There are guided tours at 11:30 and 2:30 every day, although unfortunately the English language tour was sold out already when we arrived. So we decided to do French instead! Eleanor has actual experience with speaking and hearing French, so she caught a lot more of it than I did, but I was proud of myself anyway. Before the tour, we waited around in a large room with a mirrored ceiling.
Even though I couldn't understand most of what our tour guide was saying, she was obviously awesome. Her animated gestures and facial expressions not only helped me grasp what she was telling us, but indicated that she very much enjoys her job. I learned some interesting stuff -- such as that all of the costumes are made by hand, and that it takes an entire week to manufacture one tutu. And I kept imagining scenes from Gaston Leroux's book as I walked around. Apollo's lyre, the grand staircase, it was all there! I only regret that I did not ask our guide to point out Box 5 -- the Phantom's box -- when we were in the actual theater.
And of course, when people were not listening to opera, they were schmoozing in fancy ballrooms. Apparently there was one room for single men and couples, and another for single women. (Lame!) We were also told that the stairs in the building are deliberatly shallow because women were not supposed to show their feet -- although, as our guide quipped, ample cleavage was obviously okay.
The tour is a bit expensive (12 euros, 9 for students under age 26), but it's totally worth it. You get an hour and a half of entertaining commentary and a look at a very fascinating building. And I definitely got all nostalgic thinking about Phantom, which was my first musical.
Happy July 4 everybody!
No comments:
Post a Comment