Palais Garnier and the Phantom of the Opera

Palais Garnier & the Phantom of the Opera

The Palais Garnier, also known as the Opéra de Paris as well as the Opéra Garnier, is a 2,200 seat opera house at the northern end of the Avenue de l'Opéra in the IXe arrondissement of Paris. A grand landmark designed by Charles Garnier in the Neo-Baroque style, it is regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces of it's time.
Upon it's inauguration in 1875, the opera house was officially named 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 it's completion in 1989, the theatre was re-named as the Palais Garnier, though it's more official name, the Académie Nationale de Musique, is still sprawled above the colomns of it's front façade. In spite of the change of names & the Opera company's relocation to the Opéra Bastille, the Palais Garnier is still known by many people as the Paris Opéra, as have all of the many theatres which have served as the principal venues of the Parisian Opera & Ballet since it's founding.
King Louis XIV gave a patent to Jean-Baptiste Lully to establish the Académie Royale de Musique in 1672, the great institution of French theatrical art that was comprised of opera, ballet, & music. Although the opera held its own company upon it's founding in 1669, the ballet of that time was merely an extension of it, having yet to evolve into it's own form of independant theatrical art. However King Louis XIV, one of the great architects of the artform that would one day be called classical ballet, established the ballet school in 1661 as the Académie Royale de Danse, & by 1713 the world's first official ballet company was founded as Le Ballet de l'Opéra. From that time until the inauguration of the Palais Garnier in 1875 the Académie Royale de Musique held 13 theatres as their principal venues, most of which were destroyed by fires. All of these theatres, regardless of the more "official" names which they were bestowed, were all commonly known as the Paris Opéra or Opéra de Paris.
The Palais Garnier was designed as part of the great Parisian reconstruction of the Second French Empire instigated by Emperor Napoleon III, who chose the civic planner Baron Haussmann to supervise the reconstruction. In 1858 the Emperor authorized Haussmann to clear the required 12,000 square metres of land on which to build a second theatre for the world renowned Paris Opera & Ballet. The project was put out to open competition in 1861, & was won by Charles Garnier (1825-1898). The foundation stone was laid in 1861, followed by the start of construction in 1862. Legend has it that the Emperor's wife, the Empress Eugénie, asked Garnier during construction as to whether or not the building would be built in the Greek or Roman style, to which he replied: "It is in the Napoleon III style Madame!"

