"The fine stone employed in the construction was brought from quarries
in Sweden, Scotland, Italy, Algeria, Finland, Spain, Belgium and
France. While work on the exterior was in progress, the building was
covered in by a wooden shell, rendered transparent by thousands of
small panes of glass. In 1867 a swarm of men, supplied with hammers
and axes, stripped the house of its habit, and showed in all its
splendor the great structure. No picture can do justice to the rich
colors of the edifice or to the harmonious tone resulting from the
skilful use of many diverse materials. The effect of the frontage is
completed by the cupola of the auditorium, topped with a cap of bronze
sparingly adorned with gilding. Farther on, on a level with the towers
of Notre-Dame, is the gable end of the roof of the stage, a 'Pegasus',
by M. Lequesne, rising at either end of the roof, and a bronze group by
M. Millet, representing 'Apollo lifting his golden lyre', commanding
the apex. Apollo, it may here be mentioned, is useful as well as
ornamental, for his lyre is tipped with a metal point which does duty
as a lightning-rod, and conducts the fluid to the body and down the
nether limbs of the god.
"The spectator, having climbed ten steps and left behind him a gateway,
reaches a vestibule in which are statues of Lully, Rameau, Gluck, and
Handel. Ten steps of green Swedish marble lead to a second vestibule
for ticket-sellers. Visitors who enter by the pavilion reserved for
carriages pass through a hallway where ticket offices are situated.
The larger number of the audience, before entering the auditorium,
traverse a large circular vestibule located exactly beneath it. The
ceiling of this portion of the building is upheld by sixteen fluted
columns of Jura stone, with white marble capitals, forming a portico.
Here servants are to await their masters, and spectators may remain
until their carriages are summoned. The third entrance, which is quite
distinct from the others, is reserved for the Executive. The section
of the building set aside for the use of the Emperor Napoleon was to
have included an antechamber for the bodyguards; a salon for the
aides-de-camp; a large salon and a smaller one for the Empress; hat and
cloak rooms, etc. Moreover, there were to be in close proximity to the
entrance, stables for three coaches, for the outriders' horses, and for
the twenty-one horsemen acting as an escort; a station for a squad of
infantry of thirty-one men and ten cent-gardes, and a stable for the
horses of the latter; and, besides, a salon for fifteen or twenty
domestics. Thus arrangements had to be made to accommodate in this
part of the building about one hundred persons, fifty horses, and
half-a-dozen carriages. The fall of the Empire suggested some changes,
but ample provision still exists for emergencies.