The Palais Garnier, architectural gem of Paris, will reopen its doors for individual visits from next Monday by establishing slots to avoid overcrowding between visitors and by making the wearing of masks mandatory.
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This announcement comes after three months of closure of the two rooms of the Paris Opera, Garnier and Bastille, and the cancellation of the rest of its 2019-2020 programming due to the epidemic of the coronavirus.
"Visiting slots have been set up every day from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm," said in a press release the Paris Opera, which called on visitors to book online.
"The visit route has been redesigned to guarantee your comfort and avoid any overcrowding between visitors," said the three-hundred-year-old house, who points out that no leaflet will be available on site.
Annus horribilis
Garnier and Bastille will begin a renovation project in the fall which has already resulted in the cancellation of operas and ballets at the start of the school year. At Garnier, no show will be held until the end of the year, while Bastille will reopen on November 24.
Visits to the palace are however maintained, the Opera clarifying that access to the performance hall could be "restricted or made impossible for technical and / or artistic reasons".
In addition, the Opera Ballet, one of the largest ballet companies in the world with 154 dancers, resumed classes on Monday at Garnier but respecting the rules of social distancing. "It is on a voluntary basis and it is not more than eight to nine dancers per studio," the Opera told AFP.
The works and cancellations come against a backdrop of crisis for the largest opera house in Europe, which in seven months has accused more than 40 million ticket losses.
2020 is his "annus horribilis" with a historic strike by his staff against the government pension reform which paralyzed him for two months.
The reopening barely started when the pandemic struck, leading to the closure of the Opera, as well as all of the performance halls.
Last shock, outgoing director Stéphane Lissner created the surprise last week by announcing his departure at the end of the year, when he was due to leave in the summer of 2021. His successor Alexander Neef, currently director of the Canadian Opera Company responded by saying it needed time before it said it could be in place in January 2021.
