# The acoustics of Opera Bastille - good or bad?



## Moscow-Mahler (Jul 8, 2010)

Could somebody give me any info about Opera Bastille' acoustics. Is it good or awful (some people claim so). If I book the seat in the stalls, will it be OK? 

I'm horrified by some articles.  They said that the building is slumping and drawing like Piza Tower  I've always thought that only Moscow has problems with low-graid construction workers 
Thanks.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

I read it is very good indeed. If you can read French:

II. Etude d'un cas particulier : la grande salle de l'Opéra Bastille
Afin d'appuyer notre raisonnement théorique, nous avons décidé de prendre un exemple
concret, la grande salle de l'Opéra Bastille, oeuvre de l'architecte Carl Ott. Nous avons
retenu cette salle car étant moderne, elle a bénéficié d'études approfondies dans le but
d'obtenir une acoustique la meilleure possible.
Elle se caractérise par une architecture particulière, aucune surface parallèle, et
l'utilisation de matériaux spécifiques, alternance de matériaux absorbants et réfléchissants.
La difficulté majeure de cette salle est son volume (plus de 20 000 m3). En effet, plus la
salle est grande plus les ondes sonores se réfléchissent, et donc se rapprocher du Tr
optimal devient encore plus complexe.
1) Des surfaces réfléchissantes
Pour une bonne homogénéité du son, il faut éviter les ondes stationnaires. Sinon, le milieu
est saturé par une série de réflexion d'ondes sonores entre deux points de deux surfaces
parallèles. L'architecte n'a donc pas utilisé de surfaces rectilignes réfléchissantes.
a. Des surfaces réfléchissantes de forme concave
- Les murs latéraux côté spectateurs

.........................

http://www.mitterrand.org/spip.php?article289

Best regards

Martin


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## Moscow-Mahler (Jul 8, 2010)

Thank you very much, I will try to translate it. No, I don't speak French, only English and German, I just bought a teach-yourself French textbook yesterday. Anyway, thanks.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

I've attended a performance at L'Opera Bastille - Tristan und Isolde in 2008. I had pretty good seats, in the orchestra about halfway back and right of centre. 

In my opinion, the acoustics were mediocre. The orchestra had a muffled sound, with the bass notes being especially weak. The singers were heard clearly. 

The opera house had to be redesigned to improve the acoustics after its construction. That is never a good sign, and it never manages to turn bad acoustics to great acoustics.


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## Moscow-Mahler (Jul 8, 2010)

Thanks for a full description of your impressions. It's a pity, esp. in such opera as "Arabella... So, I will try to buy the tickets in the center and about the 10-11 rows of the stalls.

The acoustics in Schiller Theater in Berlin (Staatsoper is closed now) was also so-so, but at least they have cheap tickets in the stalls.


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## MAnna (Sep 19, 2011)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> I read it is very good indeed. If you can read French:
> 
> II. Etude d'un cas particulier : la grande salle de l'Opéra Bastille
> Afin d'appuyer notre raisonnement théorique, nous avons décidé de prendre un exemple
> ...


Here is my take on the translation:

Case Study: The grand hall of the Opera Bastille

Applying our theoretical reasoning, we decided to use a concrete example, the grand hall of the Opera Bastille, the work of architect Carl Ott. Given that this hall is modern, it benefited from studies trying to obtain the best acoustics possible. It comprises a special architecture; no parallel surfaces, the use of specific materials, and alternating absorbant and reflective materials. The major problem with this hall is its volume (more than 20,000 cubic meters). Essentially, the larger the hall, the greater the reflection of the resonant waves and thus the greater the complexity in reaching the optimal trill. 
1) Reflective surfaces
For good homogeneity of sound, standing waves should be avoided. Otherwise, the area is saturated with a series of reflections of resonant waves between two parallel surface points. The architecture did not thus employ reflective rectilinear surfaces.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I've been to the Opéra Bastille multiple times (I used to live four blocks from it for several years), and I was never impressed with the acoustics. I firmly believe that the criticism is well placed.


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## Moscow-Mahler (Jul 8, 2010)

*Almaviva*

Thanks a lot! Have you ever been in the Theatre des Champs Elysees? Is is it good for symphonic music?


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Moscow-Mahler said:


> *Almaviva*
> 
> Thanks a lot! Have you ever been in the Theatre des Champs Elysees? Is is it good for symphonic music?


