Paris was the undisputed capital of theatre in the first half of the XIXth century, holding all kinds of shows including vaudeville, pantomime, opera seria and melodrama. Shakespeare, Goethe, Byron, Victor Hugo, among others, inspired the creation of new models. World famous artists came to perform on the Parisian scene, including divas Maria Balibran and Marietta Alboni, great actors such as Talma, Mlle Mars, Rachel, composers including Rossini and Meyerbeer, dance stars like Marie Taglioni and Fanny Elssler and mime artist Jean-Gaspard Deburau.

The musée de la Vie romantique revives memories of this spectacular era with displays of portraits, aquarelles, drawings, décors and costume designs from the Carnavalet museum collection, especially exhibits from the « l’enclos Chaptal » room, where the Paris scene met up regularly.