Matisse and Katz, Brauner, The Sleeping Beauty: the cultural highlights of the festive season

Exhibitions in Nice and Monaco, a Christmas ballet at the Opera and a musical at the Grimaldi Forum: the programme until the holidays, while the MAMAC remains closed until 2028.

At the Musée Matisse on Cimiez hill, the exhibition “Henri Matisse, Alex Katz. The Silence of Painting” places the American painter’s canvases at the heart of the permanent collection, alongside works by Matisse, whom Katz counts among his references. It runs until 18 January. The museum is open from 10am to 5pm except on Tuesdays, and admission is €12.

In Monaco, the Nouveau Musée National devotes the whole of the Villa Paloma to Victor Brauner. “The Magical Adventure” brings together the surrealist painter’s work until 3 January. Admission is €6, and the museum is free on Sundays.

Dance also joins the festivities. From 16 to 31 December, the Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur presents a new production of Tchaikovsky’s “The Sleeping Beauty”, choreographed by Pontus Lidberg, director of the company’s ballet. A few days earlier, on 6 December, the Opera’s singers perform Christmas carols at Sainte-Réparate cathedral in Old Nice.

Families can head to the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, where “Shrek the Musical” closes the year’s programme on 11, 12 and 13 December.

One notable absence, though: the MAMAC, Nice’s modern and contemporary art museum, is closed for works until 2028 and now only runs projects outside its walls. At the Musée national Marc Chagall, the exhibition “Chagall à l’œuvre” ended in September; the museum will be closed on 25 December.