Charles Garnier's Opera - A Total Work of Art

Description

In 1878, three years after the inauguration of his monument, Charles Garnier wrote in his book "Nouvel Opéra": "The opera is a rich art - a synthesis of the arts - and the place where people come to enjoy it must prepare, accompany, and complete their pleasure. The building must be in harmony; it must be an equivalent, in the field of architecture, of what lyrical art is in the field of spectacle." A century and a half later, the Palais Garnier never ceases to amaze visitors because its brilliant architect had thought of every corner, capable of blending all the arts into a subtle alchemy through a succession of architectural wonders. Once inside, the staircase, a theatrical spectacle in itself, is already a preview of what will unfold later on the stage. You feel like you're being welcomed into a temple of the mind, a baroque setting with a profusion of colors. Gérard Fontaine invites us to discover the Opera comprehensively. His initiatory text takes us through the secret and magnificent mazes to the auditorium, the stage, and the dance foyer where paintings and sculptures, silent witnesses to thousands of performances and human adventures, decorate every nook and cranny. This volume is accompanied by the magnificent photographs of Jean-Pierre Delagarde, who has captured the ambiance of this legendary place, this total work of art.