The house was full.
Since its construction and use, the Garnier Opera House was holding its second unprecedented grand ceremony.
This opera house had always been widely criticized. Critics disparaged its sumptuous adornments as creating a visually overwhelming effect. The pursuit of majestic grandeur made its structural layout and arrangements somewhat unreasonable - it was regarded a failure in the history of opera house design. Besides criticisms in the technical field, the lavish cost of its construction was also attacked as "extravagantly wasteful", "a face-saving project at the expense of the people".