Today, the Library conserves around 600,000 documents related to the history of the Opéra and the Opéra-Comique, including about 100,000 books, 250,000 autograph letters, 16,000 scores, 30,000 libretti, 100,000 photographs, and 30,000 prints.ĭancer Alexandre Kalioujny by Jacques Gestalder Access to the library may be difficult at times (the entrance is through the main foyer of the opera house), and it is advisable to call ahead to confirm the hours when it is open. Much of the library is little changed from its original appearance in the 19th century. The rooms of the library provide a comfortable environment for work and study, and the staff is knowledgeable and helpful. At first, the Opera Library-Museum was attached to the State Secretariat of the Fine Arts (Secrétariat d'État aux Beaux-Arts), but in 1935, it became part of the National Library and in 1942 became a part of the newly established National Library's Music Department. In 1899, Nuitter was succeeded by his assistant Charles Malherbe. The archives and the library were soon merged, and in 1881 augmented with a museum open to the public.
Expenses exceeded the receipts, and the government needed a strong man to run the establishment but was afraid that the archives would be sold to generate money. At that time, the Opera director became an entrepreneur. Thus the current Paris Opera Library-Museum traces its origin to two former services of the Opera, the archives and the library, each created in 1866. The creation of an archives service and a library was integrated into the project entrusted to the architect Charles Garnier for the construction of a new opera house to replace the Opera's former theatre, the Salle Le Peletier. Charles Nutters succeeded in compelling Charles Garnier to transform the pavilion into a space for the conservation of the Opera's books and archives.įrom the time of the creation of the Paris Opera in 1669 until the middle of the 19th century there was no official entity in charge of the preservation and management of archival materials produced by the activities of the Opera and its associated theatre. Īfter the Emperor's death in 1873 and the proclamation of the French Third Republic in 1870, President Mac-Mahon refused to use this Pavilion as a private space for the head of state. The library is located near the intersection of the rue Scribe with the rue Auber, streets which are named after the librettist Eugène Scribe and the composer Daniel Auber, both of whom had works performed by the Paris Opera. Thus, the Emperor's could directly enter in the building and avoid any assassination attempt.
The Library-Museum is housed in the Palais Garnier in the Rotonde de l'Empereur, a pavilion on the west side of the theatre, which was originally designed to be the private entrance for Emperor Napoleon III.
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