Opéra Bastille

If I could give zero stars I would. My wife and I planned our entire trip around making it to the ballet. Missed out on key historical points to visit in Paris for the ballet. Changed everything for the ballet just to be let down. We sat around for over an hour just to be told that the dancers went on strike before the show. Thank you very much to all of you. Traveled around the world for this. 10/10 do NOT RECOMMEND.

We are traveling around Europe visiting the Christmas Markets. We were in Belgium and left on Christmas Day to see if we could get last minute tickets to the Nutcracker that night as the website is not friendly for foreigners trying to purchase tickets. Right when we arrived in Paris two of our party took an Uber to the hotel while my mother and I took the bus to the Bastille ticket office. It is not easy to find and there is a fence. We had to go around some stairs and the opening was hidden around the corner. We stood in line for 2 hours. People behind us were counting and we told them we were purchasing for the 4 of us. On the Bastille website you are allowed to purchase 2 tickets per person. They got upset when my father and brother came after bringing our luggage to the hotel. They started pushing my brother and me. They got very physical. When the two line attendance came to open the doors the older ladies started yelling and pushing our family. They made derogatory racist remarks about us and when we told the line attendants they need to call the police their comment was "That's not our job". If that isn't one of their jobs than I don't see why they get paid at all. We finally got to the ticket counter and the person behind the counter was going to give us four tickets until one of the line attendance spoke to them in French and we were then told we were only allowed to purchase 2. We were told if we wanted to purchase two more tickets they had to stand back in cue. They ended up selling the two tickets that we were going to receive to one of the ladies that was pushing us. After everyone else got their tickets they happened to fix two seats and we were finally allowed to pay for two more tickets right before the performance. We paid three to four times the amount we should have paid for the other two tickets. When we sat down in the two original seats we purchased, insult to injury the older lady and daughter who were racist and assaulting us were sitting right next to us. After the show we talked to one of the managers that was there after the show and we talked to him. He was apologetic and said that he would write an email to the parent company that takes care of the tickets corroborating our story as he heard about it from other staff members. It was Christmas Day and it was one of the worst Christmas' our family has ever had. When we went back the next day they said it was our fault again.

I would say that opera national de Paris is the equivalent of our Bob Carr performing arts Center, and I have to admit that it being Paris ... I guess I was expecting more from the opera house itself. I really don't care for how the seats are designed in the auditorium, for example: If someone tall sits In front of you and you're not with other people who are willing to switch seats with you, you're pretty much screwed. The show however was absolutely spectacular, and I loved seeing the French opera singers and ballet dancers performing in conjunction. I definitely recommend that if you are planning a trip to Paris and you enjoy the opera and performing arts; to get a ticket to one of their shows. My concern was that we would have trouble trying to find our seats with the language barrier but luckily for us, most of the people that we talked to you spoke either English or Spanish so we were able to find our seats with no problem. Intermission can get kind of crazy as there are only 20 minutes, but the staff working the snack and beverage bar are fast and efficient so you get through the line quickly. They offer a variety of soft drinks, two types of champagne, various wines, baguette sandwiches, and macaroons as snacks. I had champagne and my mother had tonic water and we both shared a packet of macaroons. I don't recall the name of the champagne that I ordered, all I remember is that it was pink and very probably the most delicious champagne I have had the pleasure of enjoying. The macaroons were also exceptional as you could taste the real fruit in them. Trying to catch a taxi after the event can get crazy, and we ended up walking a few blocks away to find plenty of them. All in all it was a great show and I definitely recommend it to anybody.

Saw the five hour presentation of Les Huguenots and it was wonderful. The seating is arranged so that everyone regardless of where you sit you have a wonderful view. The person in front of you would have to be seven feet tall to obstruct your view. The acoustics are amazing. I prefer the Bastille site over the Opera Garnier because of the venue and the attendees. Also, I stay in the Marais so it is a few minutes walk. Can't wait to get back to Paris for another opera.

First, VERY IMPORTANT: if you are booking an opera, check the location. I thought I was booking this at the Garnier, but it was actually here.After that initial shock, though, I am very glad I did not sell my tickets! Some of the pictures on Yelp under this title are for the wrong opera house, so keep that in mind. Initially, I was pretty upset about this. This location has absolutely no frills--the exterior and the lobby areas are incredibly basic, and the bathrooms are really in terrible condition. However, once I walked into the theater, I could tell that the acoustics would be amazing. We sat in the second to best seats you could buy, so they were painfully pricey, but the view was amazing. Honestly, I do not think there was a bad seat in the house. Seeing a French opera (Carmen) performed to a sold out French audience was really such a unique experience, one heightened by the special guests in the audience.

I was privileged enough to watch La Belle au Bois Dormant at the Opéra Bastille this winter season. A classic ballet that was beautifully choreographed with stunning glittery costumes. I swear my fucking eyes welled up when the orchestra started to play Tchaikovsky's Op. 66 Waltz. -- SO GOOD. OMG. Aside from the ballet, here are some things you should know about the opera house: 1) While it's certainly not as historic or opulent as the Palais Garnier, the Opéra Bastille has its own place in the Opéra National de Paris. With its huge gridded glass exterior, it looked and felt modern and distinguished. 2) BE ON TIME! The staff are super strict. I came back a few minutes late after intermission (I needed a crepe from a street vendor outside), and they made me wait for a pause in the show and take off my coat before entering back into the auditorium so I wouldn't disturb others. It mostly comes off as them having a stick up their butt, but I appreciate it as they really have a handle on crowd control and ensuring that the other members of the audience enjoy the show. 3) There were more food options than I would have expected, and surprisingly they were not horribly price-gauged! Maybe I didn't even need that street crepe after all... (just kidding. yes I did.)

This is an ugly building with all of the personality, inside and out, of a modern multiplex cinema. But you forget all that as soon as the curtain rises and you hear an opera through some of the best acoustics in Europe. We have seen several productions here, most recently Puccini's La Boheme, and could clearly hear every note and every word sung or spoken. This was also the first place we ever saw the use of supertitles. The good news is that all that effort in college learning enough anachronistic Italian to get through a Monteverde class can now be forgotten. The bad news comes when you realize just how simplistic and even inane some opera plots are. But then, it hardly matters. The music is everything.

This building is absolutely gorgeous! And its equally memorable from the inside. Well built (albeit modern) and comfortable seating. We saw Swan Lake here the day after Christmas. What.a.treat! Can't wait to come back here or try Opera Garnier.

went to see a production of Verdi's opera Rigoletto and had an 'aha' moment when i heard this: "la donna è mobile..qual piuma al vento, muta d'accento -- e di pensiero...." now i know. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3zetSuYRg

We recently went to Le nozze di Figaro being performed in September and October 2012. The production was polished, but thoroughly unremarkable. The performances were more akin to what you would see at a second tier US city, like Philadelphia, Denver, or Cleveland, and not what we expected at a world class city like Paris. By far the strongest voice was Emma Bell, as the Countess. None of the others gave us chills. The production lacked the pagentry we expected. For the first two acts, the set was a bland as a rental apartment in Van Nuys. The lighting was amateurish, akin to what you would see at a High School production. The sets and production did pick up for the second two acts. The Paris Opera was decent, but a disappointment, as compared to the Met or Ls Scala.