Photo: Olivier Borde / Bestimage and Domine Jerome / Abaca
All the dancers on stage: Charlotte Casiraghi at the Paris gala
The whole Paris ballet company was on stage, from the youngest pupils to the principal dancers, as the Opéra Garnier opened its season. Charlotte Casiraghi was there as ambassador for Chanel, the gala's biggest sponsor.
Charlotte Casiraghi was among the guests when the Opéra Garnier in Paris opened the 2026-2027 dance season with a gala on Saturday evening.
The opening gala marks the start of the season for the ballet company of the Opéra de Paris, and the whole company takes part. Everyone from the youngest pupils of the ballet school to the principal dancers is on stage, the latter holding the French title étoile, meaning star.
The house she represents
Chanel has for many years been the biggest sponsor of the opening gala at the Opéra de Paris, and Casiraghi was present as the fashion house's ambassador. She took on that role on 1 January 2021, after a long friendship with the house that began in Karl Lagerfeld's time.
The combination suits her. Casiraghi is a philosophy graduate and is behind the Rencontres Philosophiques de Monaco, where she organises philosophical talks and seminars in the principality.
The Palais Garnier
The opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the ninth arrondissement of Paris was completed in 1875 and designed by Charles Garnier. Today it is above all the ballet company that is based here, while most of the opera repertoire has moved to the Opéra Bastille.
Charlotte Casiraghi is the daughter of Princess Caroline of Hanover and Stefano Casiraghi, and a granddaughter of Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly. She turned 40 in August.