The Palais Garnier will remain open throughout the works which will begin in April. Francois BOUCHON / Le Figaro
Work on one of the two stages of the Paris Opera will begin in April at a total cost of 7.2 million euros. A restoration financed by billboard advertising.
The facade, which overlooks the avenue de l’Opéra, has not been visible for several weeks, due to the erection of scaffolding and the preparation of the site. The Palais Garnier, both a historic monument and one of the two stages of the Paris Opera, will restore its main facade until the end of 2024, for 7.2 million euros, according to a press release published Monday.
She “suffers from pollution, significant thermal shocks and wear of materials that have led to structural disorders”specifies the Opera, estimating the work necessary “to guarantee the durability of the monument and the safety of people, for the coming decades”.
In addition to the cleaning, depollution and lead removal work, the work relates, among other things, to the restoration of the gilding, sculpted elements and sculptures as well as the gilding of the peristyle railings, lettering, busts and capitals. An anti-pigeon protection system will also be installed.
Built by the architect Charles Garnier, the palace was inaugurated in 1875 and classified as a historical monument in 1923; numerous repair and compliance works have been carried out there since then. The cost of the work will be “financed by the advertising display on the tarpaulin of the facade”specifies the Opera, which is subsidized to the tune of 95.3 million euros per year, according to figures from 2019. The palace will remain open throughout the work which will begin in April.
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