![Cirque-Olympique, par A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Cirque-Olympique%2C_par_A._Testard.jpg)
The Opéra-National was a Parisian opera company that the French composer
Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''Giselle'' (1841) and '' Le corsaire'' (1856), his operas '' Le po ...
founded in 1847 to provide an alternative to the two primary French opera companies in Paris, the
Opéra
This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names.
"Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...
and the
Opéra-Comique. The goals of the new company were to "foster new compositional talent," revive ''
opéras comiques'' from an earlier period, and produce opera at a lower ticket price for a wider public.
[Charlton 1992, p. 871.]
The company first performed in the relatively large
Cirque Olympique on the
Boulevard du Temple
The Boulevard du Temple, formerly nicknamed the "Boulevard du Crime", is a thoroughfare in Paris that separates the 3rd arrondissement from the 11th. It runs from the Place de la République to the Place Pasdeloup, and its name refers to the ne ...
, in a working class district of Paris. Financial difficulties and the turmoil of the
1848 Revolution
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...
caused the company to close in March of that year. It was revived under a new director, Edmond Seveste, in 1851, when it moved to the
Théâtre Historique
The Théâtre Historique, a former Parisian theatre located on the boulevard du Temple, was built in 1846 for the French novelist and dramatist Alexandre Dumas. Plays adapted by Dumas from his historical novels were mostly performed, and, althoug ...
, a short distance away on the Boulevard du Temple. In 1852 the company was renamed
Théâtre Lyrique
The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien). The company was founded in 1847 as the Opér ...
and operated under that name until 1872.
Background
![Kejsar Napoleon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Kejsar_Napoleon.jpg)
In 1791, during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
, many restrictions on theatres were removed. New laws allowed essentially anyone to open a theatre. Developers founded many new theatres, and it became increasingly difficult for any, including state sponsored theatres, to make money. On 8 June 1806 Napoleon issued a decree that regulated the opening of new theatres. No person could open a theatre without the approval of the emperor, based on a proposal prepared and submitted by the minister of the interior. On 25 April 1807 he enacted a second, more highly developed decree that determined the
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
s permitted at each theatre. Any theatre wanting to stage a work in the repertory of the state-supported
Opéra
This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names.
"Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...
, the
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...
, or the
Opéra-Comique had to pay a fee to the management of the appropriate company. In addition, only the Opéra could perform particular historical and mythological ballets, thus burdening several companies, particularly the
Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin.
[Wild 1989, pp. 13–14.]
In spite of these measures, the situation continued to worsen, and on 29 July 1807
Napoleon decided that only eight theatres (four primary and four secondary) could continue to operate. The primary theatres were the Opéra, the Comédie-Française, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre de l'Impératrice (
Théâtre-Italien). The four secondary theatres were the
Vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
, the
Variétés, the
Gaité, and the
Ambigu-Comique.
[ The other twenty-five or so existing theatres had to close by 15 August. Venues for the performance of French-language opera were reduced to two: the Opéra and the Opéra-Comique.
After Napoleon's downfall, licenses for new theatres began to increase, and the enforcement of restrictions on genre began to relax. Official censors were more concerned with content rather than genre. '' Opéra comique'' was given at the Théâtre du Gymnase as early as 1820. From 1824 to 1829 operas, such as Rossini's '']Il barbiere di Siviglia
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...
'' and Mozart's ''Le nozze di Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...
'' and '' Don Giovanni'', were produced at the Théâtre Lyrique de l'Odéon. From 1827 to 1831 opéra-comique and French adaptations of Rossini and Mozart were presented at the Théâtre des Nouveautés
The Théâtre des Nouveautés ("Theatre of the New") is a Parisian theatre built in 1921 and located at 24 boulevard Poissonnière (Paris, 9th arr.). The name was also used by several earlier Parisian theatre companies and their buildings, begin ...
. After the July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
of 1830, restrictions loosened even more, and beginning in 1838 ''opéras-comiques'' and operas, including the premiere of Donizetti's ''Lucie de Lammermoor'' (the French adaptation of his ''Lucia di Lammermoor
''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...
''), were presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance
The name Théâtre de la Renaissance has been used successively for three distinct Parisian theatre companies. The first two companies, which were short-lived enterprises in the 19th century, used the Salle Ventadour, now an office building on t ...
