Paris - Bois de Vincennes - 19e

Plate XCVIII – Bois de Vincennes …

If you have left wondering what all the fuss is about with the Bois de Boulogne try a visit to the Bois de Vincennes. I found the area so much more rewarding. An unpopulated space of public land, the Bois de Vincennes was originally a hunting ground for the royal courts, and kings of France. It became a public park under Napoleon III in 1860. The proclaimed area is some 2,458 acres, three times larger than New York’s Central Park and four times the extent of London’s Hyde Park. Officially part of the greater city of Paris since 1929, I was here mainly to visit the adjoining Chateau (closed to the public at the time) and the more formal Parc Floral de Paris, a landscaped park within the precincts of the Bois de Vincennes. I obviously could not cover its full magnitude, but the parts I saw were quite enchanting, a taste of provincial countryside within the city. With long time military connections, you will still find the Redoute de Gravelle in the southwest part, and the Bois de Vincennes is also home to a zoological garden, along with a number of sporting venues and institutes. Fed by the River Marne four large lakes are also situated within the area.

What I remember best however are the butterflies. I could be wrong in my identification, but I’m sure I saw a population of (at least close relatives of) the familiar (to me) orange, black and white African Monarch species. Their fluttering amongst predominantly orange flowers was a magical sight. I was later to learn that there is an annual summer event (May to October) in the Jardin des Papillons, a greenhouse inside the Parc Floral displaying some forty lepidopterous varieties, endemic to the Ile de France.

Paris - Opéra Garnier - 9me

Plate LXXXI – Opera Garnier…

Is there a phantom of the Opéra?

Built on notably swampy ground, above an underground lake which requires pumping some eight months of the year (yes there really is one) the site of the Paris Opéra lends itself to Gothic tales of mystical creatures and ghosts. Add the belle époque splendour, the sumptuous velvet and gilded decoration of the Charles Garnier masterpiece and you have everything needed for the location of Gaston Leroux’s spellbinding Victorian tale of the Phantom of the Opera. The subject of no less than five international film versions and of course Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s long running musical opus (but not its newer sequel), the performance arts have ensured that Garnier’s construction is familiar, at least in name, to  almost everyone.

Officially named the Académie Nationale de Musique – Théâtre de l’Opéra, at its inauguration in 1875 this was changed in 1978 to the Théâtre National de l’Opéra  de Paris. But to most it is simply the Opéra or Palais Garnier. It was designed as part of Napoleon III and Haussmann’s city reconstruction, the plan submitted by architect Charles Garnier in open competition in 1860. It remains Garnier’s grandest work, and is the inspiration of many copies and imitations around the world. Plagued with problems over the course of construction between 1861 and late 1874, the 2,200 seat 11,000 square metre opera house was formally opened in January 1875 with lavish performances of scenes from popular ballet and operas. Decorated with extensive sculptural pieces and embellishments the building consumes them all into a glorious whole with the centrepiece of the interior the massive (and legendary) chandelier above the auditorium, surrounded by a Marc Chagall ceiling artwork completed in 1964 and controversially installed over the older existing piece.

The resident performing opera company relocated to the newer Opéra Bastille building on its completion, but when reference in Paris is made to the Opéra, this is the one implied.

It’s over now– the music of the night …

Paris - Joan of Arc - 1er

Plate XVII - Joan of Arc - Place des Pyramides ...

Few legends of French history are as inspiring as Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans. For six centuries Joan has been the subject of plays and of operas (even, thanks to OMD, of popular music) of films and of works of art. The Emmanuel Frémiet gilded equestrian statue of the maid commands attention in the centre of the Place des Pyramides off the Rue de Rivoli. This location is close to the Saint-Honoré Gate where Joan was wounded during her attack on the English in September 1429.

I remember as a young boy seeing the, then already old, 1940’s monochrome film of Joan of Arc starring Ingrid Bergman. Since then Bergman had always been Joan to me. Sadly, as intensely as I examined Frémiet’s rendition of the maid for traces of Miss Bergman, I could see none. It was quite disappointing.

This work is the second ‘revision’ by the sculptor Frémiet and having been commissioned by Napoleon III it dates from 1899. The earlier, and original casting from 1874 was sent by Frémiet himself to Philadelphia in the USA where it may now been seen in Fairmount Park. A replica of this, the later Paris statue, was cast in 1907 and sent to Victoria in Australia, with yet another being cast in 1927 again destined for the USA, this time in Portland Oregon. More 'recently' a third casting was given by the people of France to the US city of New Orleans in 1972, making this perhaps the most recognisable image of Joan in the world today.

No more Ingrid Bergman then?