The construction of the opera house was plagued by numerous setbacks. One major problem which postponed the laying of the concrete foundation was the extremely swampy ground under which flowed a subterranean lake, requiring the water to be removed by continual pumping which took eight months. More setbabacks came as a result of the disastrous Franco-Prussian War, & the subsequent fall of the Second French Empire & the Paris Commune. During this time construction continued sporadically, & it was even rumoured that construction of the opera house might be abandoned.
An insentive to complete the opera house came on October 29, 1873, when the old Paris Opéra, known as the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique (also known as the Rue Peletier, as well as the Théâtre Imperial de l´Opéra), was destroyed by fire. This theatre was the chief venue of the Parisian Opera & Ballet since 1821, & had seen many of the worlds greatest masterworks presented on it's stage, as well as playing host to the heyday of the romantic ballet along with Her Majesty's Theatre in London. By late 1874 Garnier & his massive workforce completed the theatre.
The Palais Garnier was formally inaugurated on January 15, 1875 with a lavish gala performance. The bill consisted of the third act of Fromental Halévy's 1835 opera La Juive, along with excerpts from Giacomo Meyerbeer's 1836 opera Les Huguenots. The ballet company performed a Grand Divertissement staged by the Paris Opéra's Maître de Ballet Louis Méranté, which consisted of the celebrated scene Le Jardin Animé from Joseph Mazilier's 1856 ballet Le Corsaire to the music of Léo Delibes.
Although slightly smaller in scale that it's predecessor, the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, the Palais Garnier still holds 11,000 square metres (118,404 square feet) & a huge stage with room to accommodate up to 450 artists. An ornate building, the style is monumental, opulently decorated with elaborate multicolored marble friezes, columns, & lavish statuary. The interior is also rich with velvet, gold leaf, & cherubs & nymphs. The auditorium's central chandelier weighs over six tons. The space of ceiling which surrounds the chandelier was given a new painting in 1964 by Marc Chagall. This painting proved rather controversial however, with many people feeling Chagall's work clashed with the style of the rest of the theatre.
In 1969 the theatre was given new electrical facilities, & in 1978 part of the original Foyer de la Danse was converted into new rehearsal space for the Ballet company by the architect Jean-Loup Roubert. In 1994 restoration work began on the theatre, which consisted of modernizing the stage machinery & electrical facilities, while restoring & preserving the opulent décor & strengthening the frame & foundation of the building. The restoration was completed in 2006.
Leroux's original 1910 novel is set in 19th century Paris (approximately 1881) at the Opera Garnier (The Paris Opera or The National Academy of Music), which was built between 1857 & 1874. During building, it became necessary to pump underground water from the foundation pit of the building, creating a huge subterranean lake. The employees claim that the opera house is haunted by a mysterious ghost who wreaks chaos & destruction when displeased. Erik, who created the "Phantom of the Opera" (Opera Ghost in the Mattos & Bair translation), uses this facade to send the managers of the Opera Garnier repeated threats of catastrophe should they not pay him a monthly salary of 20,000 francs & perpetually reserve Box Five for him at every show. This arrangement, unbroken during the many years of the manager's tenure, is abruptly terminated when two new proprietors, Armand Moncharmin & Firmin Richard, take over the opera house & refuse to give in to what they view as the empty threats, thinking that it is a practical joke by former managers.
Meanwhile, Erik has taken on a protégée, Christine Daaé. He explains to her that he is the "Angel of Music," a heavenly spirit sent by her dead father to help her, & proceeds to give her regular voice lessons through the wall of her remote dressing room. Under the tutelage of her new teacher, Christine makes rapid progress in her vocal studies & mysteriously achieves sudden prominence on stage when she is selected to replace the current prima donna Carlotta, whose act is sabotaged by the Phantom. Christine out-sings Carlotta in her featured debut & immediately wins the hearts of the audience, including that of her childhood boyfriend, Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny.
Upon it's inauguration in 1875, the opera house was officially named 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 it's completion in 1989, the theatre was re-named as the Palais Garnier, though it's more official name, the Académie Nationale de Musique, is still sprawled above the colomns of it's front façade. In spite of the change of names & the Opera company's relocation to the Opéra Bastille, the Palais Garnier is still known by many people as the Paris Opéra, as have all of the many theatres which have served as the principal venues of the Parisian Opera & Ballet since it's founding.
King Louis XIV gave a patent to Jean-Baptiste Lully to establish the Académie Royale de Musique in 1672, the great institution of French theatrical art that was comprised of opera, ballet, & music. Although the opera held its own company upon it's founding in 1669, the ballet of that time was merely an extension of it, having yet to evolve into it's own form of independant theatrical art. However King Louis XIV, one of the great architects of the artform that would one day be called classical ballet, established the ballet school in 1661 as the Académie Royale de Danse, & by 1713 the world's first official ballet company was founded as Le Ballet de l'Opéra. From that time until the inauguration of the Palais Garnier in 1875 the Académie Royale de Musique held 13 theatres as their principal venues, most of which were destroyed by fires. All of these theatres, regardless of the more "official" names which they were bestowed, were all commonly known as the Paris Opéra or Opéra de Paris.
The Palais Garnier was designed as part of the great Parisian reconstruction of the Second French Empire instigated by Emperor Napoleon III, who chose the civic planner Baron Haussmann to supervise the reconstruction. In 1858 the Emperor authorized Haussmann to clear the required 12,000 square metres of land on which to build a second theatre for the world renowned Paris Opera & Ballet. The project was put out to open competition in 1861, & was won by Charles Garnier (1825-1898). The foundation stone was laid in 1861, followed by the start of construction in 1862. Legend has it that the Emperor's wife, the Empress Eugénie, asked Garnier during construction as to whether or not the building would be built in the Greek or Roman style, to which he replied: "It is in the Napoleon III style Madame!"
The construction of the opera house was plagued by numerous setbacks. One major problem which postponed the laying of the concrete foundation was the extremely swampy ground under which flowed a subterranean lake, requiring the water to be removed by continual pumping which took eight months. More setbabacks came as a result of the disastrous Franco-Prussian War, & the subsequent fall of the Second French Empire & the Paris Commune. During this time construction continued sporadically, & it was even rumoured that construction of the opera house might be abandoned.
An insentive to complete the opera house came on October 29, 1873, when the old Paris Opéra, known as the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique (also known as the Rue Peletier, as well as the Théâtre Imperial de l´Opéra), was destroyed by fire. This theatre was the chief venue of the Parisian Opera & Ballet since 1821, & had seen many of the worlds greatest masterworks presented on it's stage, as well as playing host to the heyday of the romantic ballet along with Her Majesty's Theatre in London. By late 1874 Garnier & his massive workforce completed the theatre.
The Palais Garnier was formally inaugurated on January 15, 1875 with a lavish gala performance. The bill consisted of the third act of Fromental Halévy's 1835 opera La Juive, along with excerpts from Giacomo Meyerbeer's 1836 opera Les Huguenots. The ballet company performed a Grand Divertissement staged by the Paris Opéra's Maître de Ballet Louis Méranté, which consisted of the celebrated scene Le Jardin Animé from Joseph Mazilier's 1856 ballet Le Corsaire to the music of Léo Delibes.
Although slightly smaller in scale that it's predecessor, the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, the Palais Garnier still holds 11,000 square metres (118,404 square feet) & a huge stage with room to accommodate up to 450 artists. An ornate building, the style is monumental, opulently decorated with elaborate multicolored marble friezes, columns, & lavish statuary. The interior is also rich with velvet, gold leaf, & cherubs & nymphs. The auditorium's central chandelier weighs over six tons. The space of ceiling which surrounds the chandelier was given a new painting in 1964 by Marc Chagall. This painting proved rather controversial however, with many people feeling Chagall's work clashed with the style of the rest of the theatre.
In 1969 the theatre was given new electrical facilities, & in 1978 part of the original Foyer de la Danse was converted into new rehearsal space for the Ballet company by the architect Jean-Loup Roubert. In 1994 restoration work began on the theatre, which consisted of modernizing the stage machinery & electrical facilities, while restoring & preserving the opulent décor & strengthening the frame & foundation of the building. The restoration was completed in 2006.

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