The Opéra de Lyon (also known as Opéra Nouvel, formerly Grand Théâtre) in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, is the home of the Opéra National de Lyon. The original

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

was re-designed by the distinguished French architect,

Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and ''Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ob ...

between 1985 and 1993 in association with the agency of scenography

dUCKS scéno Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ta ...

and the acoustician Peutz. Serge Dorny was appointed general director in 2003.

History

In 1756, one of the first opera houses created inside an existing freestanding building was opened in Lyon. It was designed by

Jacques-Germain Soufflot Jacques-Germain Soufflot (, 22 July 1713 – 29 August 1780) was a French architect in the international circle that introduced neoclassicism. His most famous work is the Panthéon in Paris, built from 1755 onwards, originally as a church ded ...

, the architect of the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...

in Paris, and known as the Grand Théâtre. By early in the following century it was found to be too small, and Antoine-Marie Chenavard and Jean-Marie Pollet erected the new Opéra de Lyon which opened on July 1, 1831. It was considered rather undistinguished, but served its purpose. It was not until 1985 that the City decided to once again re-build the opera house, but this time it was to be within the shell of the existing 1831 building. One of France's most distinguished architects was commissioned to create the house. The style of the house is essentially Italian with a horseshoe-shaped auditorium and tiers of boxes. Leaving only the existing foyer and the exterior façade, Nouvel tripled the space within the house by excavating below ground to create rehearsal space and, most strikingly, by doubling the height of the building by creating a steel and glass barrel vault which hid the

fly tower A fly system, or theatrical rigging system, is a system of ropes, pulleys, counterweights and related devices within a theater (structure), theater that enables a stage crew to fly (hoist) quickly, quietly and safely components such as curtains, ...

as well as providing space for the ballet company. It has been noted that this achievement was "an architectural tour de force, in which the past has been successfully wedded to the future..",Beauvert, Thierry, ''Opera Houses of the World'', The Vendome Press, New York, 1995 albeit with the limited backstage space of the 19th-century theatre still remaining.

Main conductors

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, especially the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000, performing Church cantata (Bach), Bach's church ...

(1983–1988) *

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) of the Hamburg State Opera (until 2025). Early life and education Nagano was born in Berkeley, ...

(1988–1998) *

Louis Langrée Louis Langrée (born 11 January 1961) is a French conductor. He is the son of organist and theorist Alain Langrée. Biography Early years Langrée studied at the Strasbourg Conservatory, but had no formal academic training in conducting. He ...

(1998–2000) * Ivan Fischer (2000–2003) * William Christie, Lothar Koenigs, Gerard Korsten,

Emmanuel Krivine Emmanuel Krivine (born 7 May 1947, Grenoble) is a French conductor. Biography The son of a Polish mother and a Russian father, Krivine studied the violin as a youth. He was a winner of the ''Premier Prix'' at the Paris Conservatoire, at age 16. ...

Kirill Petrenko Kirill Garrievich Petrenko (, Latin script: ; born 11 February 1972) is a Russian-Austrian conductor. He is chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. Early life Petrenko was born in Omsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, to a violinist father and m ...

, Evelino Pidò (2003–2008) * Kazushi Ono (2008–2017) * Daniele Rustioni (2017–present)

References

External links

*
Many interior photos of the House, text in French from Lyon Opera's web sitePhotos of the Opéra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opera Nouvel 1st arrondissement of Lyon Opera houses in France Entertainment venues in Lyon Neoclassical architecture in France Modernist architecture in France Jean Nouvel buildings Theatres completed in 1831 Music venues completed in 1831 Theatres completed in 1993 Music venues completed in 1993

History

Main conductors

See also

References

External links