Le Palais Garnier

A more general topic, but it seemed more appropriate for this forum than the Land of Random.

This thread is for any and all discussion of the Palais Garnier: stories and pics of your visits to the Mecca of the Phandom, questions, etc.

My first and only visit was a brief one back in 1993. The exterior's been restored since then and I'd love to make a return trip to see its splendor firsthand and take more time wandering around the areas accessible to the public (or if I'm lucky, tag along with another Phan who has better some pull with the administration).

I recall reading somewhere that the gift shop's selection has been broadened considerably. Can anyone who has recently been there tell me what kind of merchandise they're selling? My sister will be in Paris early next month and I was going to ask her to swing by if something sparked my interest.

R.

I was there around 2004, and they sold a very nice, large book about the building's exterior restoration. It has a ton of pictures of the outside of the building, the roof, all the statues, some of the foyers with lots of information about the original building, the deterioration, and the restoration process. I don't know a thing about architecture, so I can't say how good it was from that standpoint, but I really enjoyed it. It was available in both French and English. Don't know if that's up your alley (or maybe it's widely available outside the gift shop, I don't know), but I figured I'd mention it. Now if only they would make such a book about the interior!

Now if only they would make such a book about the interior!

They already have; I highly recommend it:



It's by Gérard Fontaine and called L'Opéra de Charles Garnier : Architecture et décor intérieur. The photography is absolutely gorgeous. I own the French edition, but the Opera House does sell an English translation. You can buy the French one on Amazon.fr, not sure about the English one though.

Gérard Fontaine also wrote a book which is perhaps for relevant for Phantom enthusiasts called Le Fantasme de l'Opéra. In it, he includes an account of the chandelier counterweight incident (it's the same account that Le Figaro ran the day after in 1896), talks about the lake and how it was formed and also theorises that Erik was at least partly based on Charles Garnier (I'm not too convinced by his reasoning though -- e.g. Erik wrote Don Juan, and the subtitle of Molière's Dom Juan and I think Mozart's Don Giovanni is Le Festin de pierre, which Fontaine thinks hints at Garnier/architecture since "pierre" means stone). The Opera sells this book too.



What the Opera now sells that it didn't before is Charles Garnier's Le Nouvel Opéra. I haven't read it yet, but it's a must-read because it is written by Charles Garnier himself and apparently Leroux lifted whole passages from it in his descriptions of the Opera House.



I also really recommend this book:



It's called Opéra de Paris : un siècle au Palais Garnier. I bought my copy at the Opera House years ago, not sure if they still sell it. If you don't speak French, definitely buy it because it's dual language and is in English too. It contains several pages about the possible real-life basis of Leroux's story, including stuff about Nilsson and even rare stuff that I never see mentioned -- e.g. apparently the description of Buquet's death is taken from a real-life memoir of one of the managers which I keep meaning to get hold of but have not got round to doing.

Also, I like this book for its illustrations, it's for children but it's fun and the protagonist in this little story ends up going to the lake:



http://www.lesilencedelopera.com/ <-- you can see extracts from the book here.

There are more I like, but those are my favourites.

I recall reading somewhere that the gift shop's selection has been broadened considerably. Can anyone who has recently been there tell me what kind of merchandise they're selling? My sister will be in Paris early next month and I was going to ask her to swing by if something sparked my interest.

Yeah, they changed everything over the last year. I think it was last summer they did this. The entrance to the building is no longer via the front, which I think is unfortunate as you lose the impact of seeing the Grand Escalier in front of you (although I imagine they would still use this entrance for performances), but via the rue Scribe near the Charles Garnier monument. The gift shop has extended from where it was into another room on the side and it sells way more interesting things. There's a cool set of merchandise that features the Opéra de Paris logo and the names of several well-known operas, composers and even 'Le Fantôme de l'Opéra' -- pens, mugs, pads, bags etc. I bought the mug. Lots of expensive masks and if you are really rich you can pay almost 1000 € for a bust of Garnier!! Sadly a lot of the stuff is overpriced like this. But some interesting items, almost all theatre/ballet related, including a toy theatre for kids, but a bit too expensive I think. They were doing a promotion this summer that you'd get a free pack of Opéra de Paris playing cards with any purchase you make. Some Phantom novels are stocked too, including Leroux's (the current Livre de Poche edition with the awful Gerard and Emmy cover), The Canary Trainer and La Douleur du Fantôme. You can also buy the double CD of the phonographic records that Leroux mentions in his novel and which were recovered in 2007. I've bought it but haven't given it a listen yet.

This thread is for any and all discussion of the Palais Garnier: stories and pics of your visits to the Mecca of the Phandom, questions, etc.

Can't be bothered to post any pics right now but my most memorable experiences there were a) breaking into Box Five and, after 15 minutes, being joined by two English 'Phans' who turned out to be people I knew online (!) and b) seeing an opera there...I bought a cheap seat up in the gods and all I could see was the huge chandelier and hardly anything on the stage, but I didn't care! Alas, it wasn't Faust. I've broken into the upper levels a few times to take pics. I keep wanting to go down to the cellars -- every fan's dream -- but I've not managed it yet. Insanely jealous of those who have been down there though.