. None at these theatres presented operas exclusively, however. In fact, opera represented a very small part of their repertory. Moreover, all of these endeavours were short-lived attempts. The latter theatre failed in mid-1841.
As early as 14 May 1842, several composers, including Hector Berlioz, Ambroise Thomas
Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (; 5 August 1811 – 12 February 1896) was a French composer and teacher, best known for his operas '' Mignon'' (1866) and ''Hamlet'' (1868).
Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the Conservatoire de ...
, and Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''Giselle'' (1841) and '' Le corsaire'' (1856), his operas '' Le po ...
, petitioned administrative authorities to create a permanent third opera house in Paris. A commission was established, and by August plans for a new theatre were announced. However, on 28 October the petition was rejected. In September 1844 a second petition was submitted by winners of the Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
, requesting the establishment of a new lyric theatre dedicated to works of younger, lesser known composers and librettists. This petition was also rejected. Finally in 1847, on the third attempt, one composer, Adolphe Adam, succeeded.
At the Cirque Olympique under Adolphe Adam (1847–1848)
In 1847 Adolphe Adam, with the help of his friend François Louis Crosnier—a former director of the Opéra-Comique and current manager of the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin
The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.
History
It was first built very rapidly in 1781 under the direction of (1726–1810) to house th ...
—obtained a license to open the Opéra-National. The license allowed Adam to perform many of his works that had previously been in the repertory of the Opéra-Comique. The stated aims of the new company were to bring French opera to a wider public and provide a performance venue for younger, less well-established French composers. Adam first intended to use Crosnier's theatre at the Porte Saint-Martin, but Crosnier found it more financially rewarding to rent that theatre to others.[Walsh 1981, pp. 2–3.]
Adam had to find another venue. With his license in hand and a partnership with Achille Mirecour, he acquired the Cirque Olympique (66 Boulevard du Temple
The Boulevard du Temple, formerly nicknamed the "Boulevard du Crime", is a thoroughfare in Paris that separates the 3rd arrondissement from the 11th. It runs from the Place de la République to the Place Pasdeloup, and its name refers to the ne ...
) for 1,400,000 francs. The theatre had been designed as an indoor equestrian circus (founded by the British impresario Philip Astley
Philip Astley (8 January 1742 – 20 October 1814) was an English equestrian, circus owner, and inventor, regarded as being the " father of the modern circus". Modern circus, as an integrated entertainment experience that includes music, domest ...
). At a cost of 200,000 francs, it was renovated and altered for use as an opera house by the architect Louis Charles Théodore Charpentier. Having a capacity of 2400, it was unusually large, so the acoustics were less than ideal, but the stage projected into the auditorium, which was a help to the singers.[
The theatre opened on 15 November 1847 with a musical prologue (''Les premiers pas ou Les deux génies'') and the premiere of a 3-act opera ''Gastibelza.'' The opera had a libretto by ]Adolphe d'Ennery
Adolphe Philippe d'Ennery or Dennery (17 June 181125 January 1899) was a French playwright and novelist.
Life
Born in Paris, his real surname was Philippe. He obtained his first success in collaboration with Charles Desnoyer in ''Émile, ou le ...
and Eugène Cormon
Pierre-Étienne Piestre, known as Eugène Cormon (5 May 1810 – March 1903), was a French dramatist and librettist. He used his mother's name, Cormon, during his career.
Cormon wrote dramas, comedies and, from the 1840s, libretti; around 15 ...
, and music by Aimé Maillart. The prologue, a pastiche with music by Adam, Daniel Auber
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire.
Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when ...
, Fromental Halévy
Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''.
Early career
Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...
, and Michele Carafa
Michele Enrico Francesco Vincenzo Aloisio Paolo Carafa di Colobrano (17 November 1787 – 26 July 1872) was an Italian opera composer. He was born in Naples and studied in Paris with Luigi Cherubini. He was Professor of counterpoint at the Par ...
, and a libretto by Alphonse Royer
Alphonse Royer, (10 September 1803 – 11 April 1875) was a French author, dramatist and theatre manager, most remembered today for having written (with his regular collaborator, Gustave Vaëz) the librettos for Gaetano Donizetti's opera ''L ...
and Gustave Vaëz, was highly topical, with references to the new railway from Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
to Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...
