Lyon Opera House

In front of you is Lyon Opera House, a building in two parts. Below, a 19th-century neoclassical theatre; above, a glass vault that set all of France talking in the 1990s.

1Three theatres on one site

The first Grand Théâtre here was built by Jacques-Germain Soufflot and opened in 1756 on the gardens of City Hall. It was demolished in 1826. Its replacement, by Antoine-Marie Chenavard and Jean-Marie Pollet, opened on 1 July 1831, still without its façade decoration. The statues of the Muses were not commissioned until 1862.

If you count them, you will find eight Muses, not nine. It is often said there was no room for the ninth, Urania; that is a popular explanation, not a proven fact.

2Nouvel's vault

Between 1989 and 1993, the architect Jean Nouvel transformed the building completely. He kept only the four façades and the historic foyer, hollowed out the interior and multiplied it upwards and downwards: eighteen levels, five of them underground and five inside the vault, whose top stands about 42 metres high. Up there, the Lyon Opera Ballet rehearses.

At night the arcades glow red. In summer, jazz concerts are often held under the peristyle.

3What to look for

• The Muses on the cornice: count them.
• The contrast between the stone of 1831 and the glass of 1993.
• The east façade of City Hall, opposite, across Place de la Comédie.