Step Into the Shoes of a Spectator at the Auditorium de Dijon
Roam the building's corridors to discover all of its secrets …
Model kit of Dijon's AuditoriumThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
A familiar shape
A boat? A bird's beak? Not quite …
The Opéra de Dijon auditorium takes the shape of a grand piano. An architectural nod to its function, its size means that it can rank itself as one of the most beautiful music halls in Europe.
Auditorium skylightThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
Let there be light
So, how exactly do you go about lighting such an immense building? That's where the skylight plays a fundamental role. Thanks to its additional, oval-shaped glass surface, it lets natural light pass through from inside the walls.
Public spaces of the AuditoriumThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
The patterns on the walls
The hall of the auditorium is a building within a building: its walls aren't connected, which soundproofs the hall from external noise, including the noise from the tramway which passes right beside!
Take a good look …
These two shapes—the grand piano and the oval—are symbolic of the Opéra de Dijon Auditorium. If you look closely, you can spot them all over the place …
Stairs of the AuditoriumThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
The staircases also take an ovular spiral form. They allow the public to navigate between the building's four storeys.
Public spaces of the AuditoriumThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
Inside the piano
As for the first floor windows, they take the shape of piano keys.
Doors of the Auditorium roomThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
Venture into the hall!
It is indeed the doors to the hall which are most telling of the building's architecture. They initially open onto two confined and dark vestibules: the ambience makes you lower your voice and listen closely …
Auditorium's roomThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
Once in the hall, the lighting, which is powered from the other end of the building to avoid interference, gives off a soft light. Here, everything has been designed around one, key priority: sound.
The grooves on the walls aren't just there for style: this combination of two exotic woods—makore and anigre—and the angle of the walls have been designed to reflect sound evenly around the whole hall.
Acoustic detail of the AuditoriumThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
The ceiling units have a similar role: they reflect sound back down to the lower levels.
Seats of the AuditoriumThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
As for the chairs, they all face the stage and their shape and material also work to feed sound back in the same way as a dressed body: it thus doesn't affect the acoustics whether the hall is sold out or not!
Seats of the AuditoriumThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
Even the way the parquet flooring was laid was especially designed: the oak used has been cut along the height of the trunk and not the length, avoiding cracks and creaking as the audience walks over it over the years.
Auditorium's stage and roomThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
As for the stage, it has a surface area of 10,764 square feet (1,000 m2) and is both manual and motorized, so that it can support the weight of all types of set.
Exterior view of the Dijon Opera AuditoriumThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
2 by 2 …
You're sure to have noticed that duality is very much in evidence at the Opéra de Dijon. The materials, shapes, and, particularly, places:
Auditorium's roomThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
The Auditorium, modern and contemporary …
Italian style room of Dijon's Grand ThéâtreThe Grand Theatre and Opera House of Dijon
… adding the perfect touch to the Grand Théâtre, with its classic Italian-style hall. Two iconic Dijon places, which together host the seasons of the Opéra de Dijon.
