Around every single corner a world of sparkling chandeliers and ornate golden details revealed themselves to me and I found myself quietly giggling with amazement. I don't know what I was expecting but upon my entrance, I couldn’t have been more overwhelmed with surprise-I visited for two days in a row because I was so taken by it. I learned that for a fee of 11€ one can gain access to tour inside the Palais Garnier any day of the week, while at night the Paris Ballet performs on stage to an audience of nearly 2,000. I had no idea this was open to the public and I was stunned that I had never heard of it. It is one of the most famous opera houses in the world, and its stage is the largest in Europe. After 14 years of construction it was opened in 1875. Historically known as Opéra de Paris or Opéra Garnier, the building was designed in the Beaux Arts style, commissioned by Napoleon III.
It was everything I dreamed of, and more. Now, some six years later, I returned to the Palais Garnier with sufficient time to explore and appreciate it. I’ll never forget the moment when we rode past the Palais Garnier fully lit up in all of its glory-it stopped me in my tracks and took my breath away. Some friends and I rode our bicycles through this magical city, though I lagged behind, entranced by the idea that for this brief time, Paris was my playground, and mine only. Soft lights illuminated every empty street and bridge. But when the house lights go down, the chandelier should no longer be visible or relevant.It was the wee hours of the night and the streets of Paris were silent and still. It can have famous chandeliers, like the Met or the Opera Garnier. The scene and costume shops at the Opéra Bastille, as well as the lighting technicians and stagehands, all hidden to the audience, are some of the very best.Īn opera house can have iconic architecture, like the Sydney Opera House, but this can be at odds with theater design. One can always reduce the depth and width of a stage, but you cannot make it bigger than its footprint. Its depth is not a hindrance it is a luxury. The Opéra Bastille has one of the best-equipped and most flexible stages that I have ever worked on.
It should first be measured by the sight lines of the audience, the acoustics and the flexibility of the stage. The quality of a theater should not be judged first and foremost by its architecture. 10):Īs an opera designer who has worked at the Bastille and numerous other major opera houses, I have a point of view that is different from those expressed in this article. Re “ They’re Still Storming the Bastille” (Arts & Leisure, Feb.
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