Scorp wrote:

Now if only they would make such a book about the interior!

They already have; I highly recommend it:

Sweet! Thanks, Scorp! I'll have to try to find a way to get one.

Do get it, it's a must-have for any fan.

To illustrate its use, it just confirmed the answer to a question that someone posted on this board a few months ago. I can't remember who or where, but there was a discussion about the old ceiling in the auditorium by Lenepveu and the question was whether Wikipedia was right or wrong in saying that the Lenepveu ceiling was destroyed beneath Chagall's. My hunch at the time that Wikipedia was wrong turned out to be correct -- the ceiling is PRESERVED, not destroyed beneath Chagall's; I quote confirmation from page 85 of Fontaine's book:

Ce plafond [par Eugène Lenepveu], qui comprend soixante-trois figures, est intact, simplement caché aujourd'hui sous le plafond de Chagall.

Anyone feel like correcting the error on Wikipedia?

As for preservation, unless it's extremely dampy under there, I would think it's in fact better preserved when being covered than being exposed to daily glimpse of light and air. Question though - have it in any ways been damaged by how the Chagall one is attached? I mean, if it's used to hold up the other one, with metal devices or the likes, it might have distorted parts of the old ceiling.

Ran across this story today on NPR (National Public Radio)--it's about opera houses around the world, and a man who wnated to photograph the grand opera houses around the world.

Guess which is number two and ten on the list?

All of these opera houses are stunning. I would love to be able to see them in person some day.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129103355&sc=fb&cc=fp

Scorp wrote:

That definitely looks like a must-have! I'll mention it to my sister and maybe she can pick a copy up for me. Do you know if it covers the backstage/administration areas too, Scorp? I'm intensely curious about those parts of the building.

R.

Raphael wrote:

Scorp wrote:

That definitely looks like a must-have! I'll mention it to my sister and maybe she can pick a copy up for me. Do you know if it covers the backstage/administration areas too, Scorp? I'm intensely curious about those parts of the building.

R.

It covers some of the backstage areas (I think the other one, Le Fantasme de l'Opéra, has a bit more about the backstage areas), but I don't remember either of them containing much, if anything, about the administration areas.

There is a documentary called "La danse" about the corps de ballet at the Garnier. It's just out, and one reviewer has said that there's footage from all parts of the Opera Garnier. A clip here: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2975401241/

I can't vouch for this though, as I haven't seen it myself, but I plan to, and will let you know more later.

Opéra de Paris launches a cool-looking app for your iPhone/iPod Touch: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/opera-national-de-paris/id392606246?mt=8

Absolutely awesome and inspiring, the grandness, the whole thing wonderful

The École nationale supérieure des beaux arts in Paris is currently hosting an exhibition all about Charles Garnier. Now's a great time to go to Paris if you're a Phantom fan, given that a play adaptation of Leroux's novel is also playing the City of Lights.

More info on the exhibition here: http://www.ensba.fr/expositions/garnier/index2.php?inclusion=histoire.html

And a nice article from Le Monde about Charles Garnier and the exhibition here: http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2010/11/03/charles-garnier-le-fantome-de-l-opera_1434905_3246.html

The Palais Garnier's new restaurant is due to open on 27 June. Dining there will set you back approximately 40 € for lunch, 60 € for dinner.



http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/paris-75005/voici-le-futur-restaurant-de-l-opera-garnier-28-05-2011-1469902.php

OMG! The Palais Garnier has actually added a plaque on the door to Box Five acknowledging its use for You-Know-Who!

Scorp wrote:OMG! The Palais Garnier has actually added a plaque on the door to Box Five acknowledging its use for You-Know-Who!

They were probably tired of phans stealing the Box Five plaque *LOL*

TAFKaR

Oh awesome! And I love the iPhone ap! Cool! What does it do? LOL I might just completely nerd out and get it if it's worth it and not too expensive.

And a play version of POTO in Paris? Oh shit! Somebody please invent the teleport now!

I went to the new restaurant at the Garnier this summer, and bought an exorbitant cocktail for the purposes of critical review

The restaurant is on the side of the building (the right side, if you were facing the main entrance front-on.) There are lots of pics on the web of the interior, and it was dark so I didn't get any shots, but as it was summertime they had a terrace bar set up in the little space between the building and the road.

I've got photos to show you the terrace, the menu, and the drinks menu. Cocktails are an eye-watering 16 euros. In the interests of scholarly review I felt it was important to try the signature cocktail "Phantom" - it was vile. I like old-fashion-dy cocktails, I like strong cocktails, I just did not like this cocktail. Gin, Martini Bianco, lemon juice, and a frothed egg white. Ugh. The only good things I could say about it were 1. It was a cocktail, and 2. It had a nice little white jelly on the rim which presumably was meant to represent a mask. The jelly was good, the drink was pretty lethal. Be warned, and consider trying the 'Martini Charles' instead.

