A statue of Apollo holding a lyre at the Palais Garnier in Paris
The
Palais Garnier in Paris is most commonly known as the Paris Opera, and is
considered one of the most important structures in Paris. A 2,200 seat opera
house, it became the successor to the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique,
which burned down in 1873. This landmark is a prime example of Beaux-Arts
architecture movement, drawing on the17th century Classical Roman Baroque style
of emphasizing drama and grandeur, as well as symmetry.
The
Palais Garnier was commissioned during the reconstruction brought on by
Napoleon III – civic planner Baron Haussman was given the task to clear enough
land to build the opera house in 1858, and architect Charles Garnier's design was chosen from a competition held in
1861.
Palais Garnier model
The
building was designed to be an extravagant experience – a lush, richly
decorated space with over the top elements such as a six-ton central
chandelier, bronze busts of composers, and multiple columns, friezes and
statues. The enormous stage could accommodate up to 450 people at one time, an
attention to space only matched by the building’s cavernous corridors and stairwells.
Construction began in 1862, and very soon was
plagued with setbacks and delays. It turned out the foundation was unwittingly
laid upon a swamp, which took roughly eight months to drain. Then the
Franco-Prussian War and the subsequent fall of Napoleon III also caused long
interruptions between construction periods.
Front view
It
wasn’t until the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique (1821 – 1873) burned
down that there was a groundswell of motivation that finally gave Garnier a
chance to finish, and he did so by the end of 1874. The Palais Garnier was
inaugurated on January 15, 1875. However, the name Palais Garnier is only a
recent title – by the time it was renamed as such in 1989 it had gone through
two other names. Its first was Académie Nationale de Musique - Théâtre de
l'Opéra and was so until 1978 when it was renamed as the Théâtre National de
l'Opéra de Paris.
Palais Garnier became the
official name when the Opéra Bastille was built in 1989 to replace the older opera
house – luckily, the Palais Garnier stillremains and continues to house
performances. The survival of the Palais Garnier is thanks to the public
that still considers it to be and refers to it as the Paris Opera.
The Grand Staircase
The Grand Foyer at The Palais Garnier
A view of the stage
The ceiling of the auditorium, decorated by Marc Chagall
The stage overlooking the seats, the boxes, and the famous chandelier
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