Set design Workshops - Theaters and Workshops

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Theaters and WorkshopsSet design Workshops

Formerly located on Berthier Boulevard, in storehouses designed by Charles Garnier after the Palais Garnier was inaugurated, the set design construction workshops were then moved into the Bastille Opera in 1989.

Set in a 7,000-square-metre space, the six workshops - carpentry, metalwork, composite materials, sculpture, tapestry and painting - and the design office create the sets for the operas and ballets presented at the Bastille Opera and the Palais Garnier.

All the elements are later assembled on the assembly area, located between the workshops and the stage area. They are then transported to the stage before the rehearsals begin.

The Berthier workshops are still used as a space where some sets are made and a part of the canvas and costumes are stored.

The Design Office

During the making of a production, the set designer submits sketches and models to the design office which then assess the technical feasibility of the project and risks of using the set, calculate costs and assess production times.

The models are then submitted to the workshops technical managers who can then start the sets construction. The first three workshops (metalwork, joinery, composite materials) are in charge of building the decor. The other ones (sculpture, tapestry, painting) work on the decorative part.

The Design Office Jobs

Meet Frédéric Crozat, Manager of the Sets Workshops Design Office.

Set designs, the making-of...

Rigoletto

Giuseppe Verdi

Opera

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Carpentry

The metalwork workshop builds all the iron components used for the set structures: the reliability and strength of these structures are essential for the artists and technicians’ safety.

The joinery workshop makes all the wooden structures and decorative elements; this work requires the skills of joiners, carpenters and cabinetmakers.

The Carpentry Jobs

Meet Jean-Pierre Chicaud, Manager of the Carpentry Workshop.

Set designs, the making-of...

Rusalka

Antonín Dvořák

The suspended bed of Rusalka

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Simon Boccanegra

Giuseppe Verdi

Simon Boccanegra's ship

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The Composite Materials

The composite materials workshop creates lighter, easier-to-install set dressings using highly sophisticated techniques and equipment to mould and reproduce a variety of volumes and textures in resin.

The Composite Materials Jobs

Meet Frédéric Queton, Manager of the Composite Material Workshops

Sculpture

The Sculpture Workshop makes all the sculpted, or modelled in polystyrene components; this workshop works with composite materials to use innovative processes.

The Sculpture Jobs

Meet Yves Norras, Assistant Manager of the Sculpture Workshop.

Set designs, the making-of...

Sancta Susanna

Paul Hindemith

The Christ in Sancta Susanna

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La clemenza di Tito

Mozart

A closeup on an extraordinary journey between the Ateliers Berthier and the Palais Garnier.

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Tapestry

Painting

The painting workshop creates trompe l’oeil canvas using the Italian technique that involves painting standing up, directly on the ground, using long brushes.

Painters and decorators work on all the decorative elements to create colour, light, contrasts and relief.

The Painting Jobs

Meet Didier Valentian, Assistant Manager of the Painting Workshop.

Set designs, the making-of...

Parsifal

Richard Wagner

The sets of Parsifal

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La Traviata

Giuseppe Verdi

The Olympia in La Traviata

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Don Giovanni

Mozart

The skyscrapers in Don Giovanni

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The Berthier workshops

The Berthier workshops were built in 1898 by Charles Garnier and with the help of Gustave Eiffel to welcome the Paris Opera’s set design workshops. They have been listed as Historic Monuments since 1990.

In addition to the making and renovation of sets and the maintenance of the Opera’s heritage, mainly the painted canvases for the Palais Garnier and Bastille Opera, the Berthier Workshops house a storage area for sets and costumes (nearly 60,000 pieces!) as well as a logistics platform.

The Berthier workshops