Some buildings are destined to amaze audiences decade after decade. Such is the case of the Opéra Garnier, inaugurated 150 years ago on 5 January 1875. Since then, this Parisian palace has staged a string of world-famous shows, enhanced by a refined French-style décor.
It is considered to be one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world. 150 years after its opening, this artistic institution designed by Charles Garnier, who gave it its name, still inspires lovers of the performing arts. Dancers, singers and orchestras follow one another on this richly ornamented stage. A masterpiece of 19th-century theatrical architecture, the Opéra Garnier is steeped in fascinating history and innumerable anecdotes.
An architectural competition won by Charles Garnier
The roots of the Opéra Garnier date back to 1858, when Napoleon III narrowly escaped a bomb attack by the Italian anarchist Orsini on his way to a performance of the Opéra in the Salle Le Peletier. Two years later, a competition was launched to find the architect who would design a new 10,000m2 building between the Boulevard des Capucines and the Rue de la Chaussée-d’Antin in the 9th arrondissement. 171 candidates took part. Among them were great names in the sector such as Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. However, it was the young Charles Garnier, still unknown at the time, who was selected. Although he had been awarded the Grand Prix de Rome, he was still only an inspector.
If his project was chosen – when those of prestigious names such as Violet Le Duc were rejected – it was because he had the idea of proposing a metal structure to counter the risk of fire, a real scourge of the time. However, he had to cover it all up, concealing the flagship material of the industrial era with noble stones such as Carrara marble and stucco.
‘We need to place this construction in a wider context, which is that of the ideas of the Enlightenment which, since the beginning of the 18th century, have advocated that Paris should have an opera house to structure the urban space and be commensurate with its greatness as a European cultural capital,’ explained Mathias Auclair, General Curator, Director of the Music Department at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, during Radio France’s Point Culture podcast.
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After changes to the plans and a lengthy refurbishment phase, the foundation stone was laid on 13 January 1862. In 1870, construction work was halted due to the war with Prussia and the fall of Napoleon III. Unfinished, the Opera became a food reserve for the army. Work did not resume until 1873, following a fire in the Salle Peletier.
15 years after work began, the venue was officially inaugurated in 1875 with great fanfare. Several shows were put on for the 2,500 guests who had come to discover the new cultural and artistic address in Paris. However, one person was missing: Charles Garnier himself who, not being on the list, was unable to enter the building. The architect therefore had to buy his ticket for 120 francs, a sum that was later put towards the theatre’s overheads. President Mac-Mahon called him in during the interval to decorate him with the Officer’s Cross of the Legion of Honour and, recognised by a few spectators, Charles Garnier left to great applause.
Inspiring and sumptuous architecture
The Palais Garnier is a masterpiece of the Second Empire style, blending classical, baroque and Renaissance influences. There are several public areas: the Grand Foyer, the Pavilions, the Rotonde du Glacier, the Grand Vestibule and the mythical Grand Escalier with its double revolution. The materials chosen are of the highest quality, with coloured marble, mosaics and a profusion of gold ornaments that dazzle the eye. Decorations, paintings and statues all play their part in this composition, including the vaulted ceiling painted by Paul Baudry, the grand chandelier by Jules Corboz, the tapestries based on cartoons painted by Alexis Joseph Mazerolle and the stone sculptures representing the composers Rameau, Lully, Gluck and Handel.
The main auditorium can seat 2,156 spectators under a majestic ceiling painted by the Russian artist Marc Chagall, a modern work paying tribute to fourteen composers, covering the original ceiling, Les Muses et les Heures du jour et de la nuit (1875) created directly from the copper dome by Jules-Eugène Lepneveu. This was the only major modification to the building, which was electrified in 1883. Its red seats contrast beautifully with the predominant gold, while the eye is drawn to the stage hidden by a trompe l’oeil curtain.
When it opened, the opera house was first and foremost a place to show off and be seen, to the extent that 300 seats were either invisible or only partially visible, while the capacity of the amphitheatre remained disproportionately limited in relation to the size of the building. It was not until the end of the 19th century that the public actually went to the opera to see a performance. The Italian-style amphitheatre (in the shape of a horseshoe) gave way to an English-style theatre with seats facing the stage.
Since its opening, the building has continued to inspire its peers and architects around the world. ‘The Palais Garnier is not only a model for opera houses in Warsaw, Krakow, Zurich in Switzerland, Sao Paulo and Rio, but also for buildings that are not opera houses, such as a hotel in India and the historic Library of Congress in Washington,’ explains Mathias Auclair about the Palais, which attracts a million visitors every year.
A place of anecdotes
There are a number of stories that add to the mystery of the Palais, not least that of the Phantom of the Opera. Ernest, a pianist, organist and composer who became a widower after the fire at the Conservatoire de Musique in the rue Le Peletier in 1873, is said to have been disfigured by the flames of the old Opéra and to have taken refuge in the Palais Garnier, which was under construction at the time, to haunt it. After several disturbing events that inspired the writer Gaston Leroux to write his novel The Phantom of the Opera, its legend continues to live on.
Later, in 1896, during a performance of Faust, the counterweight of the huge chandelier in the auditorium came off and fell on the audience. Several people were injured, but only one died: a woman sitting in seat number 13. Since then, this cursed number has accompanied the history of the Palais. For example, there is no box number 13.
Very few people know it, but the Palais Garnier houses a very special space. Some ten metres beneath the Opera stage is a 25 x 50 metre pool that serves as a major water table for the capital, where the fire brigade regularly comes to train.
The Opéra Garnier was also the testing ground for the phonograph and the theatrophone, fin de siècle inventions. The first recorded and the second broadcast performances. The first television broadcast took place in 1975, with Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
Shows that attract audiences from all over the world
Carmen by Georges Bizet, Samson et Dalila by Camille Saint-Saëns, Manon by Jules Massenet, La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, La Walkyrie by Richard Wagner… Numerous operas have brought the stage of the Palais Garnier to life. Between historic works and an international repertoire, the greatest treasures of this art form have been performed.
Ballets have also amazed audiences. Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovski’s famous Swan Lake, Adolphe Adam’s La Sylphide, Adolphe Adam’s Giselle and Léo Delibes’ Coppélia were all danced by the “petits rats de l’Opéra”, students from the institution’s dance school.
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350,000 spectators attend these performances every year. Although the stage has been closed for renovations from 2027 to 2029, the Opéra Garnier intends to celebrate its 150th anniversary in style. On the evening of 24 January, this house of art and history brought together all the artists, along with the musicians of the Orchestra, the artists of the Chorus and the Academy, the stars and dancers of the Ballet, the students of the Ballet School, as well as guest artists.
Broadcast on France 5, the gala ceremony to celebrate 150 years of Garnier, orchestrated by Thomas Hengelbrock and directed by Victoria Sitja, was preceded by the documentary ‘Une journée extraordinaire: 24 heures à l’Opéra Garnier’. The evening was marked by the presence of star dancers Valentine Colasante and Hugo Marchand, principal dancer Thomas Docquir, musician Thomas Dunford and opera singers Léa Desandre, Juan Diego Florez, Ludovic Tézier, Laurence Kilsby, Lisette Oropesa and Teona Todua.
A series of events will follow. From exhibitions of costumes and the history of the Palais to themed tours and new performances, 2025 will be a particularly rich year at the heart of this magical, dreamlike monument.
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Featured photo: © Unsplash
