One of my slideshows on my site is that of Pablo Picasso artworks in the Opera Garnier exhibit for the Parade Ballet that Pablo Picasso worked on with Sergei Guiladev and Jean Cocteau. I probably should include some photos of the Opera Garnier itself 😄. I start with the interior. Other photos can be found on the slideshow page. Farida and Rayhend can be seen on the left of this photo. This iconic opera house opened in January of 1875. It is a world famous symbol of Paris along with the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame Cathedral, and, like the cathedral, its fame is, in some part, due to a novel. Whereas "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" by Victor Hugo contributed to the fame of Notre Dame Cathedral, the novel "The Phantom of the Opera" by Gaston Leroux contributed to the fame of Opera Garnier because this is the opera house that provided the setting for that novel. This truly is a marvelous building, one of the most expensive and elaborate in Paris, which was built in the Napoleon III style which incorporates decor on all spaces available. Within the opera house, the Baroque, Classical, and Renaissance architectural styles are also evident. The Paris Opera Library-Museum is housed in what is called the Pavillon de l'Empereur. It has at least 100,000 books and many other documents. In this photo, we are in the Grand Foyer. It is 59 feet high and 505 feet long. Paul-Jacques-Aime Baudry painted the ceiling. There are 2 octogonal rooms that open to the Grand Foyer and the western side room has ceiling murals painted by Felix-Joseph Barrias and the eastern side room has ceiling murals painted by Jules-Elie Delaunay. The stage in the auditorium is the largest in Europe. Although this opera house was built with Napoleon III in mind, he died before he was ever able to attend any plays there.