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Opera Garnier Review
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Opéra Garnier 
- Address: Pl. de l'Opera, Opera/Grands Boulevards, Paris | Map It
- Phone: 08-92-89-90-90
- www.opera-de-paris.fr
- Category: Arts/Performance Venues
- Location: Opéra/Grands Boulevards
Fodor's Review:
Haunt of the Phantom of the Opera, the real-life setting for some of Edgar Degas's famous ballet paintings, and still the most opulent theater in the world, the Paris Opéra building was begun in 1862 by Charles Garnier at the behest of Napoléon III. Expenses slowed the work, and it wasn't finished until 1875, five years after the emperor's abdication. Awash with Algerian colored marbles and gilded putti, the building is the ultimate Second Empire statement: a hodgepodge of styles with as much subtlety as a Wagnerian cymbal crash.
To see the theater and lobby, you don't have to attend a performance: after paying the EUR 7 entry fee, you can view the Grand Foyer, which is almost as big as the auditorium itself: together they fill 3 acres. This was a theater for Parisians who came to the opera primarily to be seen; on opening nights you can still see Rothschilds and rock stars preen on the grand staircase. If the crimson-and-gilt auditorium seems small, it's because the stage is so enormous -- more than 11,000 square yards, with room for up to 450 performers. Illuminated by a giant chandelier, the fluid pastel figures of Marc Chagall's 1964 ceiling painting might seem incongruous. This addition was part of a scheme to mesh contemporary art with French tradition. Today the Opéra is the home of the Paris Ballet. (One or two operas per season are presented here; the rest are performed at the Opéra de la Bastille.) A small, nondescript on-site museum contains a few paintings and theatrical mementos. Guided tours are a bit dry, focusing on the building's history and architecture, and don't offer much of a glimpse into the current backstage world, but the building is so fantastic it's worth it.
- Cost: EUR 7
- Open: Daily 10-4:30
- Metro: Opera.
Member Reviews & Ratings:
the Versailles of opera houses
Posted by ericp331 from Arlington, VA on 11/18/06
The guided tour is well worth it, to get a closer look and understanding of this incredibly ornate palace for opera and ballet.
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