Gio Paolo Bombarda (Rome, c.1650 – Paris, 6 December 1712) was the founder of the

Théâtre de la Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...

in Brussels.

Life

Musician, councillor and treasurer to

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian, Maximillian or Maximiliaan (Maximilien in French) is a male given name. The name " Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459� ...

in Munich, he was taken on by the court orchestra in 1680 and, in 1686, he married the daughter of the composer Ercole Bernabei. When Maximilian became

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the H ...

in 1692, Bombarda went with him to Brussels and became his emissary to the French and Dutch bankers. In 1693 he married his second wife, in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, the daughter of the Antwerp banker Cloots. In 1694 Bombarda and Pietro Antonio Fiocco rented the Opéra du Quai au Foin, managing it for three years. After the

Bombardment of Brussels The bombardment of Brussels by troops of Louis XIV of France on August 13, 14 and 15, 1695, and the resulting fire were together the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels. Brussels was mostly untouched by most other confl ...

by French troops under maréchal de Villeroy, Maximilien-Emmanuel entrusted Bombarda with the construction of a new theatre right in the heart of the city – the Théâtre ''sur la Monnoye'', which opened in 1700. The

Académie royale de musique The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

in Paris was then in financial difficulties and its director Jean-Nicolas de Francine was unable to remedy the situation alone. The able financier Bombarda was thus called to the Académie in 1703 and left the elector's services to set up himself and his family in Paris in 1705, in a house on rue d'Argenteuil, not far from the Palais-Royal, where he died in 1712. His eldest daughter, Anne-Marie-Pauline (1697–1719), married

Jean-Jacques Amelot de Chaillou Jean-Jacques Amelot de Chaillou (, 30 April 1689 – 7 May 1749, Paris) was a French politician. He was marquis of Combrande, baron de Châtillon-sur-Indre, seigneur de Chaillou. Biography From a family of magistrates, he was in turn made avocat ...

in 1716, whilst his son Pierre-Paul (1698–1783), known as Bombarde de Beaulieu, in 1718 married the daughter of the famous

salonnière A salon is a gathering of people held by an inspiring host. During the gathering they amuse one another and increase their knowledge through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "e ...

Madame Doublet. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bombarda, Gio Paolo 1650 births 1712 deaths Businesspeople of the Austrian Netherlands Musicians of the Austrian Netherlands Directors of La Monnaie