How tall is the opera garnier

When mains electricity became available he thankfully gave this up: not only were the vibrations endangering the marble columns but the water being pumped up from the wells underneath was slowly sucking up the subsoil with it. The Grand Staircase, which is the showpiece of the whole design, is closely based on the Bordeaux staircase, but to compare the two is to become painfully aware of the change in taste between and Everything has grown bigger, tougher, more bulbous.

The stairs them-selves, and their treads, and the balconies between the columns, curve voluptuously; spaces are deepened and enriched by mouldings and colours; on either side of the main flight, punctuated at its beginning by groups of agitated statuary, stairs leading downwards create a new dimension. The Grand Foyer, which occupies the piano nobile of the south front the position taken by small concert rooms in some earlier French theatres , is a room of palatial splendour, gleaming with mirrors, marbles, chandeliers, gilt and statuary.

On the east side, under one of the pairs of flanking cupolas, are the apartments of the head of state—a separate entrance with quarters for guards, valets and aides-de-camp.

This was among the requirements of the competition and was due to the fact that Napoleon III had only just escaped being assassinated as he was entering the main entrance of the old Opera. Neither Napoleon nor Eugenie, of course, ever entered the new one. The auditorium also derives from Louis' Theatre National. Although pulled down in , the interior of this building had been reproduced in the earlier Opera in the rue le Peletier, built by Debret and much admired by Garnier it was destroyed in Four huge arches resting on coupled columns form the basic structure.

The columns are Corinthian, and the arches above them are carried on flying angels. In general, however, Garnier tried not to allow the Salle to rival the foyer in brilliance, his theory being that the spectators ought to feel themselves in un milieu artistique et meme grandiose, but should not be distracted by the decor from the actual events on the stage.

One has to remember that all through this period most of the house lights remained on during performances. The ceiling, from the centre of which hangs the famous chandelier, was painted by Lenepveu with Apollo, Venus, the Muses, the hours of the day and night, beauty, love, song, etc. In Andre Malraux was inspired to install a new ceiling by Marc Chagall, whose dreamy innocent figures and scraps of background are agreeable enough but totally inappropriate to their setting.

It is painted on canvas and has been fixed in front of the old ceiling so it can, if desired, eventually be taken away again. The stage half of the building has its own entrance, leading into a gallery that is a minor version of the Grand Vestibule. Each department has its own quarters, including a police station, three concierges and a fire-brigade.

The rehearsal room for the ballet, the Foyer de Danse, is nearly as big as the stage, and as richly decorated as any of the public rooms. Author: Simon Tidworth. Name: The name will be published. Email: The email will not be published. Information: Please enter information about this theatre, at least 10 characters. Navigation: Theatre Database. Charles Garnier main architect. The hall is made even more impressive with the huge mirrors on one side, and the huge windows on the other. Do you know what else is spectacular in the Grand Foyer?

Just like everything else in the Opera Garnier, the Grand Foyer ceiling is a real treat to look at. On the sides of the ceiling, there are 20 statues, representing the qualities that every lyrical artist needs to possess. They picture the main events of the history of music, comedy and tragedy. The lyre is the main element of decoration in the Grand Foyer. How many lyres can you count? The 4th incredible thing to see inside the Opera Garnier might not be what you typically expect to find when you think about the Paris Opera.

The Opera Garnier has a superb library, the kind that you only see in movies. When Napoleon died in , the space was converted into a conservation space, to protect all of the documents held in the library.

The 3 images above are the three rooms of the Paris Opera Library. The first one is the Lecture Room, the second one is an additional room of the library, and the third is the main hall of the library. The first and second room are now closed to the public. If you visit the Palais Garnier today, you will only see the third room, the main hall of the library which is still pretty impressive!

The two other rooms are only accessible by researchers. There are more than , documents in the Paris Opera Library. Books, newspapers, letters, photographs, …. The museum is rather small, with only 5 rooms, but it holds more than 3 centuries of the Opera Garnier. One other piece that I really liked in the museum was the first version of the Auditorium ceiling, at a smaller scale.

That concludes the list of the 5 incredible things you can find inside the Opera Garnier! Keep reading for more information about the Paris Opera to help you plan your visit, such as opening times, booking information, prices, tips, and what to visit next. You can buy your tickets directly at the Opera. After going through security, you can go to the ticket booth and buy your tickets there.

To book your ticket online, click here: Book Opera Garnier ticket. The auditorium itself comprises roughly half of the total space, most of the rest being used to house necessary logistical support so that the stage demands of any opera can be met. It remains an ornate building richly decorated with friezes, columns, and winged figures among other statues and embellishments.

This richness continues inside with velvet, gold leaf, and nymphs and cherubs. The auditorium's central chandelier weighs over six tons, and its ceiling was painted in by Chagall. On 29 December , an architectural competition was organized for the new opera house. Of the architects participating, Charles Garnier's design was the unanimous choice, maintaining a clear picture of the internal functions of the building in its external architecture, Garnier created an Opera House and stage in the traditional Italian style, and in a grandiose setting, inspired both by the Grand Theatre in Bordeaux built by Victor Louis in and by the Italian and French villas of the 17th and 18th centuries.

For this reason, the passages, halls, foyers, staircases, and rotundas occupy a far larger area than the theatre itself. Construction started in and lasted for 14 years. The massive works were slowed down by the discovery of a water table that had to be drained before building an enormous concrete well designed to carry the gigantic stage and fly tower.