A trip to the Opera... and the Phantom's home - Part 1

I saw a sight on Monday "by accident".
It wasn't really a sightseeing day, more of a day for just hanging out, but I decided to take the Metro and just get off somewhere and have coffee in another neighborhood and poke around. I was lucky in that I picked the Opera metro station where, for those who know Paris, I was greeted with the marvelous architecture of the Opera Garnier building, right on the square. I spent quite a bit of time gazing up at the gold angels on the roof and taking pics of all the sculptures on the outside of the building. I really didn't think about going inside initially - until I saw the visitor signs. And thought, why not? I'm right here....

Before I describe what I saw, a little background:

"The Opera's interior is decorated with Gobelin tapestries, gilded mosaics, and an eight-ton chandelier that fell on the audience in 1896. The incident, along with rumors of a spooky lake beneath the building inspired La Fantome de l'Opera (The Phantom of the Opera), which begain life as a 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux and went through several film incarnations before
bursting into song in 1986 with Andrew Lloyd Webster's megamusical. Be sue to pay a visit to the Phantom's box, no. 5. The Opera's auditorium has 1900 red velvet seats and a ceiling painted by Marc Chagall in 1964. The five-tiered auditorium was designed as a stage not only for operas, but also for social life; balconies were constructed so audience members could watch
one another, as well as the show." (Let's Go Paris, 2007)

The only word I can think to describe this building is magnificent. It truly was magnificent!

I wonder how they keep these sculptures shining... probably solid gold or something... or maybe angels come down from above at night to give them a shine...

Just some of the sculptures on the front of the building...

This one was my favourite... click on it to enlarge it... the expressions are priceless, and it's nice as it is a happy little crowd here enjoying the music....

One of the many closeups I took of this sculpure...

Goddess lampposts....

Cherubs and masks...

Goddess lamp closeup...

Inside.... these are pics taken on the "grand staircase"...

Then.... there is the "ballroom".....

And if you step out onto the terrace for some fresh air during the intermission, there are all sorts of additional frescos and sculptures to entertain your eye....

Believe it or not, the best is yet to come.... see A trip to the Opera... and the Phantom's home - Part 2