Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionPâris, Alain. Opéra de Nice. In: ''Dictionnaire des interprètes''. Éditions Robert Laffont, Paris, 1995, p1152-53. it reopened in 1790 under the name “Théâtre Royal”.
In 1826, the city of Nice, encouraged by King Charles Félix, bought it from its owners and had it demolished and rebuilt. It was inaugurated in 1828 with
Giovanni Pacini
Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fam ...
's ''Il Barone di Bolsheim''.
In 1856, a great ball was organized in the honour of King
Victor Emmanuel II
Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March ...
.
In 1860,
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
was invited to attend an evening at the Théâtre Royal. For this special occasion, Johann Strauss led the orchestra. The same year, the theatre became the “Théâtre Impérial”. In 1864, Napoleon III returned, accompanied by Tsar
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Grand Du ...
. In 1868,
Louis II, Duke of Bavaria
Louis the Strict () (13 April 1229 – 2 February 1294) was Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1253. He is known as Louis II or Louis VI following an alternative numbering. Born in Heidelberg, he was a son of Otto II W ...
attended a performance of '' Cendrillon''. The Théâtre Royal was renamed “Théâtre Municipal” in 1870.
On Wednesday, March 23, 1881, as the opera ''
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 Lammermoor''. ...
'' began, a gas leak started a huge fire. The fire was controlled the next day but there was nothing left of the theatre. Three siblings of Marjory Kennedy-Fraser died in the fire: Lizzie, Kate and James (
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
, contralto and baritone respectively).
The city of Nice immediately decided to rebuild another theatre on the same site. It was designed by architect François Aune with the apparent approval of Charles Garnier, the architect of the
Paris Opera
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 kn ...
. On February 7, 1885, the Théâtre Municipal re-opened with
Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...
’s ''
Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...
''.Alexandre. Ivan A. Nice pour mémoire. '' Diapason'' 649, September 2016, p9. Over the following years it hosted the French stage premieres of operas such as '' A Life for the Tsar'', ''
Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...
From 2001 to 2009 the director-general was the Belgian producer Paul-Émile Fourny. He was succeeded by Jacques Hédouin, with a policy of closer working with the
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco.
With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Charles III, Prince of Monaco, Prince Charl ...
, as well as closer collaboration with the two regional orchestras, the Orchestre philharmonique de Nice and the Orchestre régional de Cannes-Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.Fauchet B. Nice people. '' Diapason'' 572S, September 2009, p9.
In November 2012, Marc Adam became the new artistic director of the opera. The same month tenor Jonas Kaufmann performed there. Adam departed in 2015 to be replaced by Eric Chevalier.
The Diacosmie is the workshop of the Opéra de Nice, where everything from costumes to sets is created. The building also houses rehearsal rooms for the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ballet Nice Méditerranée.