A Modern State-of-the-Art Paris Opera House:
The Opéra Bastille is a very modern, state-of-the-art opera house in Paris’ 12th arrondissement.
Inaugurated on 13 July 1989, the Opéra Bastille was intended to replace the Palais Garnier as Paris’ main opera venue. Although Palais Garnier is mainly used for ballet performances these days, operas are staged at both venues.
In 1990, Opéra Bastille and Palais Garnier were merged to form Paris Opéra and in 1994 the name was changed to Opéra National de Paris, incorporating the opera, ballet and orchestra.
Opéra Bastille has hi-tech stage facilities which can accommodate 130 musicians. Built specifically for the opera, its 2,700 seats are acoustically consistent and every one of which has an unrestricted view of the stage.
Opéra Bastille is the design of Carlos Ott, the Canadian-Uruguayan architect whose design won over the 1,700 entries that took part in the international competition. There’s no doubt that Opéra Bastille has the superior acoustics and stage facilities, but having been to the Palais Garnier, I can’t help preferring the visual treat and grandeur that Palais Garnier offers.
You can go on a 75-minutes guided visit of Opéra Bastille which provides the opportunity to admire the blue granite, pear wood from China, and 2,700 black velvet seats in the auditorium. In the amphitheatre there’s white marble from Verona and the Monde de Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely at the bottom of the central staircase. The guided tour also includes a visit to the public foyers, the main auditorium, and the backstage areas.
To find out the date and time of the next available visit, call +33 (0)1 40 01 19 70. Tickets are sold at the Opéra Bastille box office 10 minutes prior to the tour.
See what’s on at the Opera Bastille and book tickets online here >
Address:
Opéra Bastille
130 rue de Lyon
75012 Paris
Getting there:
Metro: Bastille, lines 1, 5 and 8
Bus : Bastille lines n° 20, 29, 65, 69, 76, 86, 87 and 91
Car park: Opéra Bastille, 34 rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris
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