"its novel conception, perfect fitness, and rare splendor of material, make the grand stairway unquestionably one of the most remarkable features of the building.it presents to the spectator, who has just passed through the subscribers' pavilion, a gorgeous picture.
from this point he beholds the ceiling formed by the central landing;this and the columns sustaining it, built of echaillon stone, are honeycombed with arabesques and heavy with ornaments;the steps are of white marble, and antique red marble balusters rest on green marble sockets and support a balustrade of onyx.
to the right and to the left of this landing are stairways to the floor, on a plane with the first row of boxes.on this floor stand thirty monolith columns of sarrancolin marble, with white marble bases and capitals.pilasters of peach-blossom and violet stone are against the corresponding walls.more than fifty blocks had to be extracted from the quarry to find thirty perfect monoliths.
"the foyer de la danse has particular interest for the habitues of the opera.it is a place of reunion to which subscribers to three performances a week are admitted between the acts in accordance with a usage established in 1870.three immense looking-glasses cover the back wall of the foyer, and a chandelier with one hundred and seven burners supplies it with light.the paintings include twenty oval medallions, in which are portrayed the twenty danseuses of most celebrity since the opera has existed in france, and four panels by m.boulanger, typifying `the war dance', `the rustic dance', `the dance of love' and `the bacchic dance.'