I've been to it only once and it wasn't for symphonic music, but I suppose it is good since it does present several symphonic concerts annually and is the home of the Orchestre National de France and the French home of the Vienna Phil, so for the latter to pick it as its French venue it must be good.

I've been to the Chatelet and to Palais Garnier as well and they are fine.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Le theatre des Champs-elysees has superb acoustics. I've been to quite a few symphonic concerts there - my one and only Turangalila Symphony among others. 

I remember one performance of Dvorak's New World Symphony there that absolutely blew us away with the quality of the acoustics. In another concert, Mozart's Symphony #39 was performed by a chamber orchestra and it filled the room with crisp, clear sound.

The Salle Pleyel in Paris is quite bass-heavy acoustically. It's a deep-rich sound, quite pleasant, but not particularly good for hearing inner voices in the music.

Le theatre du Chatelet has good acoustics as far as I remember, but it's been a long time since I've been there. The good news is that if it were bad, I would have remembered!

Finally, in my one visit to l'Opera Garnier, our seats had poor stage visibility but surprisingly good acoustics. We saw a Baroque opera - Les Indes Galantes - and the music and singers were loud and clear.


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## Moscow-Mahler (Jul 8, 2010)

Thanks. It is great that Le theatre des Champs-elysees has good acoustics.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

waldvogel said:


> I've attended a performance at L'Opera Bastille - Tristan und Isolde in 2008. I had pretty good seats, in the orchestra about halfway back and right of centre.
> 
> In my opinion, the acoustics were mediocre. The orchestra had a muffled sound, with the bass notes being especially weak. The singers were heard clearly.
> 
> The opera house had to be redesigned to improve the acoustics after its construction. That is never a good sign, and it never manages to turn bad acoustics to great acoustics.


How long ago did you go? My article is quite recent, probably they have changed it, they say it is fantastic.

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

The new opera of Montreal has one of the best acoustics ever.

Martin, Montreal, Canada


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> How long ago did you go? My article is quite recent, probably they have changed it, they say it is fantastic.
> 
> Martin


He said in 2008. And what I said applies to a long time ago, around 1992. So, yes, if they made some major renovations, maybe it is better now.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> How long ago did you go? My article is quite recent, probably they have changed it, they say it is fantastic.
> 
> Martin


I don't think they did their acoustic renovations after 2008. And the article in French sounds like an advertisement for l'Opera Bastille rather than an unbiased report.

My comparable experience is with Roy Thomson Hall - the home of the Toronto Symphony. When it was first built, it was a typical 1980's design - spectacular on the outside, impressive on the inside, but too big for a good symphony hall, and with seats arranged in about 270° of a circle. The acoustics were absolutely awful. I saw Mahler's 8th symphony in its early days, and I'd swear that the sound would have been better in the 99th row outdoors. I didn't have good seats, but it discouraged me from concert attendance for years.

They then started to add reflectors all over the hall, trying to fill the room with sound. It helped. I'd now classify the acoustics there as average. But there's still a lack of life in the sound. Go to a symphony concert in Toronto, and then go to an opera at the Four Seasons Centre the next day. It will seem like you've cleaned out a lot of earwax.


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## Moscow-Mahler (Jul 8, 2010)

In Moscow we have the "Concert hall named after Tchaikovsky" which acoustics was dead. It was improved by the large amount of reflectors, but is still much worser then the natural acoustics of the Big Hall of Moscow Conservatory.

So, I suppose that even the big reconstruction cannot resolve all the problems.


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## Moscow-Mahler (Jul 8, 2010)

Oh, I've bought tickets to last row of balcony in Garnier... Hope, it will not be too far...


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## Moscow-Mahler (Jul 8, 2010)

waldvogel said:


> Finally, in my one visit to l'Opera Garnier, our seats had poor stage visibility but surprisingly good acoustics. We saw a Baroque opera - Les Indes Galantes - and the music and singers were loud and clear.


Could anyone tell me please, is the last row of balcony is too far? I've made a mistake, because the site of Paris Opera is a little bit unfriendly. I became very nervous, because the site did not work at the morning at all - and at first I though that there no tickets. I've never had such frustrating expierence with booking system, you can not chose the seat on the picture (as you can in Berlin for example).

So, I booked the last row of balcony by 180 euro. Is it too far? The opera will be Hyppolite by Rameau - in l'Opera Garnier.


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