Opéra Grand Avignon

The Opéra Grand Avignon features a neoclassical facade crowned by a series of stone muses peering down at the Place de l'Horloge. Built in eighteen forty-six, this theater replaced a former Jesuit chapel that had served as the city's opera house since the French Revolution. Architect Léon Feuchère designed the structure to project stability and civic pride. During the opening gala, a local critic famously complained that the building’s ornate gilded interior was far too bright for the audience to properly hide their illicit affairs.