(a technical wonder of the time) and the ''Boulevard du Crime
The Boulevard du Crime was the nickname given in the 19th century to the Boulevard du Temple in Paris because of the many crime melodramas that were shown every night in its many theaters. It is notorious in French history for having lost so many ...
'' (nickname of the Boulevard du Temple, for the numerous melodramas about sensational crimes performed in many of the theatres located there).[
Subsequent early productions included:
* 16 November 1847 – a revival of the 3-act opéra-comique ''Aline, reine de Goconde'' by Henri Montan Berton, first performed at the ]Salle Feydeau
Salle is the French word for 'hall', 'room' or 'auditorium', as in:
* Salle des Concerts Herz, a former Paris concert hall
*Salle Favart, theatre of the Paris Opéra-Comique
*Salle Le Peletier, former home of the Paris Opéra
*Salle Pleyel, a Par ...
on 3 September 1803, and re-orchestrated by Adam for the revival
* 23 November 1847 – a revival of the 1-act opéra-comique ''Une bonne fortune'' by Adam, first performed by the Opéra-Comique on 23 January 1834 at the Salle de la Bourse
* 22 December 1847 – a revival of the 3-act opéra-comique ''Félix, ou L'enfant trouvé'' by Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny
Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny ( – ) was a French composer and a member of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts (1813).
He is considered alongside André Grétry and François-André Danican Philidor to have been the founder of a new musical gen ...
with a libretto by Michel-Jean Sedaine
Michel-Jean Sedaine (2 June 1719 – 17 May 1797) was a French dramatist and librettist, especially noted for his librettos for '' opéras comiques'', in which he took an important and influential role in the advancement of the genre from th ...
, first performed at Fontainebleau on 10 November 1777, repeated at the Hôtel de Bourgogne on 24 November, and revived at the Salle Feydeau on 23 November 1801; re-orchestrated by Adam for the revival
* 22 January 1848 – a revival of the 3-act opéra-comique ''Le brasseur de Preston'' by Adam, first performed at the Salle de la Bourse on 31 October 1838
* 30 January 1848 – a revival of the 1-act opéra-comique ''La tête de Méduse'' by Scard with a libretto by Louis-Émile Vanderburch
Louis-Émile Vanderburch (30 September 1794 – 30 March 1862) was a 19th-century French writer and playwright. The painter Dominique Joseph Vanderburch (1722–1785) was his grandfather.
Biography
After he started a career in teaching as a p ...
and Philippe-August Deforges
The company had financial difficulties from the very beginning, and its artistic achievement was minimal. ''The Musical World'' of 22 January 1848 wrote that one performance "obtained but a mediocre success owing to the detestable style in which it was executed," adding that "the singers were frightful, the chorus almost as bad as those at the Italiens, and worse than those at the Opéra Comique; the orchestra weak and coarse."
Further troubles came with the outbreak of the 1848 Revolution
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...
on 23 February 1848. The turmoil forced the closure of all theatres for several days. A condition of reopening was the donation of initial receipts for the care of the wounded. On 6 March Adam's company premiered the 1-act ''Les Barricades de 1848'' (libretto by Édouard Brisebarre and Saint-Yves; music by Pilati and Eugène Gautier
Eugène Gautier (27 February 1822 in Vaugirard (then a suburb of Paris) – 1 April 1878 in Paris) was a French classical violinist and composer.
He was a teacher of history of music at the Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris ( ...
). All the theatres were presenting similar patriotic occasional pieces, and although the program also included Hervé's 1-act '' Don Quichotte et Sancho Pança'', later described by Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn (; 9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – '' mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100.
Hahn was born in Caracas ...
as "irresistible buffoonery", audiences were sparse. Adam soon exhausted his sources of money. With massive debts he closed the theatre on 28 March 1848 and retired from his position of opera director.
