The Opera Garnier, is a renowned opera house in Paris, France. Designed by the architect Charles Garnier, it is a masterpiece of Second Empire architecture and was inaugurated in 1875. The Opera Garnier is celebrated for its opulent and ornate interiors, including the famous grand staircase, chandeliers, and Marc Chagall-painted ceiling. It continues to host ballet and opera performances and is an iconic symbol of Parisian cultural heritage.
PSA for everyone who doesn't know: The Estella Opera House in Lies of P is based on the Op茅ra Garnier in Paris.
Source 1, Source 2
Built from 1861 to 1875, it served as Paris's main opera house during the Belle 脡poque and a center of cultural life. To top things off, the Op茅ra Garnier is also the original setting for the story of The Phantom of the Opera: Some strange occurrences in the opera's past - such as mysterious noises coming from underground during the first performance and the unresolved accident of a chandelier counterweight crashing down and killing the concierge Madame聽Chomette - spawned the tale of a specter haunting the opera. The secret passageways of the cellar and rumors of a subterranean lake only fueled the myth, which was eventually used by聽Gaston Leroux as the basis for his famous novel.
In fact, the blazing, swinging chandelier and the access to the basement located in the same room are most likely a reference to this.
Opera Garnier where Phantom is based off of in Gaston Leroux's book. The chandelier did fall in the late 1800鈥檚. Other accounts state it was one of the counter weights and not the chandelier. There鈥檚 many variations of Erik鈥檚 origin but Christine was based off a Swedish singer of the same 1st name.