Paris Opera to close its houses for years of renovation work
Two of the French capital’s most important cultural institutions, the Palais Garnier and the Opera Bastille, are in need of major renovations, according to France's Court of Accounts. As a result, the two Parisian opera houses will be closed from mid-2027 and mid-2030, respectively.
The historic opera house of the Paris Opera, the Palais Garnier, is to close its doors from mid-2027 for a two-year renovation, the Opera said on Thursday.
The closure of the almost 150-year-old edifice, one of the architectural jewels of Paris, will be followed by the closure for renovation of the opera’s giant newer stage, the Opera Bastille, opened in 1989, for at least two years from mid-2030, it added.
It said the cost of the twin renovations of two of the most iconic sites in European opera and ballet was estimated by France’s top state audit body, the Court of Accounts, at at least 200 million euros ($217 million) by 2030, in a report published last week.
This amount is “currently being updated, based on ongoing checks,” it said.
The opera said both opera houses needed work to modernise their stage infrastructure.
In a report last week, the Court of Accounts said that both buildings were “ageing” and had been the victims of “long-standing underfunding”.
(AFP)
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