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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 Op\u00e9ra Garnier is steeped in fascinating history and innumerable anecdotes.<\/p>\n
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The roots of the Op\u00e9ra 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 Op\u00e9ra in the Salle Le Peletier. Two years later, a competition<\/strong> was launched to find the architect who would design a new 10,000m2 building between the Boulevard des Capucines and the Rue de la Chauss\u00e9e-d’Antin in the 9th arrondissement. 171 candidates took part. Among them were great names in the sector such as Eug\u00e8ne Viollet-le-Duc. However, it was the young Charles Garnier<\/strong>, still unknown at the time, who was selected. Although he had been awarded the Grand Prix de Rome, he was still only an inspector.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018We 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,\u2019 explained Mathias Auclair, General Curator, Director of the Music Department at the Biblioth\u00e8que nationale de France, during Radio France’s Point Culture podcast.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n