I’m going to Paris in the spring of 2009 and Tosca is being performed at the Opera Bastille. Being a lover of opera, this experience would be a dream come true for me.
Anyone been there? My biggest question, besides “How was it?” is “How formally am I expected to dress?” (I’m female)
You’re probably way ahead of me, but in case you’re not: don’t confuse the Opera Bastille for the Opera Garnier.
As long as you keep an eye out for falling chandeliers, you’re okay.
If you have a choice, definitely go to the Garnier instead.
I attended an evening performance at the Opéra Bastille in 2004. People were not dressed formally (by which I mean men in black tie and women in evening dresses), but they were well dressed. The men tended to be in suits and ties, the women in stylish looking ensembles. Not all of them of course, but that seemed to be the prevailing standard. I, as a tourist, felt slightly daggy in my crumpled jeans. But I didn’t notice any disapproving glances, and there were plenty of others there who were dressed casually too - probably other tourists! If I’d had a suit with me, I’d have been happy to wear it. But I wouldn’t recommend taking a set of “nice” clothes all the way to Paris just for one opera performance.
Seriously! Does the Opera Bastille contain the forgotten and secret lair of a hideously deformed sociopath and murderer in its cellars?
NOOOOOO, it does not!
I saw Faust at the Opera Bastille several years ago. It was good fun. I’d agree with Cunctator all the way on dress - as is usually the case in Europe, only tourists wear jeans, but there were plenty of tourists.
Well my searching (“opera in Paris 2009”) brought up Tosca at the Bastille, and I’ve had a hard time finding a 2009 calendar for Garnier, so I’ve been going by what I could find…I’ll be there end of May 2009
