Palais Garnier 1

Palais Garnier

Palais Garnier

Former names Académie Nationale de Musique - Théâtre de l'Opéra(1875-1978),Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris (1978-1989)

Alternative names Opéra de Paris,L'Opéra Garnier,Paris Opéra

General information

Type Opera house

Architectural style Beaux-Arts

Location Place de l'Opéra, Paris, France, Europe

Coordinates 48°52′19″N 2°19′54″E

Construction started 1862

Height 73.6 metres (241 ft)[1]

Technical details

Other dimensions 172 metres (564 ft) long125 metres (410 ft) wide[1]

Design and construction

Architect Charles Garnier

The Palais Garnier, known also as the Opéra de Paris or Opéra Garnier, but more commonly as the Paris Opéra,is a 1,600-seat opera house on the Place de l'Opéra in Paris, France, which was the primary home of the Paris Operafrom 1875 until 1989. A grand building designed by Charles Garnier in the Neo-Baroque (or "Baroque Revival")style (it is also said to be of the related Second Empire style), it is regarded as one of the architectural masterpiecesof its time.The building is located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris and is served by the metro station Opéra and bus 21, 22,27, 29, 42, 53, 66, 68, 81, 95.Upon its inauguration during 1875, the opera house was named officially the Académie Nationale de Musique - Théâtre de l'Opéra. It retained this title until 1978 when it was re-named the Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris. After the opera company chose the Opéra Bastille as their principal theatre upon its completion during 1989, the

Palais Garnier 2

theatre was re-named as the Palais Garnier, though Académie Nationale de Musique is still sprawled above thecolumns of its front façade. In spite of the change of names and the Opera company's relocation to the OpéraBastille, the Palais Garnier is still known by many people as the Paris Opéra, as have all of the several theatreswhich have served as the principal venues of the Parisian Opera and Ballet since its initiation.

HistoryThe Palais Garnier was designed as part of the great reconstruction of Paris during the Second Empire initiated byEmperor Napoleon III, who chose Baron Haussmann to supervise the reconstruction. During 1858 the Emperorauthorized Haussmann to clear the required 12000 square metres (1.2 ha) of land on which to build a second theatrefor the world-renowned Parisian Opera and Ballet companies. The project was the subject of architectural designcompetition during 1861, and was won by the architect Charles Garnier (1825–1898). The foundation stone was laidduring 1861, with the start of construction during 1862. Legend is that the Emperor's wife, the Empress Eugénie,asked Garnier during the construction whether the building would be built in the Greek or Roman style, to which hereplied: "It is in the Napoleon III style, Madame!"

SetbacksThe construction of the opera house was plagued by numerous setbacks. One major problem which postponed thelaying of the concrete foundation was the swampy ground under which flowed a subterranean lake, requiring thewater to be removed by eight months of continual pumping. More setbacks came as a result of the disastrousFranco-Prussian War, the subsequent end of the Second French Empire, and the Paris Commune. During this timeconstruction continued sporadically, and it was even rumoured that construction of the opera house might beabandoned.

FireOn 29 October 1873, an incentive to complete the Palais Garnier came when the previous theatre of the Paris Opéra,known as the Salle Le Peletier, was destroyed by a fire which raged for 27 hours. The Salle Le Peletier had been thechief venue of the Paris Opera and Ballet since 1821. The Salle Le Peletier is also famous for housing the heyday ofthe romantic ballet (along with Her Majesty's Theatre in London).

CompletionDuring late 1874 Garnier and his massive workforce completed the Palais Garnier. The Palais Garnier wasinaugurated formally on January 15, 1875 with a lavish gala performance. The ball consisted of the third act ofFromental Halévy's 1835 opera La Juive, along with excerpts from Giacomo Meyerbeer's 1836 opera LesHuguenots. The ballet company performed a Grand Divertissement staged by the Paris Opéra's Maître de Ballet enChef Louis Méranté, which consisted of the celebrated scene Le Jardin Animé from Joseph Mazilier's 1867 revival ofhis ballet Le Corsaire, set to the music of Léo Delibes.

Palais Garnier 3

The Opéra Garnier, a mixture of Neo-Renaissance andNeo-Baroque architecture.

The Grand Staircase

Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera

During 1896, the falling of one of the counterweightsfor the grand chandelier resulted in the death of oneperson. This incident, as well as the underground lake,cellars, along with the other elements of the OperaHouse even the building itself were the inspirations ofGaston Leroux for his classic 1910 Gothic novel, ThePhantom of the Opera.