At the Théâtre Historique under Edmond Seveste (1851–1852)
In 1851, the Opéra-National was revived, and on 1 May Edmond Seveste was appointed director.[Levin 2009, p. 397.] By the end of July he had taken a lease on the Théâtre Historique
The Théâtre Historique, a former Parisian theatre located on the boulevard du Temple, was built in 1846 for the French novelist and dramatist Alexandre Dumas. Plays adapted by Dumas from his historical novels were mostly performed, and, althoug ...
(72 Boulevard du Temple).[Walsh 1981, p. 10.] Built by the dramatist Alexandre Dumas, the theatre had opened on 20 February 1847, closed on 20 December 1850, and remained unused. The entrance to the theatre was a long, narrow vestibule, squeezed between two other buildings, with a facade only eight meters wide. The auditorium, located in the back, was unusually wide (20 meters) and only 16 meters deep. It had an audience capacity of 1500–1700[ and was thought to have excellent acoustics for opera.]
The theatre required minimal renovations for its new purpose: new paint of white and gold, some furnishings, and a drop curtain painted by Auguste Rubé. Four candelabra were fastened to the columns of the stage boxes and the busts of Corneille
Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine.
As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...
and Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...
were replaced with ones of Gluck
Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...
and Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...
. A grand piano surmounted with a bust of Weber was installed in the foyer. Structural alterations were made to some ancillary spaces, including the conversion of stables used for horses in Dumas's historical dramas, into the musicians' green room
In show business, the green room is the space in a theatre or similar venue that functions as a waiting room and lounge for performers before, during, and after a performance or show when they are not engaged on stage. Green rooms typically have ...
.
While work on the theatre was in progress, rehearsals were held at the Salle Ventadour. Alphonse Varney, who had conducted the orchestra at Théâtre Historique under Dumas, had been hired as the conductor of the newly revived Opéra-National. Of note among the singers who had been engaged were the baritone Auguste Meillet, his wife, the soprano Marie-Stéphanie Meillet (''née'' Meyer); and the bass Marcel Junca.
''Cahier des charges''
The company's new ''cahier des charges'' (license) was liberal. It called for new French operas with spoken dialogue ('' opéra comique'') or sung recitative
Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat ...
, prose or verse librettos, and with or without ballets. No single composer could have more than six new acts presented in one season (acts were counted rather than works). Preference was to be given to Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
winners up to two years after the award. In addition, up to two translated foreign works were permitted, as well as French works ten years after their premiere, and any number of public domain works, so long as these did not exceed 33% of the number of new acts presented over a two-year period. The company had the right to revive any works it had already produced, to encourage the company to establish its own repertory. As the company did not receive any state subsidy before 1864, revivals of popular, established works were critical to its financial survival.
Opening and first season
The new opera house opened on 27 September 1851 with the premiere of a 3-act opéra-comique with music by Xavier Boisselot
Dominique-François-Xavier Boisselot (3 December 1811 – 8 April 1893) was a French composer and musical-instrument manufacturer. He is the author of the opéra-comique in three acts ''Ne touchez pas à la reine'' to a libretto by Eugène Scribe ...
called ''Mosquita la sorcière''. The libretto was by Eugène Scribe
Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of ma ...
and Gustave Vaëz. Hector Berlioz, who reviewed the performance, was not particularly taken with the music of Boisselot, but gave the chorus high marks. The orchestra conducted by Varney was praised as young and energetic by the ''Moniteur Universel''. The opera was performed a total of 21 times that year but only 4 times the next. Boisselot's new opera was followed the next night with ''Le barbier de Séville'' (a French adaptation by Castil-Blaze of Rossini's ''Il barbiere di Siviglia
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...
'') and Ferdinando Paer's '' Le maître de chapelle'', both more reliable money-makers. The company performed the former a total of 126 times, and the latter, 182 times. In fact this was to become the pattern later in the history of the company: occasional new operas among numerous French language revivals of popular foreign works.
Perhaps the most successful new French work that first season was Felicien David's ''La perle du Brésil
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
'', first performed on 22 November. Although the production was apparently not up to snuff ( Berlioz reported that it was "sometimes good, often bad and in all, of little advantage to the composer"), it nevertheless received 17 performances before the end of that year, 47 the next, and a total of 144 by the company.
