Charles Garnier's opéra: a work of total art

• 1669-2019: 350th anniversary of the Opéra national de Paris since the creation of the Royal Academy of Music by Louis XIV.
• The Palais Garnier seen from every angle: the architect's thoughts in pictures.
• A complete inventory of the artists and works taking part in this polychromic and baroque celebration.

In 1878, three years after the inauguration of his monument, Charles Garnier wrote in his Nouvel Opéra: "Opera is a rich art - a synthesis of the arts - and the place in which people come to enjoy it must prepare, accompany and complete their pleasure. The building must be in unison; it must constitute an equivalent, in the order of architecture, of what lyric art is in that of spectacle."

A century and a half later, the Palais Garnier never ceases to amaze visitors, for its genius architect had thought of every corner, capable of fusing all the arts in a subtle alchemy through a succession of architectural shocks: on the façade, where the gold shines, masks, festoons and mosaic backdrops intertwine their reflections in the polyphony of marble of multiple origins; the extraordinary statuary adorns the pediments, loggias and avant-corps and rises proudly towards the sky.

Once inside, the staircase, a theatrical spectacle in itself, is already a foretaste of what will unfold later, on stage. You feel like you're being welcomed into a temple of the spirit, a baroque décor and a profusion of colours.

Gérard Fontaine takes us on an exhaustive tour of the Opéra, revealing every angle of the building that Charles Garnier dreamed of and created. This introductory text takes us through the secret and magnificent mazes leading 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.

In this lively, invigorating account, published in the run-up to the 350th anniversary of the institution that now manages the Opéra Bastille and the Palais Garnier, all the works, paintings and sculptures, are inventoried, and Charles Garnier's thoughts are reflected in selected quotations. Finally, the "Garnier palette" describes the techniques and materials chosen by the architect. The book is accompanied by superb photographs by Jean-Pierre Delagarde, who has succeeded in recreating the atmosphere of this legendary place, this total work of art.

This book was awarded the Prix Bernier 2018 by the Académie des beaux-arts.

To leaf through the book.

Introduction: an architectural equivalent of lyrical art A monument that sings and dances

A staged façade

The iconostasis: the exterior statuary

Initiatory paths

The grand staircase

The hall's corridors

The theatre choir: the auditorium

The stage and dance foyer

The intermission act: foyers, salons and galleries

The grand foyer

Conclusion: an opera in front of the opera house

The materials of the immaterial: Charles Garnier's palette

Appendices

Chronology

Glossary

Biographical notes

A doctor of philosophy and cultural administrator, Gérard Fontaine is a renowned specialist in opera, to which he has paid tribute on numerous occasions, notably with Décor d'opéra : un rêve éveillé (Flammarion, 1996) and Palais Garnier, le fantasme de l'opéra (Agnès Viénot Éditions, 1999). In partnership with the Opéra national de Paris, he has published L'Opéra de Charles Garnier, architecture et décor extérieur (2000); Palais Garnier, Opéra national de Paris, collection "Itinéraires" (2001); Visages de marbres et d'airain, la collection des bustes du Palais Garnier, collection "Thématiques" (2003) and L'Opéra de Charles Garnier, architecture et décor intérieur (2004).