, Paris, Musée d'Orsay
Photo ©RMN-Grand Palais (musée d'Orsay) / Adrien Didierjean / distributed by AMF

《Poster of the first performance of Tannhaüser》1861 ©Bibliothèque nationale de France

Leon Samoilovitch BAKST《Ida Rubinstein's Headdress in Schéhérazade》 c.1910　©Bibliothèque nationale de France

Christian LACROIX《 Costume design for Les Anges Ternis (The Tarnished Angels), c.1987 ©Bibliothèque nationale de France

Édouard MANET《Masked Ball at the Opera》1873, Gift of Mrs. Horace Havemeyer in memory of her mother-in-law, Louisine W. Havemeyer, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Antoine WATTEAU《La Perspective (view through the trees in the park of Pierre Crozat)》c. 1715, Maria Antoinette Evans Fund, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Jean-Baptiste CARPEAUX《The Genius of the Dance, No.2》Paris, Musée d'Orsay Photo © RMN-Grand Palais (musée d'Orsay) / Tony Querrec / distributed by AMF

Jean-Baptiste Édouard DETAILLE《The Inauguration of the Paris Opera on January 5, 1875》1878, Paris, Musée d'Orsay, dépôt au musée national du château de Versailles Photo ©RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot/ distributed by AMF

Marc CHAGALL《Figures at the Opera》1968-1971, Pola Museum of Art ©ADAGP, Paris&JASPAR, Tokyo, 2022 Chagall® C3919

Alfred Edward CHALON《Pas de Quatre: Carlotta Grisi, Marie Taglioni, Lucile Grahn & Fanny Cerrito》1845, Hyogo Performing Arts Center, Kenji Usui Ballet Collection

Share this page