Around the Music Festival

The Opera Bastille in Paris will close for three years starting in 2030 for its first major renovation.The theater is the second venue of the Paris National Opera and opened in 1989 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution.

The building has suffered severe deterioration, from the roof to the stage machinery, and the renovation costs are expected to exceed 400 million euros (approximately 464 million dollars). This decision has sparked debate, with a major newspaper publishing an article questioning whether the theater should be demolished, generating significant attention.

The article was published in the influential conservative newspaper Le Figaro. Columnist Jean-Pierre Robin revealed that the performances at the Bastille Opera House are subsidized by the government at a rate of €123 (approximately $143) per seat, and predicted that renovation costs are likely to double. He suggested that it would be better to build a new theater, arguing that it would be more comfortable and cheaper to operate.

The opera house stands on the site of a former railway station west of Bastille Square, the site of the outbreak of the French Revolution.

The exterior is a modernist glass-walled building designed by Uruguayan-Canadian architect Carlos Otto. The interior consists of seven floors above ground and six below, and boasts nine stages, the largest in the world, with a seating capacity of 2,703.

PHOTO：Opéra national de Paris