Le Balcon was founded in 2008 by a conductor (Maxime Pascal), a sound engineer (Florent Derex), a pianist and vocal coach (Alphonse Cemin) and three composers (Juan Pablo Carreño, Mathieu Costecalde, Pedro Garcia Velasquez). Le Balcon changes according to the projects and concerts, as well as in the number of members, in the visual or scenographic  identity, the relationship with the sound system and the electronic music. Le Balcon takes its name from Jean Genet’s play (_Le Balcon_, 1956). In residence at the Saint-Merry church and then at the Théâtre de l’Athénée, the ensemble became a collective, bringing together an orchestra and a troupe of multidisciplinary artists. From then on, Le Balcon presented works from a repertoire that spanned all periods of musical history, with a predilection for works from the 20th and 21st centuries. Le Balcon has presented several operas such as Strauss’s _Ariadne auf Naxos_, Eötvös’s _Le Balcon_, Levinas’s La Métamorphose_, as well as the new works _Le Premier Meurtre_ by Lavandier and _Like Flesh_ by Eldar.

Since 2018, Le Balcon has been commissioning new works by welcoming composers in residence every year with the support of the Fondation Singer-Polignac.

In 2018, Le Balcon begins production of Stockhausen’s _Licht, The Seven Days of the Week_. Each fall, one of the seven operas in this great cycle is revealed to the public. After Thursday from ‘Light’ (2018), Saturday from Light (2019) and Tuesday from Light (2020), Le Balcon presented Friday from Light in November 2022, at the Lille Opera and at the Philharmonie de Paris.

In 2023, Le Balcon will present new productions: Weill and Brecht’s _Threepenny Opera_, at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, with the troupe of the Comédie-Française, directed by Thomas Ostermeier; Messiaen’s _Saint François d’Assise_ at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest in a concert version with video by Nieto; and Stockhausen’s _Sunday from Light_ at the Philharmonie de Paris, directed by Ted Huffman.

Le Balcon is supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Société Générale C’est vous l’avenir foundtion, the Île-de-France region, the City of Paris, the Fondation Singer-Polignac, the Centre national de la musique, the SACEM and the Copie privée.