Recent history

During 1969, the theatre was given new electricalfacilities, and during 1978 part of the original Foyer dela Danse was converted into new rehearsal space forthe Ballet company by the architect Jean-Loup Roubert.

During 1994, restoration work began on the theatre,which consisted of modernizing the stage machineryand electrical facilities, while restoring and preservingthe opulent décor, as well as strengthening the frameand foundation of the building. This restoration wascompleted during 2007.

Palais Garnier 4

Architecture and style

The Grand Foyer

Although slightly smaller in scale than its predecessor,the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, thePalais Garnier is a building of exceptional opulence. Itseats an audience of about 2,200 under a centralchandelier which weighs more than six tons, and has ahuge stage with room to accommodate as many as 450artists. The style is monumental and consideredtypically Beaux-Arts, with use of axial symmetry inplan, and its exterior ornamentation.

The Palais is decorated opulently with elaboratemulticolored marble friezes, columns, and lavishstatuary, many of which portray deities of Greekmythology. Between the columns of the theatre's front façade, there are bronze busts of many of the great composers,Mozart, Rossini, Daniel Auber, Beethoven, Meyerbeer, Fromental Halévy, Spontini, and Philippe Quinault.

The central roof group, Apollo, Poetry, and Music, was the work of Aimé Millet. The two gilded figural groupsHarmony and Poetry were both designed by Charles Gumery, and the two smaller bronze Pegasus figures at eitherend of the gable are from Eugène-Louis Lequesne. The facade incorporates major multifigure groups sculpted byFrançois Jouffroy (Harmony), Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugène Guillaume (Instrumental Music), Jean-BaptisteCarpeaux (The Dance, criticized for indecency), Jean-Joseph Perraud (Lyrical Drama), and other work by Gumery,Alexandre Falguière and others.The interior consists of interweaving corridors, stairwells, alcoves and landings allowing the movement of largenumbers of people and space for socializing during intermission. Rich with velvet, gold leaf, and cherubim andnymphs, the interior is characteristic of Baroque sumptuousness.The ceiling area, which surrounds the chandelier, was given a new painting during 1964 by Marc Chagall. Thispainting was controversial, with many people feeling Chagall's work clashed with the style of the rest of the theater.

Influence abroad

The Warsaw Philharmony edifice about1901. The building was destroyedcompletely in a German air raid on

Warsaw during 1939 and it was rebuiltafter the war in the socialist realism

style[2]

The building became one of the most inspirational architectural prototypes forthe next thirty years.Several buildings in Poland were based on the design of the Palais Garnier,and include the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków, built during 1893, TheLviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Lviv, built between 1897 and 1900 andalso the Warsaw Philharmony edifice in Warsaw, built between 1900 and1901.

In Ukrainia, the influence of the Palais Garnier can be seen at the NationalOpera House of Ukraine edifice in Kiev, built during 1901.

The Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress in Washington,D.C. is modelled after Palais Garnier, most notably the facade and Great Hall.

The Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro (1909) was also modeled after Palais Garnier, particularly and Great Halland stairs.

The Amazon Theatre in Manaus (Brazil) built from 1884 to 1896. The overview is very similar, though thedecoration is more simple.

Palais Garnier 5

The Hanoi Opera House in Vietnam is considered to be a typical French colonial architectural monument in Vietnamand is also a small-scale replica of the Palais Garnier. The Saigon Opera House is a smaller counterpart.

Side view of the Juliusz Slowackitheater

Warsaw Philharmonycirca 1900

Maquette of the LvivTheatre

National Opera Houseof Ukraine

Thomas Jefferson Building The Amazonas theater inManaus, Brazil

Municipal theater of Rio deJaneiro

Municipal Theater of SãoPaulo

Image gallery

The Palais Garnier as seen circa1900

TheInauguration

ceremony heldat the Grand

Escalier, 1875

Apollo, Poetry and Music roofsculpture by Aimé Millet

Apollo, Poetryand Music;

Apollo's lyredetail

Liberty roof sculpture byCharles Gumery

LyricalDramafaçade

sculpture byJean-Joseph

Perraud

The Dance byJean-Baptiste

Carpeaux

Bronze busts of Beethoven andMozart on the front façade

Palais Garnier 6

The Grand Foyer Detail fromthe front

Marc Chagall's ceiling,repainted in a modern styleand which is very different

from the colour scheme of therest of the building. At the

center is the grand chandelier.

