Opéra Garnier was opened in 1875 and known as 'Paris Opera' for a long time as it was the primary opera house in Paris. He was expelled from the country during the Franco-Prussian War and stayed abroad until his death in 1873. Napoleon III never had a chance to attend any event in the new opera.

He was only 35 years old when his project was selected in the competition about the new opera house. It is an interesting fact that this building with all the details and splendor is actually Charles Garnier's first work. It was built between 1862-1875, and named after the young architect Charles Garnier. But 8 people died and about 150 people got injured during this attempt.įollowing this incident, Napoleon III initiated the construction of a new opera house that would be safer. Fortunately, Napoleon III and his wife managed to escape and survived. Napoleon III and his wife was attacked by a group of Italian rebels in the former opera house near today's Opéra Garnier located on the Rue Peletier, on January 14,1858. The novel has been successfully performed many times in theater and cinema, most notably the 1925 film with Lon Chaney and the 1986 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Finally, the ghost falls in love with her and keeps appearing in the Opera House. The ghost tutors Christine, the girl in the choir secretly and thus she becomes a great soprano. There is a fictional story about a ghost who lives on the lake under the Opera House.

Opéra Garnier gave inspiration to the famous novel 'Ghost in the Opera' written by the French journalist and opera critic Gaston Leroux. Recently, operas are mostly performed at the Opéra Bastille, while ballet shows are mainly performed at Opéra Garnier.

About 30 types of marble from 8 different countries was used for the interior decoration. The illusive ceiling of the opera was re-painted in 1964 by Marc Chagall, a Russian-born Jewish painter. The glitter gold leafs, sparkling crystal chandeliers and countless details looks impessive.The central chandelier weighs more than 6 tons. The massive hall has a capacity of holding 1900 people.Īs walking inside, you'll be enchanted by the rich decoration. Opéra Garnier covers an area of 11,000 square metres (118,404 square feet) and owns a vast stage that can hold up to 450 artists.

The paris opera house chandelier