Decipher the Opéra

Today the Palais Garnier is indeed a center of cultural life in Paris. Yet rather than take it at the face value that was trumpeted when it was built ("we are extremely cultivated"), we decode it.

...but circle the edifice to discover a colonnade of nudes. They surround a discreet entry, around which is empty space – at the epicenter of the most expensive part of the 19th-century city. Hm...

The staircase's narrowest point is just wide enough for two hoopskirts to pass. Balconies allow exchanging glances and watching allies and rivals ascend the stairs. Hm...

Frescoes, the form of art that impresses the most, cover the Grand Foyer's whole ceiling, which is as large as the entire facade (50 mètres).

It is emphatically uninviting. But such expensive space must have a purpose. Hm !

A fact that explains this part of the building: Donors, who were exclusively male, financed performances. This was their salon, where they might dine while awaiting the end of the second act. Then  –  following a practice that dates from the Sun King's court and is exclusive to Paris  –  the corps de ballet would go on stage.

The expression is still used to indicate any hugely expensive pastime that one undertakes for pleasure and that gives no return. It harks back to the Opéra's ballet dancers, whose favors were usually for sale at sky-high prices. From humble backgrounds, often illiterate, these very young women left no records. We know about them only through men.

The ballerinas entered legend. Visiting millionaires often considered trysts with them part of the Parisian experience. To encourage their sumptuous presents, jewellers settled on Rue la Paix (a minute's walk from the Opéra and the most expensive street in the traditional Monopoly game) and Place Vendôme.