Garnier envisioned his design and the transformation of the surrounding area, and to this day the opulence of the Second Empire lives on in this living monument. The legendary building was initially deemed the Academie Imperiale de Musique, yet with the fall of the Second Empire and the start of the Third Republic, this was aptly changed for the Academie Nationale de Musique, which we see written across the exterior facade to this day. The space above the auditorium in the copula dome was once used strictly for cleaning the chandelier, but has since been transformed into a space for opera and dance rehearsals.
In 1896, one of the many chandelier counterweights broke free and killed a concierge, the incident that inspired the scenes in the 1910 novel-turned-musical The Phantom of the Opera. Garnier himself designed the 7-tonne chandelier sparkling above the audience. The stage is the largest in Europe and can accommodate 450 artists, revealed by the opening of the legendary painted curtain. The auditorium itself is in a traditional Italian horseshoe shape, seating 1900.
The interior was meticulously designed with intertwining corridors, alcoves and landings to allow for easy movement of large numbers of people complete with a grand marble staircase and the grand foyer, acting as the drawing room for all of Paris high society and covered in gilded paintings. The official inauguration in 1875 was attended by the Mayor of London and Amsterdam, the King Alphonso XII of Spain, and hundreds of members from European high society. The elaborate use of different materials to lend a lavish multicolored facade was typical of many of the works under the rule of Napoléon III, and features sculptures of various figures of Greek mythology. The building itself is considered an artful masterpiece, and was one of the most expensive construction projects to come from the Second French Empire under the reign of Napoléon III. One of the most prestigious stages in all of France, the Palais Garnier was constructed between 18, designed by legendary architect Charles Garnier, who was selected among a handful of talented architects in a fierce design competition.
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