Palais Garnier

Going to the Palais Garnier (also known as Opera Garnier) in Paris has an element of going back int time and yet very much “of the moment” for me. 

The going back in time is pretty obvious.  Visiting the cathedral of culture, built in 1880’s is taking a trip to the glorious era of Paris called the Belle Epoque. 

To enter we climbed the grand staircase, under a gorgeous ceiling to get to the main level.  The interior rivals Versailles with gilt, painting, marble, embellishment galore. Even a sparkling Christmas tree. This was all very intentional since the opera was the place to see and to be seen. 

People watching was especially fun.  

Then it is into the performance hall that holds 2,000 people. I imagined elegant ladies and gents in the finery rather than the a crowd in mostly black, cell phones capturing the scenes.  

The scene is pretty dramatic.  The traditional curtain, the layers of balconies, the view of it all.  The color red was used because it was believed that women looked more beautiful in a red setting. 

I got a kick out of the photo taking people.  Made me think about a Mary Cassat image of people looking at each other “in the day.”  

In The Loge, also known as At The Opera, is an 1878 Impressionist painting by the American artist Mary Cassatt. 

My husband was particularly entranced with the ceiling.  We learned that it had been painted by Chagall and was quite controversial. In 1960, the Minister of Cultural Affairs André Malraux made what in those days was the bold as well as spectacular gesture of commissioning Marc Chagall to paint a new ceiling.  

Click here for more about the controversy. http://artcontrarian.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-garnier-created-chagall-desecrated.html

Interestingly later in the week we attended a Chagall exposition at the Atelier des Luminaires where we saw images of this famous ceiling swirling around the modern approach to art. 

But what about Present Moment element of my visit.  The ballet we saw was choreographed by Jiří Kylián, known as one of the best creators of contemporary ballet.  It was fantastic.  

We weren’t able to photograph the four separate ballets performed and I wouldn’t have wanted to, but I did try to capture the curtain call at the end.   No tutus for these dancers. 

For a previous blog about visiting the Palais Garnier, click here.  https://designdestinations.org/2013/08/the-palais-garnier-is-worth-a-visit/

Fun Facts about the Opera Garnier 

1. There is a lake under the opera house.  When digging the foundation, the workers found a hidden arm of the Seine flooding the area.  It was impossible to remove the water so they created a lake. 

2. The falling chandelier in “The Phantom of the Opera” was based on a real event that happened at the Opera Garnier.  

3. The architect asked that no trees be planted on the main road to the building so that nothing would block the views.