ENJOYING PARIS - CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette - page 250

sponsor of the Orchestre National de France and the Orchestre
Philharmonique (tel: [phone]; http://www.radiofrance.
fr). The Cité de la Musique at 221 avenue Jean-Jaurès, 75020
(tel: [phone]; http://www.cite-musique.fr) has a
very varied repertoire and is home to the contemporary
chamber group, Ensemble InterContemporain. (http://www.
ensembleinter.com) Adjacent is the Conservatoire National
Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris.
Free Concerts
Paris has a long tradition of free concerts. In May and June,
classical and jazz concerts are held at the Parc Floral of the
Bois de Vincennes, and free concerts are held in public
gardens throughout the summer. No admission is charged
to attend performances by students at the École Normale
de Musique and the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles
or rehearsals at the Cité de la Musique or Maison de
Radio-France.
Along with their paid concert season, many churches offer
free concerts of sacred music throughout the year (especially
Eglise Saint-Roch on rue Saint-Honoré), although generally
not in August. In winter, it's wise to bundle up, for some of
the churches are unheated.
The Opera
The Paris Opera is one of the pillars of the Parisian musical
scene, attracting international stars to its major season, which
runs from September to mid-July. The Opéra Bastille at Place
de la Bastille, 75012, opened in 1989, is one of François
Mitterrand's Grands Projets and is the largest opera house in
the world (tel: [phone]; http://www.opera-de-paris.fr).
The Bastille offers opera performances in the Grande Salle,
and other concerts and performing art festivals in the smaller
Amphithéâtre and Studio. It generally stages 16 operas per
season with a varied repertoire. Although the opera is always
an elegant occasion, formal dress is not required, except
perhaps for opening nights.
When the Opéra Bastille was built, it was originally
intended that the beautiful Opéra Garnier at Place de la Opéra,