Sarah Bernhardt inaugurated the hall in 1879, Puccini had a world premiere here, and today the opera is led by Cecilia Bartoli. Here's how to experience the Salle Garnier – and what's on during the 2026–2027 season.
In this story · 5 sections
Behind the casino in Monte-Carlo, with its façade facing the sea, lies a small opera hall with a great history. The Salle Garnier has only 524 seats but has hosted 45 world premieres. It was designed by the same architect as the Paris Opera.
Opéra de Monte-Carlo – Salle Garnier
Opera · Monte-Carlo
© OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap
- Address
- Place du Casino, 98000 Monaco
- Inaugurated
- 25 January 1879
- Architect
- Charles Garnier
- Seats in the Salle Garnier
- 524
- World premieres
- 45
- Director
- Cecilia Bartoli (since January 2023)
A hall with 524 seats, 45 world premieres and Cecilia Bartoli as director.
01Charles Garnier and the inauguration in 1879
Charles Garnier, the architect behind the Paris Opera, designed the hall in Monte-Carlo, and construction took around eight and a half months. On 25 January 1879, the building was inaugurated with a performance by Sarah Bernhardt, dressed as a nymph. The first opera, Robert Planquette's Le Chevalier Gaston, was performed on 8 February that same year. Between 1898 and 1899, Henri Schmit rebuilt the stage to better suit opera.
02Raoul Gunsbourg and the 45 world premieres
In 1892, Raoul Gunsbourg became director, and he stayed for sixty years. During his time, Monte-Carlo became a venue for world premieres: Berlioz's La damnation de Faust in staged form in 1893, Saint-Saëns's Hélène in 1904, Mascagni's Amica in 1905, Massenet's Don Quichotte in 1910, and Puccini's La rondine in 1917. In total, the house has had 45 world premieres. In 1909, Wagner's entire Ring of the Nibelung was performed in French, and the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo was later founded here, with René Blum as the initiator.
Insider tipThe 2026–2027 season is under way.
In 2004–2005, the Salle Garnier was renovated, and during this time the opera performed in the Salle des Princes at the Grimaldi Forum.
03Cecilia Bartoli – the first woman as director
In January 2023, the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli took over as director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, becoming the first woman in the post, according to Monaco Tribune. She had been artistic director of the Salzburg Whitsun Festival since 2012, and in 2016 she founded the orchestra Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco together with Jean-Louis Grinda. The opera performs at the Salle Garnier, at the Grimaldi Forum and in the Auditorium Rainier III, and in recent years December has been devoted to a musical.
04The 2026–2027 season: impossible loves
Bartoli's 2026–2027 season has the theme of impossible love, amours impossibles, according to Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer. On the programme are Bizet's Carmen, Wagner's Siegfried, Verdi's Rigoletto and Beethoven's Fidelio in concert version, and a puppet theatre performance of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria with the choir from Cape Town Opera. Among the singers are Anna Netrebko, Asmik Grigorian, Ludovic Tézier, Lisette Oropesa, Benjamin Bernheim, Leah Hawkins and Jonathan Tetelman. Exact dates can be found in the opera's programme.
The Salle Garnier is also used for more than opera. In autumn 2026, the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary with ten concerts in the hall, and during the 2026–2027 season, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo will give, among other things, 22 symphony concerts.
05An evening in Monte-Carlo
The opera is located on Place du Casino, with the Hôtel de Paris and the Café de Paris just a few minutes away. The venue can be found in VERA PI's guide to the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and our guide to Monaco and the plan for 48 hours in Monaco will help you with the rest of the evening.
