The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. The theater is named not after the famed Avenue des Champs-Élysées, but rather after the neighborhood which it is situated in, the Quartier des Champs-Élysées (French).

Opened in 1913, it was designed by French architect Auguste Perret and founded by journalist and impresario Gabriel Astruc to provide a venue suitable for contemporary music, dance and opera, in contrast to traditional, more conservative, institutions like the Paris Opera. It hosted the Ballets Russes for its first season, staging the world première of the Rite of Spring on Thursday May 29, 1913, thus becoming the celebrated location of one of the most famous of all classical music riots.

Architecture

Finished in 1913, the venue is one of few major examples of Art Deco in the city.Perret's building was significant as an early landmark of reinforced concrete construction and, at the time, shockingly plain in appearance.

The building's concrete construction was not merely a stylistic choice. Subsoil conditions and the site's proximity to the Seine made concrete necessary. Henry van de Velde was the initial architect, resigning when it was clear that the contractors, the Perret brothers, had a far deeper understanding of the project than he did—although the Perrets were not licensed architects and had another designer, Roger Bouvard, sign their plans.