The interior of the restaurant looked fairly appealing, especially a small bar area that would be fun to sit and drink in with friends if you had rich friends. I have heard that they may be creating a less expensive lunch menu this autumn, so might try that. I would possibly return for an expensive drink if I were at the theatre, but likely I'd rather sit at L'entracte across the street (where Scorp and I indulged in some good gossip a few years ago!)

Here are the pics:

The drink:

The drinks menu:

The dinner menu:

The terrace:

Such tomato red shades seems to be the hottest thing for restaurants and bars there days. I fear that it'll look SOOO 2011 in two years time. But your cocktail review had me giggle, thank you!

And it didn't lessen my desire to go to Paris.

ette wrote:Cocktails are an eye-watering 16 euros. In the interests of scholarly review I felt it was important to try the signature cocktail "Phantom" - it was vile. I like old-fashion-dy cocktails, I like strong cocktails, I just did not like this cocktail. Gin, Martini Bianco, lemon juice, and a frothed egg white. Ugh. The only good things I could say about it were 1. It was a cocktail, and 2. It had a nice little white jelly on the rim which presumably was meant to represent a mask. The jelly was good, the drink was pretty lethal. Be warned, and consider trying the 'Martini Charles' instead.

Thanks v. much for the photos! I haven't been there since they opened the restaurant. Yeah I'm not sure what I think of the red. Not fond of that weird red line thing they have going all the way round the building now; it spoils the front a bit.

So it wasn't sweet intoxication? (Stealing operafantomet's joke when she tried the Phantom cocktail at Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen). I think I'll stick to getting my cocktail fix at 'Le Crocodile' in the Latin Quarter instead.

I would possibly return for an expensive drink if I were at the theatre, but likely I'd rather sit at L'entracte across the street (where Scorp and I indulged in some good gossip a few years ago!)

We must repeat that some time soon.

Did you get a chance this time to check out the new Manoir de Paris? They're supposed to have some kind of Phantom exhibit in there.

Anyone feel like bidding on this scale model of the Opéra? It's going to auction soon!



http://www.lest-eclair.fr/article/a-la-une/la-maquette-de-lopera-livree-au-feu-des-encheres

Hey phantomfett! Here's something else for you to bid on

R.

Ooohhh. WANT!

Cool! Want, want, want! But where would I keep it though?

I want it too!

Here's a link with some very nice pics of the new restaurant:

http://chuknum.com/2011/10/05/interior-design-lopera-restaurant-in-paris/

The restaurant has been featured for a french TV show called Master chef the Challengers had to make a revisited "Pêche Melba" We can see this show on the restaurant website, it was very exciting! we can see the kitchens, etc.

For french fellow or phans who are abroad, a ball is organized on the 31th of March with a "Promenade en Calèche" (promenade in a carridge) around the Opera Garnier. Then, there's a dancing ball. Dresscode: crinoline dresses

I wish my Think of Me dress was finished for March the 31th!
My costumers organization sometimes organizes events inside the Opera

I'll try to make a photoshoot there when my dress is finished The accept costumed people when it's asked kindly

Please forgive my mistakes, I'm french

Melly wrote:The restaurant has been featured for a french TV show called Master chef the Challengers had to make a revisited "Pêche Melba" We can see this show on the restaurant website, it was very exciting! we can see the kitchens, etc.

For french fellow or phans who are abroad, a ball is organized on the 31th of March with a "Promenade en Calèche" (promenade in a carridge) around the Opera Garnier. Then, there's a dancing ball. Dresscode: crinoline dresses

I wish my Think of Me dress was finished for March the 31th!
My costumers organization sometimes organizes events inside the Opera

I'll try to make a photoshoot there when my dress is finished The accept costumed people when it's asked kindly

Please forgive my mistakes, I'm french

Hello Melly!

Oh yes make a photoshoot from all! I wish I could be there...I want to see Paris and the Opera Garnier. Love it.

Oh like french, love the language. I learned it but I must refresh it..!

French is SO complicated. I was talking about some examples with my boyfriend this morning. We are SO complicated >_<

But if a phan ever wants to come to visit Paris, I'd be glad to guide them ^^
I know the Opera pretty well, this is a magical place, really! I wish the 2004 movie was made there T_T
(And I wish my english was better But I'm lucky, I read it pretty well ^^)

Melly wrote:French is SO complicated. I was talking about some examples with my boyfriend this morning. We are SO complicated >_<

But if a phan ever wants to come to visit Paris, I'd be glad to guide them ^^
I know the Opera pretty well, this is a magical place, really! I wish the 2004 movie was made there T_T
(And I wish my english was better But I'm lucky, I read it pretty well ^^)

Do you think its so complicated, why?

Great offer from you!
Oh your english is good! Yes the Opera is a magical place. I have some books about the great house.
You like the movie?