Opéra royal de Versailles, Palace opera house in Versailles, France.
Opéra royal de Versailles is an opera house within the Palace of Versailles designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel. It features an oval layout with tiered levels and French-style boxes, with a colonnade replacing what would have been a fourth row of seating.
Louis XIV planned an opera at the end of the north wing from 1682, but wars and finances halted work begun in 1685. Louis XV revived the project for his grandchildren's marriages; Ange-Jacques Gabriel built it in 23 months, and it opened on 16 May 1770 with Lully's Persée for the Dauphin's wedding to Marie-Antoinette. Louis-Philippe had it repainted red in the 1840s, and from 1871 it housed the Assemblée nationale and then the Sénat. Restored from 1952 to 1956 and returned to its original state in 2009.
The opera house takes its name from its royal purpose and once served as a venue for grand court celebrations and festivities. Today its use is reflected through regular performances that bring music and dance to the same rooms where nobility once gathered.
The building is accessible during regular visiting hours of the palace and is often explored as part of guided tours. Visiting requires time to fully appreciate the interior details, particularly when no performance is taking place.
The hall's acoustics owe much to its interior being built almost entirely of wood, painted in faux marble by Augustin Pajou. The site at the tip of the north wing was chosen partly for the two large water reservoirs nearby, which limited fire risk, and for the steep slope that allowed deep stage machinery without excavation.
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