Paris: Opera Bastille

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The Opera Bastille, a theater with a contemporary design located at the Place de la Bastille in Paris, serves as an additional venue for the Paris Opera’s performances, also presented at the Palais Garnier.

The theater in Paris was built at the behest of François Mitterrand, the former president of France, who, in 1983, sponsored a competition for the theater’s design. Beating out 756 other entries, architect Carlos Ott, a Canadian born in Uruguay , won the contest. His theater opened on July 13, 1989 in Paris on the 200th anniversary of Bastille Day.

This building of glass and steel has 2,723 seats, each with an unobstructed view of the stage. The Opera Bastille in Paris offers standing room-only section located behind the orchestra offered at 5 euro each, 45 minutes before every show.