The Paris Opera House

The Lord Mayor arrives at the inauguration.

This place is so amazing that no wonder why, the Phantom himself fell in love with the Opera House.

The city planner of genius, Baron Haussmann,creator of much of the modern opera house. Work began in 1861. First the diggers revealed an under ground stream running right threw the area. As fast as they dug, the holes filled with water. They might have moved the project, but Haussman wanted his opera house just there. Successfull, but to a point. The water was held at bag untill he finished at that level, but than crept back into form an underground lake beneath the lowest of the layers of cellers. A vistor today can descend to these levels (a special permit is needed)

 The staircase of the Opera, 1875.

It holds three acres of space or 118,500 square feet. It has 17 stories from the deepest celler to Pinnacle of roff, but with ten aboveground and an amazing 7 stories underground. Surprisingly, it's auditorium is quite small, seating only 2,156 operagoers as opposed to 3,500 at La Scala in Mitan and 3,700 at the New York Met.

Backstage it is vast, with ample dressing rooms fo hundreds of performers, workshops, canteens, wardrob deparments and storage areas for complete theatrical backdrops so that the entire sets 50 high and weighing many tons can be lowered and stored without being dismantled, than raised again to be installed when needed. It was designed as more than just for the performance of opera. Non-working space has taken for reception halls, salons, and offer a venue to great occasions. To this day, it still owns 2,500 doors which takes two hours for the resident fireman to check before they leave. The Paris Opera house has 1,000 people employed today.

Charles Garnier (the architect) and his wife, on the
Grand Staircase of the Opera House

Even today there is still buried skeltons that are still being discovered below the famous Opera House. When Gaston Lerous visted the house in 1910 and first heard talk that once, years earlier, there had been a Phantom living in the buliding; things missing and unexplained accidents had occured. A shadowy figure had occasionally been seen flitting from dark corners and always heading downward to the catacombs when no one dare to follow.

From these 20 year old rumors, Leroux created this story of the Phantom of the opera.

Guests arrive at the inauguration of the new Opera House.

To find out more about the opera house and see the pictures above just click on the photo above.