Palais Garnier

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Image:Palais Garnier bordercropped.jpg Image:ParisOpera roofSculptureLeft.jpg Image:ParisOpera roofSculptureRight.jpg

The Palais Garnier is an opera house, a grand landmark at the northern end of the Avenue de l'Opéra in the IXe arrondissement of Paris, France. It is regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces of its time. Built in Neo-baroque style, it is the thirteenth theatre to house the Paris Opera since it was founded by Louis XIV in 1669.

It was often also called the Paris Opera, but since the building of the Opéra Bastille in 1989, it is referred to as the Opéra Garnier.

1 History
2 Paris Opera today
3 Access
4 See also
5 Trivia
6 External links

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History

It was ordered to be built by Napoleon III as part of the great Parisian reconstruction project carried out by Baron Haussmann. The project was put out to competition and was won by Charles Garnier (1825–1898), a then unknown 35-year-old architect. He would go on to also build the Opéra Garnier de Monte-Carlo in Monaco.

Building work, which began in 1857 and finished in 1874, was interrupted by numerous incidents, including the Franco-Prussian War, the fall of the Empire and the Paris Commune. Another problem was the discovery of an underground lake beneath the site. This required the construction of an underground reservoir below the building. This lake later inspired The Phantom of the Opera's lair. The Palais Garnier was formally inaugurated on January 15, 1875.

During the construction of the Paris Métro, the existence of a legendary river, the Grange-Batelière, was disproved. It had been thought to flow past land near the Paris Opera. When Opéra metro station was built, there were fears that the metro's signature Hector Guimard art-nouveau iron metro entrances would detract from the vista of the opera house's façade; instead, marble balustrades were built.

The large building has a total area of 11,000 square metres (118,404 square feet) and a huge stage with room to accommodate up to 450 artists. An ornate building, the style is monumental, opulently decorated with elaborate multicolored marble friezes, columns, and lavish statuary. The interior too is rich with velvet, gold leaf, and cherubs and nymphs. The auditorium's central chandelier weighs over six tons, and its ceiling was painted in 1964 by Marc Chagall.

Legend has it that the Empress Eugénie asked Garnier whether the building was to be in Greek or Roman style to which he replied: It is in the Napoléon III style Madame!

The Paris Opera also provides the backdrop for the story told in Gaston Leroux's novel, The Phantom of the Opera and the many books and other works based on that novel.

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Paris Opera today

It is currently styled the Palais Garnier and is one of the two venues of the Opéra National de Paris, the other being the Opéra Bastille.

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Access

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Trivia

During the Palais Garnier's contruction and after, a few mysterious deaths were reported. The main link between them was that all the victims were found hanged. Rumors abound that there were ghosts dwelling inside this opera house. These deaths, coupled with the fire which broke out during the construction, makes it appear that there may have been a man who lurked in the shadows.

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