The Opéra Bastille (French ) (Bastille Opera House) is a modern opera house in Paris, France. Inaugurated in 1989 as part of President François Mitterrand’s “Grands Travaux”, it became the main facility of the Paris National Opera, France's principal opera company, alongside the older Palais Garnier; most opera performances are shown at the Bastille along with some ballet performances and symphony concerts, while "Garnier" presents a mix of opera and ballet performances.
The idea for a new "popular and modern" opera house in Paris first came up in the 1880s, only years after the opening of the palais Garnier. It would remain virtual for a century and re-emerge periodically due to the recurrent "crisis at the Opera" and to the limitations imposed on modern opera production by the palais Garnier. It was notably promoted in 1965–1968 by stage director Jean Vilar, the most prominent figure in "popular theatre" at the time, who had been commissioned a reform project for the National Opera Theatre and echoed composer Pierre Boulez’ provocative appeal to "blow up opera houses", as well as by senior civil servant François Bloch-Lainé in a 1977 report on the Opera's management and perspectives.
The Bastille (French pronunciation:[bastij]) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a crowd on 14 July 1789 in the French Revolution, becoming an important symbol for the French Republican movement, and was later demolished and replaced by the Place de la Bastille.
The Bastille was built to defend the eastern approach to the city of Paris from the English threat in the Hundred Years' War. Initial work began in 1357, but the main construction occurred from 1370 onwards, creating a strong fortress with eight towers that protected the strategic gateway of the Porte Saint-Antoine on the eastern edge of Paris. The innovative design proved influential in both France and England and was widely copied. The Bastille figured prominently in France's domestic conflicts, including the fighting between the rival factions of the Burgundians and the Armagnacs in the 15th century, and the Wars of Religion in the 16th. The fortress was declared a state prison in 1417; this role was expanded first under the English occupiers of the 1420s and 1430s, and then under Louis XI in the 1460s. The defences of the Bastille were fortified in response to the English and Imperial threat during the 1550s, with a bastion constructed to the east of the fortress. The Bastille played a key role in the rebellion of the Fronde and the battle of the faubourg Saint-Antoine, which was fought beneath its walls in 1652.
Bastille is a station on lines 1, 5 and 8 of the Paris Métro. It is located near the former location of the Bastille and remains of the Bastille can be seen on line 5. The platforms for line 1 are situated below road level but above the Bassin of the Arsenal and Canal Saint Martin in a short open-air segment. The western end of the line 1 platforms have the sharpest curve used by passenger trains on the Métro, with a radius of only 40 metres. The line 1 platforms, at 123 metres long, are significantly longer than the average Métro platform length.
The line 1 station opened as part of the first stage of the line between Porte de Vincennes and Porte Maillot on 19 July 1900. The line 5 platforms were opened on 17 December 1906 when the line was extended from Gare de Lyon to Lancry (now known as Jacques Bonsergent). The line 8 platforms were opened on 5 May 1931 when the line was extended from Richelieu – Drouot to Porte de Charenton. The platforms on line 1 were decorated in 1989 to celebrate the bicentenary of the French Revolution.
A bastille is a form of urban fortification. A bastille is a fortification located at the principal entrance to a town or city; as such it is a similar type of fortification to a barbican, and the distinction between the two is frequently unclear. While today found in a variety of cities, such as Grenoble and Lubeck, the word bastille is associated above all with the famous bastille in Paris, the Saint Anthony Bastille, which played a prominent part in the history of France under its monarchy. Bastilles were often forts, but could be more similar to gatehouses in smaller settlements.
Like the word bastide, the word bastille derives from the word bastida in the southern French Occitan language, which can mean a fortification or fortified settlement.
Damiano Michieletto sat in the last row of the OpéraBastille's front section alongside his production colleagues, watching opening night of Massenet’s rarely performed “Don Quichotte.” ... .
cannibalism ... Bieito’s new production opened at the ParisOpéra on Feb. 29 and runs through March 23 ... Sign up ... This image released by Opéra Bastille - Opéra national de Paris shows a performance of "The Exterminating Angel” in Paris on Feb. 26, 2024.
In recent months environmentalists have staged headline-grabbing stunts, including throwing paint at artwork by Claude Monet on loan to Sweden and disrupting a performance at the OpéraBastille in ...
Fin 2018, un diadème aux 16 branches d'inox au sommet de l'OpéraBastille et deux énormes roues lumineuses sur le grand escalier du Palais Garnier avaient fait polémique, certains jugeant ces installations déplacées.
She was 70 ... She had been diagnosed in February 2021 with glioblastoma, an aggressive and incurable brain tumor ... She went on to compose "Adriana Mater," which premiered at the OpéraBastille in 2006 and "Émilie," which debuted at the Lyon Opéra in 2010.
The Indiana Times
07 Jun 2024
The Indiana Times
07 Jun 2024