The Palais Garnier, Opéra, formerly known as Académie Nationale de Musique, is a Parisian opera house designed by Charles Garnier.[1] This beautiful building sits on the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris' 9^th arrondissement. On January 8, 1975, Fromental Halévy's, La Juive, was the first opera performance to show at Garnier.[2] Although, historically constructed to house Paris Opera and ballet, the inauguration of Opéra Bastille in 1989 left the use of the Palais Garnier primarily for ballet.

Construction of this 1,979-seat building began in 1861, and continued until its completion in 1875. The building design combined historical elements of Napoleon III Style, Baroque, and Palladio, and Renaissance architecture (See Images). The Opera House displayed extravagance; marble, stone, porphyry and gilded bronze decorated the interior and exterior of the building.

[1] Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Opéra." Encyclopædia Britannica. May 26, 2010.

[2] Harris-Warrick, Rebecca, David Charlton, Janet Johnson, Richard Langham Smith, and Charles Pitt. 2002 "Paris (opera)." Grove Music Online. 29 Mar. 2019.

The Palais' interior also commemorates composers and designers, while also honouring the Greek mythology. The Grand Staircase surrounds the Bassin de la Pythie, which honours Pythia, Apollo's priestess at Delphi; and the Grand Foyer is reminiscent of the halls of the Palace of Versailles.[1] The Pavillon des Abonnés, which is located on the east side of the building, was designed for the wealthy, upper class. The purpose of this entrance was to allow this class, also known as the 'subscribers', abonnés, direct access from their carriages to the interior of the building. The Palais does not only stage performances, it also holds a library-museum. The Pavillon de l'Empereur, or Rotonde de l'Empereur, is located on the west side of building. It was originally used as a private entrance for the emperor until 1873. The museum-library was open to the public in 1881. Today, its rooms houses Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra de Paris, the Paris Opera Library-Museum. The library contains almost 600,000 documents related to the history of the Opéra, including 100,000 books, 250,000 autograph letters, 16,000 partitions, 30,000 drawings, 100,000 photographs, and 30,000 prints.[2] Palais Garnier's five-room museum displays three centuries of the Paris Opera's history, including costumes, jewelry, paintings and set-designs. Although heavily guarded, visitors are able to view a variety of documents and material from both the library and museum.

[1] Pierre. "Palais Garnier, Paris." French Moments. March 22, 2016.

[2] Ibid.

This destination is the first stop on the Nazi-Occupied Paris: Entertainment Tour

The Palais Garnier was infamous for its shows and a popular entertainment destination for Parisians. During the Nazi-occupation, the Palais Garnier remained open; however, the transformation of the building to accommodate the Germans haunted the French people.

Germany's presence was greatly noticeable; between the building's Corinthian order columns, Nazi-regime flags were visibly hanging, sitting under the bronze busts of many great composers, including Beethoven and Mozart. During the occupation, many Jewish companies faced banishment, and were replaced by German companies to perform at the Opéra. Wagner, a German, and Mozart were the most popular compositions performed. Spring of 1941 welcomed a German conductor, Herbert von Karajan, to lead the Berlin Staatsoper (Berlin Opera) at the Palais Garnier.[1] The Opera House became promotor of German culture, a symbol of propaganda and an object of interest that blatantly displayed Nazism.

In 1929, Jacques Rouché, manager of the Theatre des Arts and the Paris Opera, invited Serge Lifar, an international ballet dancer, to take over the directorship of the Paris Opéra Ballet.[2] Lifar served as the theatre's director for thirty years, and was known for keeping the company afloat during World War II. His ability to maintain the company was questionable, as he was suspected for collaborating with the Nazi's during the occupation of Paris. Although it remained unclear of Lifar's involvement with the Germans, during postwar trials, he was condemned and suspended from the national stage.[3]

The Nazi's ability and willingness to integrate itself into Paris society was intriguing. Generally, the Germans brought destruction wherever they set foot, including their own state. Albert Speer, Hitler's lead architect, was commissioned to create plans for a new German state and capital city, Germania. There was an argument that "the implementation of Speer's plan would have resulted in the complete destruction of the organic structure of Berlin".[4] Germania would not only replace Berlin in name, but also structurally with Hitler's visions. With Paris, structural building were left sound, while decorative Nazi symbols and artifacts were added. Speer argues that unlike in politics, Hitler respected those with architectural superiority. Upon Hitler's arrival in Paris, the Palais Garnier was one of his first destinations in the city. Hitler acknowledges, "The stairwell is the most beautiful in the world. When the ladies stroll down in their costly gowns and uniformed men form lanes – Herr Speer, we must build something like that too!".[5] Paris was an architectural marvel, and Hitler hoped to model many of his buildings after Paris.

During the war, the Palais Garnier stood as a, both French and Nazi, symbol. The Palais was not immune to suspected collaboration, as its director faced scrutiny. Although its exterior donned Nazi symbols, and its stage consisted of German compositions; the soul of the Palais Garnier remained French.

[1] Bell, David A. "The New Normal." The New Republic. February 10, 2011.

[2] Davis, Donald E. 2017. "Serge Lifar." Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia.

[3] Christout, Marie-Françoise. "Lifar, Serge." In The International Encyclopedia of Dance. : Oxford University Press, 1998.

[4] "Model of the "World Capital City Germania," Built According to Plans by Albert Speer (1939)." GHDI.

[5] Speer, Albert. Inside The Third Reich. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2015, 41.

Resources

Description of Site: Sources

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Opéra." Encyclopædia Britannica. May 26, 2010. Accessed March 18, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Opera-house-Paris-France.

"Discover the Theatre - Palais Garnier - Visits." Opéra National De Paris. Accessed March 15, 2019. https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/visits/palais-garnier/discover-the-theatre.

Harris-Warrick, Rebecca, David Charlton, Janet Johnson, Richard Langham Smith, and Charles Pitt. 2002 "Paris (opera)." Grove Music Online. 18 Mar. 2019. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000005519.

Pierre. "Palais Garnier, Paris." French Moments. March 22, 2016. Accessed March 21, 2019. https://frenchmoments.eu/palais-garnier-paris/

Significance of Site to Theme: Sources

Bell, David A. "The New Normal." The New Republic. February 10, 2011. Accessed March 19, 2019. https://newrepublic.com/article/83186/nazi-occupied-paris-review.

Christout, Marie-Françoise. "Lifar, Serge." In The International Encyclopedia of Dance. : Oxford University Press, 1998. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195173697.001.0001/acref-9780195173697-e-1051.

Davis, Donald E. 2017. "Serge Lifar." Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia. https://proxy.library.brocku.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=88802181&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Harris-Warrick, Rebecca, David Charlton, Janet Johnson, Richard Langham Smith, and Charles Pitt. 2002 "Paris (opera)." Grove Music Online. 18 Mar. 2019. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000005519.

"Model of the "World Capital City Germania," Built According to Plans by Albert Speer (1939)." GHDI. Accessed March 19, 2019. http://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=2335.

Speer, Albert. Inside The Third Reich. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2015.