The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-10-14

Opera house and applaud the splendol
of the scene when the fashionables
turn out bravely clad in all theil
Gnery to worship at the shrine Of
LGhengrin or Carmen. But, as &
matter of cold fact. The Metropolitan
Opera house IS. INTELLECTUALLY, away
behind the great homes OF opera in
the other large cities of the world The
men and women of New York may be
just as handsome and as beautiful as
their brothers ard sisters of Paris
Vienna. Berlin or Milan, and the work
Of the artists equally clever, but there
is no doubt that nowhere in this great
country is there structure which can
be legitimately c9assed with the opera
houses of The cities just named.
PROFESSIONALLY the finest home Of
opera Of them all is the Grand Opera
house of Paris, the erection of the
building and it's adornments costing
Garnier divided his work into three
principal sections, the stage, audi
forum and the entrance, as he con-
sidered these the first requisites OF an
opera house.
The grand feature OF the structure is
the foyer. and it is ranked among the
first attractions of Paris On entering
NIle opera HOUSE LIOil CIAiitA NlID s7iNAS
or front the visitor reaches the great
circular vestibule. In front is the
grand staircase. leading to the foyer
and facing the numerous galleries.
upon which are The many tiers OF
boxes.
y Riot OF Richness.
No word picture can justly paint the
rich magnificence of the foyer 1t is
10 feet in length, ~ in width and 50 in
height It's design and decorations,
with those of the staircase, constitute
Carriers chief claims to fame as an
artist In both he has fairly rioted IN
richness Of color On the ceilings are
the celebrated paintings of the late
Paul Baudry, whose beautiful work,
however. can hardly be properly APP
preciated. from the excess of light.
On the sides of a central picture re-
presenting Melody and Harmony are
two grand categorical figures OF
Comedy and Tragedy. Over the doors
are oval panels in which children are
depicted with instruments symbolic Of
the music of various countries These
paintings were at once recognized as
among the finest examples of the
most ornate form of mural decoration.
The exterior of the opera abounds
with statues. In fact 1t Would seem
that GARNER put one wherever ne
could. Aloft upon the attic front are
two groups by Gumery, representing
Music and Poetry Below, at the
main entrances. are four imposing
marble groups, symbollZlng Lyric
Poetry. Music. The Dance and Tragedy
and designed by Jouffroy, Guillaune,
CarpeauX and Perraud.
The Vast Auditorium.
The auditorium is really the largest
In the world, although, so true are al
the proportions ae the building that
it does not impress one with its IN
mensity. The stage also ranks as The
greatest in the world, being lis feet N
width and "a feet in depth, and. with
its mass of elaborate machinery,
nearly all of iron and steel, gives
opportunities for spectacular effects
unknown in this or any other country.
The present structure is an elabora-
ton of the old building which flour
ished in the later part Of the eigh-
teenth century, and which was de-
stroyed by fire nearly forty years ago.
In 1880 the government decided to
Guild q new home of music, much
grander than anything ever before
contemplated. So we'll was this design
carried out, that even in the present
age of wonderful architecture, nothing
approaching it can be seen in any
part Of the world. Nearly 200 designs
united to the imperial commission in
charge of the work and many months
were spent in the laborious eXamina-
ton of them. Eventually the great
honor Of building the structure was
awarded to Architect Charles GARNER.
Long Time to build.
Owing to the discovery OF several
underground springs Of water on the
site. it was necessary to eXcaVate sixty
feet of the soil before solid fOunda-
ton could be obtained. This occa-
stoned great delay, as the mechanical
appliances for such herculean task
were not what they are today, by any
means
In July OF 1868 the cornerstone was
finally laid by Count Walewski, but
it was not until 1865 that the side walls
were up and the flies covered in. In
1863 the roof was completed but then
came the F'ranco-German war. which
caused complete interruption of the
work for some time
The half-finished building did ser
vice as hospital during the first part
of the struggle. and later as store
house, during the siege of Paris 1t
was also used as a signal station ,or
communicating with the outlying forts.
Upon the close of the war, the work
was pursued with great vigor. and
1874 saw the first production
The Grecnroom.
1t has other features of interest
aside from the many artistic beauties
one of them being the green room.
which has been a part of Partisan
opera for more than d century The
regular subscribers have access to the
green room, which is a magnificent
Aall adorned with paintings of all the
famous ballet dancers Of past ages. IT
is in this room that rehearsals are
held. and the walls are fitted with
many Velvet-covered iron bars which
the dancers hold on to while practis-
ing.
The upper floors Of the building form,
a verdtable museum of operate lore |
with its archives filled with precious |
manuscripts collected during the past |
two centuries.
Germany Rich in Opera Houses.
Germany is peculiarly rich in mag
nificent opera houses. those in Frank |
fort, Berlin and Dresden being partic
ularly fine. Frederick the Great found !
ed the Berlin opera house in 174l Fire |
partially destroyed it in 1913, but it |
was Immediately restored to its pris- |
time glory. Those in Frankfort |
and Dresden are of comparatively |
recent date, the first being opened in !
1875 and the other a few years later.
Nienna's opera house is famous for |
sts wonderful frescoes and the statu- !
airy which adorns the exterior. 1t has |