The year 1852 brought another memorable new work, a one-act opéra-comique by Adolphe Adam called '' La poupée de Nuremberg,'' which premiered on 21 February with 47 performances that year and 98 total by the company. Its success was somewhat tarnished by the death of Edmond Seveste on 28 February. His brother Jules Seveste Jules Seveste, full name Désiré Henri Jules Seveste, (Paris, 1803 – Meudon, 30 June 1854 ) was a French playwright and theatre manager of the first half of the 19th century.
Short biography
In 1822 his father Pierre Seveste (1773–1825) ap ...
became temporary director and was officially appointed to the post on 1 May from a field of 20 applicants that included the tenor Gilbert Duprez. The very next new production was Duprez's 3-act opera ''Joanita'' (a revision of his earlier ''L'abime de la maladetta''), which opened on 11 March and starred his daughter, soprano Caroline Duprez, who had already created the lead soprano role of the first version in Brussels on 19 November 1851 and would go on to create the role of Catherine in Meyerbeer's ''L'étoile du nord
' (''The North Star'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The French-language libretto was by Eugène Scribe. The work had its first performance at the Opéra-Comique, Paris, on 16 February 1854.
Much of the material, ...
'' at the Opéra-Comique in 1854.
On 12 April, during ''Joanita's'' short run of 15 performances, the management decided to change the name of the company to Théâtre Lyrique
The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien). The company was founded in 1847 as the Opér ...
. As attendance was falling rapidly, ''Joanita'' was replaced with ''La pie voleuse'', a Castil-Blaze adaptation of Rossini's ''La gazza ladra
''La gazza ladra'' (, ''The Thieving Magpie'') is a ''melodramma'' or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on ''La pie voleuse'' by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caig ...
'', on 23 April. However, they only performed it seven times, as the season was almost over. The season had run from late September to the end of April, a pattern repeated in later seasons, which usually ran from September or early October to May, or sometimes even into the summer. Jules Seveste sought a state subsidy of 50,000 francs for the following year, but it was too late; the budget had already been finalized. In addition, the conductor Alphonse Varney resigned his position and went to Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
so he would have more time for composition. He was replaced by his assistant conductor, Auguste Francis Placet, and the violinist Adolphe Deloffre
Louis Michel Adolphe Deloffre (28 July 1817 – 8 January 1876) was a French violinist and conductor active in London and Paris, who conducted several important operatic premieres in the latter city, particularly by Charles Gounod and Georges Biz ...
, who had recently returned to Paris from London, was made assistant conductor.[Walsh 1981, p. 28.]
References
;Notes
;Sources
* Barbier, Patrick; Luoma, Robert, translator (1995). ''Opera in Paris, 1800–1850: A Lively History''. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. .
* Charlton, David (1992). "Paris, §4. 1789–1870" in Sadie 1992, vol. 3, pp. 865–873.
* Ellis, Katherine (2009). "Systems Failure in Operatic Paris: The Acid Test of the Théâtre-Lyrique" in Fauser and Everist 2009, pp. 49–71.
* Fauser, Annegret; Everist, Mark, editors (2009). ''Music, Theater, and Cultural Transfer: Paris, 1830–1914''. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. .
* Levin, Alicia (2009). "Appendix: A Documentary Overview of Musical Theaters in Paris, 1830–1900" in Fauser and Everist 2009, pp. 379–402.
* Sadie, Stanley
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
, editor (1992). ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...
''. London: Macmillan. .
* Soubies, Albert (1899). ''Histoire du Théâtre Lyrique, 1851-1870'' Paris: Fischbacher
View
at Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...
.
* Traubner, Richard (2003). ''Operetta: A Theatrical History'' (revised edition). New York: Routledge. .
* Walsh, T. J. (1981). ''Second Empire Opera: The Théâtre Lyrique Paris 1851–1870''. New York: Riverrun Press. .
* Wild, Nicole (1989). ''Dictionnaire des théâtres parisiens au XIXe siècle: les théâtres et la musique''. Paris: Aux Amateurs de livres. . (paperback)
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* Wild, Nicole; Charlton, David (2005). ''Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris: répertoire 1762-1972''. Sprimont, Belgium: Editions Mardaga. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opera-National
Opera houses in Paris
French opera companies
Musical groups established in 1847
1847 establishments in France
Organizations based in Paris