History
Inspiration
In 1963 the idea for a new opera house in Paris first came from the composer Pierre Boulez, Maurice Bejart, along with Jean Vilar, a believer in the need for popular theatre. Their report inspired Francois Mitterrand, the French president, to sponsor a competition to build a new house. He wanted it to become a modern and popular place in order to share classical music with the masses
Creation
Therefore, he created the Opera Bastille Public Establishment (Etablissement PuA) competition to select an architect to build this new opera house. 756 entries were received, and, in November 1983, the competition was won by an unknown architect, Carlos Ott, an Uruguayan who lives in Canada.
Location
Located at the Place de la Bastille, in the 12th arrondissement, the house was designed with 2,723 seats, every one of which has an unrestricted view of the stage. The theatre, was surmounted by the opaque cube of the stage building and wrapped in gridded walls of glass...... the Opera stands sociably open to the world outside, whereas the foyers, with their broad overview of the city, have the slick, impersonal look of an airport lounge. Beauvert also describes the theatre's backstage facilities as being extremely modern, allowing for nine times the volume of the stage and the ability to roll entire sets off and on intact. However, compared to other world-class opera houses, the acoustics have been described as disappointing at best.
Construction
Construction began in 1984 with the demolition of Paris Bastille train station, which was opened in 1859 and closed on December 14, 1969, and where art expositions were held thereafter until its demolition.
Inauguration
The building was inaugurated on July 13, 1989, on the 200th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, with a gala concert conducted by Georges Pretre and featuring singers such as Teresa Berganza and Placido Domingo. However, it did not see its first opera performance until March 17, 1990, with Berlioz' Les Troyens, directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi.