Thirteenth’s Opera House built in Paris, the Opera Garnier is a world-famous architectural masterpiece, in the pure style Napoleon III. Its construction was entrusted by competition to the young architect Charles Garnier, and lasted fifteen years. The constuction knew numerous interruptions during the 1870 war, the fall of the Empire and the Commune of Paris. The inauguration took place on January 5th, 1875.
Beside the main room that holds 1900 places and its ceiling painted by Marc Chagall in 1964, the main staircase that serves the differents foyers, themselves richly decorated, testify of a time when another show, the one of the high society, happened during the interludes.
The Opera Garnier always fascinated its contemporaries for its architecture and its decoration, just as much as for the shows it offers.