The
Opéra-Comique was founded in 1714, but the present building, often referred to
as Salle Favart, is from 1898. Two preceding buildings – on the same spot - burnt
down. The ownerships, the regimes… have changed many times, even as late as the
latest decades. The theatre has mostly been run independently from the Opéra
Garnier (and the new Opéra Bastille), but the Paris opera houses have for
shorter periods been under common management. Today the Opéra-Comique is again independent.
The term “comique” has nothing to do with laughter, but the difference with “real
opera” is that in the “comique” the spoken drama often is more important… with some
music and singing interludes. However, today, when you look into the repertoire
of the theatre, this difference seems to have disappeared. Perhaps the Opéra-Comique has a slightly more innovative repertoire.
It may be
interesting to know that the premieres of some notable works as “La Damnation
de Faust” (The Damnation of F.) by Berlioz, “Carmen” by Bizet, “Les Contes d’Hoffmann”
(The Tales of H.) by Offenbach, “Lakmé” by Delibes… took place at the second
Opéra Comique (1840-87) and that the present building has seen the premieres of
several works by Debussy, Massenet, Ravel, Poulenc…
The present
building, which thus opened in 1898 , is very richly decorated, as you can see
from these pictures and the top picture from the lobby. There are some 1.250 seats.
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