The top tier is called the Chicken Coup and has no visibility of the stage. The “chicken coup” is visible at the very top of the theater. While numerous banks still surround the opera house today, they are no longer open so late. Several banks knowingly opened nearby and stayed open until the opera was over so the jewels could be put away immediately after the curtain fell. …All those fancy rich people who attended the opera with the intention to see and be seen decked themselves out with all their jewels, which they picked up from their bank vaults on their way there. The Grand Foyer of the Palais Garnier rivals the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. And the stairs themselves are really shallow, designed to prevent women from showing their - gasp! - ankles when walking up them. The several stories of balconies and open staircases beg you to gaze down at those below you - or across from you. In fact, that was the inspiration behind the grand staircase. The tour guide at the Paris Opera house confirmed what that man had told me years ago: Palais Garnier was designed for people watching. He said all opera houses are designed for people-watching because opera used to be as much about the music as it was a popularity contest among the aristocratic people who could afford to attend. The winding staircases and balconies allowed people to see and be seen - the most important factor of the night. And he shared something that has stayed with me ever since. The stranger next to me noticed my fascination and struck up a conversation. Once upon a time during intermission at one of my first operas, I stood at the balcony overlooking several levels of cascading staircases beneath me, watching people as I sipped on Champagne. Palais Garnier was designed for people-watching. 5 Incredible Facts About the Paris Opera House The staircase was made for people-watching. And I learned some incredible facts about the Paris Opera house during the tour. It was one of the main reasons (combined with French pastries) that inspired me to add Paris to my trip to Spain. Not the outside, but the cascading staircases, elaborately decorated hallways, and modern ceiling inside. He went to the Opera Garnier for shelter and soon started haunting the corridors with an eerie cry.When I first saw a photo of Palais Garnier, the opera house in Paris, I was mesmerized by how beautiful it was. Real stories and myths are blurred in Gaston Leroux’s novel, and until his very last day, he claimed that the Phantom of the Opera really existed.įor example, at the end of the 19th century, there was a mysterious individual who systematically demanded 20,000 francs every month from the board of directors and reserved every evening the box no.5Īnother tale is that a pianist known as Ernest was hurt and widowed in the fire that destroyed the Opera Pelletier in 1873. He builds his home in a fantastic palace in the middle of a subterranean lake, just beneath the Opera, and takes the love of his life, a beautiful soprano named Christine, under his wing. The novel tells the story of Erik, an eccentric, physically deformed genius who terrorizes the Opera Garnier in Paris. The Phantom of the Opera novel, which was written by Gaston Leroux in 1910, is said to have been inspired by a true story event. The Opera Garnier Has a Mysterious Resident Season ticket holders went to the opera 2-3 times a week, not because there were different performances or were opera fans, but to show off and socialize!ġ0. Once in the Auditorium, it is hard to miss the Emperor’s box, not placed in the middle of the hall for a perfect view and acoustic but rather to the left, beside the front of the stage, visible from almost every seat on the Auditorium.ĭuring the show, the lights remained lit in order to facilitate the popular activity of people-watching.įinally, the Grand Foyer is the perfect place for socializing during the intermissions. The steps are shallow, so when women would go upstairs, their ankles barely showed. The Grand Staircase is in a great open hall, surrounded by balconies over four floors, perfect for observing and admiring the arrival of important guests. The Grand Escalier was a triumphal entrance, with the perfect design to see and be seen. The Garnier Opera House in Paris was not just about music but also a show of class, the perfect place to showcase its public. The Garnier Opera House is Designed to Watch the Spectators