The Paris Opera House

The Paris Opera House The Paris Opera House is perhaps one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It contains numerous floors, and levels beyond levels of cellars, fountains, a lake, chandeliers and even its own ghost!

Origin of the Opera House The cause for this new opera house actually came from Napoleon III. Napoleon III went to the opening of an opera at a nearby opera house, Rue Le Peletier. On the way an explosion injured and killed 150 people. He attended the performance anyway. He decided a new more secure facility was needed. However, he was also interested in building a new opera house so the world would look up to him. He picked out the perfect location in the center of Paris.

Architect There was a contest for the best design. 171 people entered 700 drawings Charles Garnier was named as the architect. Work began on the opera house in 1861.

Problems They discovered an underground stream. Napoleon would not change the location. It could not be drained. Eight steam pumps worked day and night for 8 months. They finally built a double layer concrete foundation and built the building over it. They created a lake by damming up the stream. It was used for hydraulic stage machinery.

War The Franco/Prussian War broke out in 1869/1870. The uncompleted opera house was used mainly as a food warehouse, arsenal, military prison, but also a communications center and observation post. Zoo animals were eaten by the rich. The poor ate rats, cats and dogs.

Labyrinth!! In Garnier’s design, he created a LABYRINTH in the bottom few floors of the opera house. This is a maze consisting of secret passages, narrow halls, trap doors, staircases, and hidden rooms. In the story of The Phantom of the Opera, the Phantom lives in the labyrinth. It is his lair. The public is not allowed to go into the labyrinth today.

The Paris opera house It is the largest in the world. ( 3 acres) 17 stories high 118,500 square feet Staff of 1500 2500 doors 80 dressing rooms Stables in basement Chandelier weighs 7 tons Finally opened in January of 1875.

Origin of the Building Who wanted the opera house built? Why did he want to build a new opera house?

Architect How did they determine who would get the job as architect? Who was selected? What made his design unique?

Problems What did they find at the building site? What ways did they try to solve the problem? What finally worked? Why did construction stop?

War Which war broke out in 1870? How was the unfinished opera house used? What was used as food during the war?

Opera House When did it open? How many floors is the opera house? How many square feet? How many people worked there? How many dressing rooms How much did the chandelier weigh?

The Novel Gaston Leroux wrote a novel in 1911 based upon the story of the opera house He was heavily influenced by Edgar Allan Poe Novel was a “flop” in France, but USA loved it.

Evolution to today’s Phantom 1923 – Universal Studios made it into a silent movie Lon Chaney was the first to play the Phantom Several other versions followed 1984 – Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the musical, which was released in London and then in the U.S. This is what we know today as the famous play.

Summary of Plot At the Paris Opera House in France, legend exists about a ghost living there. Strange occurrences have left many people afraid. The opera house is a working theater where many plays are performed. The phantom turns out to be a musical genius and befriends a young girl who dreams to be a star. Her fiancé, however, does not like her associating with the creature she calls “teacher.” Watch for mystery, romance, and suspense!!

Important Terms FLASHBACK: a scene(s) within a story that interrupts the sequence of events to relate events that occurred in the past. ALLUSION: a reference to a well-known person, event, place, literary work. Allows the writer to express complex thoughts without saying them in a straight forward manner.

Important Terms MOOD: the feeling created in the reader by a literary work TONE: the writer’s attitude toward his/her audience and subject formal/serious informal/playful bitter Factors that contribute to the tone are word choice, sentence structure, line length, rhyme, rhythm and repetition.

Important Terms SYMBOLISM: highlighted, specific elements the author wishes to emphasize to add levels of meaning. IRONY: a contradiction between what happens and what is expected Ex. Saving up to buy a new car when you turn sixteen. Buying your new car. Wrecking your new car moments after pulling out of the car lot.

Important Terms ACTS & SCENCES: basic units of action in a drama. A full-length drama may consists of several acts, each of which may contain any number of scenes PROLOGUE: a separate introductory section of a literary or musical work

Important Terms AUTHOR’S PURPOSE: the author’s main reason for writing Entertain Inform Persuade What do you think Andrew Lloyd Webber’s PURPOSE was for writing the musical The Phantom of the Opera?