Editing Palais Garnier (section)

===Completion===
[[File:Inauguration of the Paris Opera in 1875 by Detaille - Collections of the Château of Versailles (cropped).jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|''Inauguration of the Paris Opera in 1875'' ([[Édouard Detaille]], 1878)]]

The cost of completion of the new house during 1874 was more than 7.5&nbsp;million francs, a sum that greatly exceeded the amounts spent in any of the previous thirteen years. The cash-strapped government of the Third Republic resorted to borrowing 4.9&nbsp;million gold francs at an interest rate of six percent from [[François Blanc]], the wealthy financier who managed the [[Monte Carlo Casino]]. Subsequently (from 1876 to 1879) Garnier would oversee the design and construction of the Monte Carlo Casino concert hall, the Salle Garnier, which later became the home of the [[Opéra de Monte Carlo]].<ref>Mead 1991, pp. 145–146; Folli & Merello 2004, p. 116.</ref>

During 1874 Garnier and his construction team worked feverishly to complete the new Paris opera house, and by 17 October the orchestra was able to conduct an acoustical test of the new auditorium, followed by another on 2 December which was attended by officials, guests, and members of the press. The Paris Opera Ballet danced on the stage on 12 December, and six days later the famous chandelier was lit for the first time.<ref name=Simeone>Simeone 2000, pp. 177–180.</ref>

The theatre was formally inaugurated on 5 January 1875 with a lavish gala performance attended by Marshal MacMahon, the Lord Mayor of London and King [[Alfonso XII]] of Spain. The program included the overtures to Auber's ''[[La muette de Portici]]'' and Rossini's ''[[William Tell (opera)|William Tell]]'', the first two acts of [[Ludovic Halévy|Halévy]]'s 1835 opera ''[[La Juive]]'' (with [[Gabrielle Krauss]] in the title role), along with "The Consecration of the Swords" from [[Giacomo Meyerbeer|Meyerbeer]]'s 1836 opera ''[[Les Huguenots]]'' and the 1866 ballet ''[[La source (Saint-Léon)|La source]]'' with music by [[Léo Delibes|Delibes]] and [[Ludwig Minkus|Minkus]].<ref>Huebner 2003, [https://books.google.com/books?id=iqoVHY6OrjIC&pg=PA303 p. 303].</ref> As a soprano had fallen ill one act from [[Charles Gounod]]'s [[Faust (opera)|''Faust'']] and one from [[Ambroise Thomas]]'s [[Hamlet (opera)|''Hamlet'']] had to be omitted. During the intermission Garnier stepped out onto the landing of the grand staircase to receive the approving applause of the audience.