The China Mail - A night at the Geneva opera -- that is a literal snoozefest

In Geneva, though, once a year the crowd includes children, the eveningwear is pyjamas and socks -- and the seats are scoped out for how comfortable they are to sleep in.

Welcome to Sleepover in the city's 19th-century opera house, when it opens its doors to a small number of enthusiasts.

From 8 pm they wander its fresco-covered foyers, listen to performed music... and spend the night dozing in an auditorium lit up like a starry night.

"It's pretty crazy," said law professor Carine Lutz, as a friend next to her rolled out a sleeping bag at the foot of the stage.

They were among 180 people who rushed in with suitcases and shopping bags stuffed with quilts to stake out a nocturnal niche in the Grand Theatre.

Among them were many families with children, who marvelled at the giant mirrors with gilded frames, the angels and nymphs painted above, and, of course, some music.

"I think purists might find it difficult to imagine that one could sleep here, on the same stage where major operas are usually performed," Lutz told AFP.

Grand Theatre dramaturge Clara Pons explained that the unusual offering was designed "to open up spaces to things you don't usually do there, like for instance running around in your pyjamas," rather than in ultra-formal attire.

"We feel closer to people than when we're all sitting in the 1,500-seat auditorium," she said.

- Rush to the balconies -

The connoisseurs know to flock to the balconies and the auditorium's red velvet armchairs, considered the most comfortable places to spend the night.

Adrien Mangili was relishing the experience for the third time with family and friends.

"You have to come early to get a dressing room, to be able to sleep and have a little privacy," he said, as his seven-year-old daughter Phedre enthusiastically pulled on pyjamas.

If you get a good spot, "it is easier for the kids to fall asleep," he said.

Before turning in, the children and adults spend hours exploring the darkened opera house, guided by ushers holding fluorescent rods.

Their strolls were punctuated by musical interludes performed by a Baroque music ensemble called "The Argonauts".

"It's soothing, but it doesn't put you to sleep," said Heloise Garcia, a 20-year-old student stretched out on the main stage.

Those unable to secure a box rolled out their sleeping backs in corridors, foyers and on the floor of the auditorium, under a ceiling spotted with a thousand pinholes of light in the shape of the Milky Way.

Carolina Marques Lopes, a lawyer, showed off a yellow dog soft toy she brought along. "This is in case the Phantom comes to visit," she joked.

Stefanie Neves, captivated by the main foyer with its frescoes and paintings, said: "We brought inflatable queen-size beds."

She and her friends wanted "to be able to fully enjoy the music and still get a few hours of sleep," she explained.

Before lying down, Neves looked up at an overhead imposing chandelier and pushed her mattress farther away, just in case.

- Chopin to Pink Floyd -

Later that night, she and others dozed as an Italian pianist and performer, Marino Formenti, played piece after piece, at whim.

"I decided not to impose a programme, but to bring a number of very different compositions that I like to play, from Baroque to Chopin, to rock music, Pink Floyd, the Beatles," he told AFP.

Near the piano, a young couple danced, entwined, one barefoot and the other in socks, as a woman and child wearing matching panda pyjamas wandered past.

Nicolas Wisard, stretched out on his mat, savoured the view. "It's almost as good as Versailles, the Palace of Mirrors," he said

As dawn ticked closer, snoring filled the Great Hall's acoustics, while a silent black and white movie played on a giant screen.

"It was really cool," said Megan Bonfils as she groggily woke to music.

"Being with the artists and in this incredible place... in socks."

H.Au--ThChM