A sinister event marks the beginning of the opera’s history. On January 14, 1858, Napoleon III was on his way to the opera, then located on Rue Le Peletier. As his carriage came to a stop, deafening explosions rang out, striking horses and riders. Although the imperial couple escaped unharmed aside from a few scratches, eight lives were lost and many others were injured in this attack orchestrated by the Italian revolutionary Felice Orsini and his accomplices.
The very next day, at the heart of the conspiracy’s aftermath, the Emperor made a crucial decision: to build a new opera house—one he could reach easily and safely from his residence at the Tuileries Palace. That is how the Opéra Garnier came into being.
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