Hard blow for the Paris Opera. The stage at the Palais Garnier will ultimately have to close for five years, from 2027 to 2032, instead of the two years initially planned, due to an extension in the schedule for modernization work linked to the presence of lead.
“It is a choice that we assume, a choice of responsibility, a choice made for the sustainability of the working tool,” declared Thursday July 2 Alexander Neef, general director of the Paris Opera. “If we have to take this step today, it is to avoid having to undertake a new project in a few years,” he added. The announcement of the new schedule was made in the middle of the day to some 1,500 employees.
On October 31, 2024, the institution, whose aging buildings had been highlighted by a report from the Court of Auditors, said it was planning two years of closure in turn for its two theaters: summer 2027-summer 2029 for Garnier; mid-2030-mid-2032 for the Opéra Bastille.
The objective is to modernize the stage cages (below and above the stage) of these two sites, in terms of the stage (machinery, etc.) and the building (networks, air treatment, electricity).
“As in many other historical monuments, the presence of lead at the Palais Garnier is known and is regularly monitored. It was already planned to deal with it in the initial project,” explained Alexander Neef.
A listed building
“What changes the situation is that we are today facing a strengthening of regulations and a request from prevention and control organizations to completely remove lead from the stage cage during the work,” he continued.
Consequently, at the Palais Garnier, a 151-year-old building and classified as a historic monument in 1923, the work will extend from 2027 to 2032. And at Bastille, inaugurated in 1989, they will not be able to start until the 2033-2034 season.
When one place is closed, the other will remain open and will host the lyrical and choreographic shows of the institution, which also plans off-site programming at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Théâtre de Chaillot and the Théâtre de la Ville, according to Alexander Neef.
Another development announced Thursday at the Palais Garnier: the spaces reserved for heritage visits, an important source of income (13 million euros annually) and which were initially to remain open, “could be temporarily unavailable for two years”, due to possible nuisances (noise, vibrations), according to management.
A possible total closure of the building will depend on the technique chosen for lead treatment after tests carried out this summer, said the general director. The cost of these adjustments “is not yet known”, according to Alexander Neef, stressing that it depends on the summer assessments and the closure or not of the Palais Garnier, as well as “on our self-financing capacity”.
“Support plan”
In September, the work was estimated at 450.8 million euros over six years by the Ministry of Culture, 25% of which was financed by the State. They also include renovation work, on a smaller scale, at the Nanterre dance school (west of Paris) and at the Berthier workshops (where the costumes are kept).
In 2025, the institution’s budget, slightly profitable, was based 42% on state subsidies and 58% on its own resources (ticketing, patronage, visits, private events, etc.).
In terms of employment, management plans to “look closely at the precise impacts” for employees on the Garnier plateau. “The measures of the support plan will have to be discussed and negotiated” with the unions, according to Alexander Neef, who intends to “preserve skills and jobs for the reopening of the theater”.
“Many employees are stunned,” reacted Régis Cochennec, representative of the Sud union, pointing in particular to “a lot of concern” among the approximately 500 Garnier employees, while management has put in place a “listening and psychological support system” provided by an independent firm, according to an internal letter.
“We don’t know what will be in the management’s support plan: retirements? Voluntary departures? Transfers to Bastille? » added Régis Cochennec. According to him, the possibility of requesting training also exists but “the times to obtain it are very long in these specific professions”.
