Among the libraries in Paris, there is actually one that is barely known by people, not even by my french friends.
That is the library in Palais Garnier.
To be precise, it’s not exactly a library but a reading room located at the end of the museum-library in Palais Garnier. There are only about 15 seats inside and everyone who wishes to study here needs to reserve at least one book or document beforehand.
Since it’s a reading room inside the opera house, it’s imaginable that the main collection is about opera and ballet. I have found so many precious documents on Ballet Russe, especially critics and research on Léon Bakst here.
Whenever I come to this reading room, the tiny yet extremely exquisite architectural design always makes me feel like I am studying in a mansion of a Count, rather than in a library. Furthermore, to enter the room, you will have to press the interphone in order to be granted access. While ringing the bell and open the door of the reading room in front of all the visitors in Palais Garnier, it seems like I belong to a covert society in the opera house, and have the privilege to enter a secret space!
