Several durable characteristics of the institution emerge from the historical models of The Paris Opera, since its creation by Louis XIV:

• Close links between the Opera and the State
• Public control always present but not always effective; a permanent tendency for glamour and big shows
• More frequent ballet activities than in the compared foreign opera houses,
• Institutional highs and lows of governance,
• Surprisingly, constant statistics in programming since the middle of the 19th century: a limited number of titles represent the larger number of opera performances.