References• Allison, John (ed.), Great Opera Houses of the World, supplement to Opera Magazine, London 2003• Beauvert, Thierry, Opera Houses of the World, New York: The Vendome Press, 1995. ISBN 9780865659773.• Guest, Ivor Forbes, Ballet of the Second Empire, London: Wesleyan University Press, 1974• Guest, Ivor Forbes, The Paris Opera Ballet, London: Wesleyan University Press, 2006• Kleiner, Fred S., Gardner's Art Through The Ages, Belmont: Thomsom Wadsworth, 2006 ISBN 0-534-63640-3.• Zeitz, Karyl Lynn, Opera: the Guide to Western Europe's Great Houses, Santa Fe, New Mexico: John Muir

Publications, 1991. ISBN 0-945465-81-5.

Notes[1] A View On Cities (2009). Opéra de Paris Garnier. Retrieved on 2009-08-09 from http:/ / www. aviewoncities. com/ paris/ operagarnier. htm.[2] (Polish) "Filharmonia Warszawska" (http:/ / www. warszawa1939. pl/ index. php?r1=jasna_5& r3=0). www.warszawa1939.pl. . Retrieved

2008-02-21.

External links• Official website (http:/ / www. operadeparis. fr/ cns11/ live/ onp/ site/ index. php?& lang=en) (in English)• History of architecture (http:/ / www. unav. es/ ha/ 007-TEAT/ operas-paris. htm) (in Spanish)• The Palais Garnier (http:/ / paris1900. lartnouveau. com/ paris09/ l_opera_actuel. htm) current photographs and of

the years 1900.• Unused architectural drawings for the Opéra de Paris by Charles Rohault de Fleury (http:/ / cca. qc. ca/ en/

collection/ 821-charles-rohault-de-fleury-and-the-opera-de-paris)

Article Sources and Contributors 7

Article Sources and ContributorsPalais Garnier  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=430640453  Contributors: Abberley2, Acalamari, Acvb, Adam sk, Alamadte, AlanBarnet, Alsandro, Author, AxelBoldt, Baa,Being blunt, Beivushtang, Bkonrad, Blanckien, Blieusong, Bobanni, Borgx, Breakyunit, Cacophony, CalJW, Caltas, Carptrash, Caspian blue, Cheerbaby293, Cnbrb, CommonsDelinker, Crabula,CrownJewell, CryptoDerk, Daderot, DaiFh, Darwinius, Deror avi, Drat, Elekhh, Ensiform, Erri4a, Ev, EvilSuggestions, Fluri, FunkyCanute, Funnyhat, Geodyde, George The Dragon, Giano,Gilliam, Gimboid13, Gonioul, Haunti, Howcheng, Iamunknown, Ilovedannyp, Insanephantom, Isis, JCGDIMAIWAT, JaGa, James086, Jan Arkesteijn, Javitomad, Jgsodre, JillandJack,Juliancolton, JulienD3, KTo288, Kendrick7, KudukGirl, Kuyku, LBehounek, Lambiam, Lazulilasher, LcawteHuggle, Lemon-s, Lightmouse, LilHelpa, Lockley, Look2See1, Luna Santin,Madder, Malachirality, Mamyles, Martim33, Michael Hardy, Mike hayes, Montrealais, Mrlopez2681, Neddyseagoon, Neofelis Nebulosa, Neutrality, Nicenicehomeslice, Niro5, No substitute foryou, Nunh-huh, Olivier, Oxymoron83, Para, Paradiso, Paris 16, Patstuart, Pearle, Perohanych, Philip Trueman, Pieter Kuiper, Postlebury, Pufacz, Qloque, Quadell, Raptornet, Rettetast, Robert KS, Robert.Allen, Robertgreer, ST47, Saxophobia, Scottstensland, Seduisant, Sesu Prime, Sgt Pinback, SimonP, Sojournerjake, Someone else, Sovxx, Swimdude315, Synchronism, Tangent747,Tangopaso, Tarquin, TeslaMaster, The Fiddly Leprechaun, Thephotoplayer, Tide rolls, Tommy2010, Tschuman01, Vdegroot, Vegaswikian, Versus22, Viajero, Viva-Verdi, Warofdreams,WhisperToMe, Whjayg, Wikianon, WildCowboy, Xcanbiet, Yluijf, Zack Holly Venturi, Zaledin, Zanimum, 201 anonymous edits

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