180 days abroad: L'Opera de Paris

We had an hour or so free the other day, and decided to visit the Paris Opera, also known as le Palais Garnier. Built during the 1860s, it is a monument to the exuberent excesses of the Second Empire. The cost is estimated to have been over 15 million francs (in prices of the mid-1860s,) and to my lay eyes, seems to give Versailles (built 2 centuries earlier) a run for the money. Definitely worth a visit, and next time I come back, I think that a tour would be an excellent idea. Here are some pictures that I took...

First: from the outside - as you can see, the gold leaving (leafing?) glows, even on a relatively gray day.

The inside foyer opens up to a dramatic double staircase.

After you go through the door at the top of the staircase, you find your seating. The desired places are in first balcony boxes. One of the doors is here. I prefer sitting in the floor seats, but for those who went to the Opera for, shall we say social reasons, it is quite easy to imagine why a box would be preferable to open seating.

Here's a better view of how the boxes are arranged. The curtain on the front of the screen is actually a "trompe l'oeil" painted screen. If you look quickly, you will be fooled. When the curtain goes up, you can see the depth of the performing space. Although originally built for the Paris Opera, when l'Opera Bastille was opened in 1989, the Palais Garnier became the center for the ballet corps of the Opera: the Opera itself (along with the majority of their costumes and sets) were moved to la Bastille.

We were lucky enough to see some of the technicians blocking out spaces onstage. It gives one an idea of how deep the space is.

In 1969 the original ceiling design was covered up by a removable painting by Marc Chagall. Apparently, there are many people who do not like this. I loved it, and spent quite a bit of time absorbed in the colors and imagination. Next time I visit, however, I will have to remember to bring my binoculars.

Here is a view of the "Grande Chandelier" in the middle of the Chagall painting. It weighs over 7 tons, and in 1891, fell and killed a concert attendee (maybe that's another good reason to have a seat in one of the boxes.) This death was to figure in one of the scenes of "The Phantom of the Opera."

Criticism of the chandelier was deflected by the architect: "What else could fill the theatre with such joyous life? Who else could offer the variety of forms that we have in the pattern of the flames, in these groups and tiers of points of light, these wild hues of gold flecked with bright spots, and these crystalline highlights? (cited in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Garnier)

Intermission was (and is) often the highlight of the evening, when friends and acquaintences mingle together over a "flute" of champagne. There is the "Grand Foyer" as a central meeting spot, with many alcoves and secondary rooms and hallways to get lost in - which sometimes is the point!