Past president Francois Mitterand built the huge Bastille Opera House with the supposed intent that opera might become more accessible to the general public.
I'm reminding myself about these lofty 'intentions' as I wait in line at the ticket office at the Garnier Opera House. There aren't many people in line for a good reason. There are normmally only two things you're likely to hear if you're stupid enough to be standing inn line:
"The performance is sold out." or
"The tickets are not yet on sale." Oh, well, it was just a spontaneous thought to drop in on the off chance that the tickets for the Mozart opera IDOMENEO (which opens in January) might possible be already on sale. It's also one of the rare operas that is performed at the Garnier Opera House for those of us who prefer the original 19th-century opera house to the monolithic 'people's opera' at Bastille.
Make no mistake. Tickets to either Garnier or Bastille are not a simple question of finding your way to the ticket office (and for any of you who've been to the Garnier Opera House lately, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Walk half way around the opera to Rue Scribe and duck under all the scafolding hoping that the Phantom isn't throwing anything from the rooftop today).
The whole process has kind of an Alice in Wonderland feel to it. So, here's the scoop:
Ticket sales open first off on the internet website. Look for the little B (Booking) icons. When the B icon is 'on', you can buy, but also check the schedule for when ticket sales open for a specifiic opera. For example the Mozart opera tickets opened on November 9th at 9 am (only on the internet). Telephone sales start on November 30th for phone numbers only outside of Paris and France. If you want to buy a ticket at the box office - you have to wait until December 14th - and the suggestion is to arrive early in the day if you hope to get a ticket. As for those super cheap tickets i.e. the under 25 Euros - your guess is as good as mine about where those tickets can be bought!
Then there are the Gala events which surprisingly are easier to book online. The beauty of the gala is that if you like to make the evening memorable, you can actually get dressed up and not feel out-of-place.
Opera-going in Paris appears to have turned into a sort of sport - catching the best ticket demands patience and persistance as well as a little bit of information. Be sure to check out the entire Opera de Paris website for the advice about when and how to purchase tickets. To date, I've purchased tickets online and it seems much easier than going to the box office.
Ahhhh - I can see the Phantom now sending one of his black-edged notes to "The Management" complaining about the ticket process -- although I suppose he was one of the few who didn't need a ticket to attend --
ReplyDeleteDo we infer from your comments that if you attend the opera in Paris on a non-gala evening that people will not be in evening dress????
Is nothing sacred anymore? This doesn't surprise me in L.A., but somehow I expected Paris operagoers to be a bit more traditional about it.
In Paris, a well-cut pair of jeans goes anywhere, the opera included (except on gala evenings!)
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