Palace of Versailles

As part of the castle's master plan, bringing the Royal Opera House up to standard and ensuring its safety required numerous studies to reconcile technical requirements with respect for the historic character of the site.

The solution chosen was to relocate all the high-risk areas in the building to the courtyard beneath the Opera House. Workshops, stores, and offices were transferred to the north wing, while the adjacent Actors' Building to the northeast was legitimately reassigned to the artists. This reorganization made it possible to fully restore the stage and its machinery. The 1950s fire wall, which had mutilated the stage, was removed; the half-timbered staircases were restored and the grate was completed with new supports. This major safety operation completed the Opera House's return to its original state, confirming Gabriel's masterpiece as the oldest 18th-century theater preserved in France.