“The entrance to Pavillon du Chef de l’Etat (House of the Head of State), which was turned into the Musee de Opéra on the western facade of Opéra National de Paris Garnier, is framed by two granite columns by Henri Alfred Jacquemart, surmounted by Henri a bronze eagle(??) and adorned with lamps and the masts of ships.” via flickr. I hope to find a better source for this.
1870. Le Siège de Paris contraint Charles Garnier à interrompre les travaux. L’Opéra est réquisitionné et transformé en hôpital puis en magasins d’approvisionnements militaires. Lorsque Napoléon III est renversé, Charles Garnier est prié d’enlever de l’Opéra les emblèmes et les chiffres de l’Empereur. via operadeparis.
1871. The Paris Commune, the short-lived workers’ regime that controlled the city for two months. It was a moment of barricades, red flags, and, as music scholar Delphine Mordey writes, a series of concerts. The concerts at Tuileries Palace [were] held between May 6 and May 21; [another] planned … [for] the Paris Opera, on May 22. Mordey offers a fascinating read of how the Communards took over the Opera. Via daily jstor.
