Paris Opera - the third stage, 3e Scene

Building the Paris Opera – or Opera Garnier – was a slow process. Stephane Kirkland’s 2013 novel Paris Reborn has an account of its origins in the Second Empire, around the late 1800s. It began as Napoleon III’s favour to a mistress by appointing her husband to the position of minister of state. 

Opera was performed in Paris in a temporary structure on the rue Le Peletier, built in 1821 after fire destroyed the previous opera house. It wasn’t until 1847 that the site was selected for the new opera house – on the east side of the place du Palais-Royal, between the Louvre and the Palais-Royal. But the revolution of 1848 caused a change of plans. The planned site now accommodates the Grand Hotel du Louvre. Charles Rohault de Fleury, appointed as the Opera’s official architect in 1846 researched his options for the site – even thinking of the place de la Concorde – but then he turned to the site where it lies today, off the boulevard des Capucines. Land was available, and in 1860 the site was agreed by imperial decree. Because Rohault de Fleury had been working on the design for years, he officially produced his works only two months after the decree – designed in the tradition of French theatre.

But Napoleon sacked Achille Fould and appointed Count Walewksi – the husband of his mistress – as minister of state. Napoleon III’s wife, empress Eugenie wanted Eugene Viollet-le-Duc to be the Opera’s architect and made it clear to Walewksi. But he took the decision to launch a competition for the design, with only a month to submit the sketch.

Charles Garnier’s design was one of 171 entries, which the jury narrowed down to five contenders, none of whom were Charles Rohault de Fleury or Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. Garnier’s design was ranked fifth. All five contenders had to re-submit the design. Leon Ginain’s design was ranked first, and Garnier suggest to his close friend that they should collaborate on the redesign but Ginain refused. Ginain barely changed his design, while Garnier made many alterations – and won the coveted position as architect for the Paris Opera.

The jury announced to Garnier: ‘You considerably improved your project, whereas Ginain weakened his. Your plan is remarkable in its simplicity, clarity, logic, and grandeur. The jury admired the design in three distinct parts: public foyer, hall and stage, as well as the outer loggia, the staircase, the originality of the facade, and especially the side facades.’ Garnier immediately produced a team, built an on-site studio with a balcony, prepared models of his design, and commenced oversight of the construction.

In August 1867 the scaffolding was removed so that the public could see the main facade. It was called a ‘vast chimney-front.’ Eugene Viollet-le-Duc criticized it for its ‘excessive decoration, basic design errors, and misguided technological choices.’

In October 1873 the temporary home of the Paris Opera for 50 years – the building on the rue Le Peletier – caught fire. Hence the construction of the Paris Opera was accelerated and it was officially opened on January 5, 1875. Emperor Napoleon III died in 1873, so the president of France, Patrice de Mac-Mahon, launched the completion of the Paris Opera to a thunderous applause.

The Opera Garnier is now 140 years old. Benjamin Millepied, the director of the Paris Opera Ballet (part of the Opera’s existing houses at the Palais Garnier and the Opera Bastille), has ambitious plans. He wants a new stage with around 30 original commissions each year, a forum for literature on operas and ballets, exhibitions, and readings - all to raise funding. 

Last week Millepied introduced 3^e Scene – the third stage. It is not an actual stage, but a virtual stage, accessed free via the Paris Opera website (eventually there may be a subscription service). For its debut it is offering 18 short films and photographic series by various artists. It aims to ‘reach a young, curious public who might be interested in the arts, in film, in technology or fashion, but who have never come to the opera or ballet,’ said Millepied.

The director of the Paris Opera, Stephane Lissner, is supportive of the experiment. The 3^e Scene has use of Paris Opera resources, but it has also secured sponsorship to raise half of the budget required to stage the events. The virtual stage idea will be monitored to determine whether it becomes a sustainable event. In a week since the launch of 3^e Scene there has been 225,000 web visits, with the most popular film being illustrator and animator Glen Keane’s film Nephtali. Keane has previously worked on Walt Disney productions such as The Little Mermaid.

Financial viability is not a new concept for opera – it was a bone of contention during the construction of the Paris Opera – and it continues to be a prime factor in the continuation of the arts. So all eyes will be on the Paris Opera experiment.

International New York Times, September 3, 2015