Paris Opera facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Paris Opera

Opéra national de Paris
Logo of the Paris Opera
Palais Garnier
Type	Opera and ballet company
Location	Paris, France
Website	operadeparis.fr

The Paris Opera (French: Opéra de Paris) is France's main company for opera and ballet. It was started in 1669 by Louis XIV, the King of France. Back then, it was called the Académie d'Opéra. Soon after, Jean-Baptiste Lully took charge, and it was renamed the Académie Royale de Musique. People often just called it the Opéra.

Today, this famous company is known as the Opéra national de Paris. It performs operas mostly at the Opéra Bastille, a modern theatre that opened in 1989. This theatre can seat 2,723 people. Ballets and some classic operas are performed at the older Palais Garnier, which opened in 1875 and has 1,979 seats. Smaller, newer shows are also put on in a 500-seat theatre under the Opéra Bastille.

The Paris Opera has a big budget, with money coming from the French government and ticket sales. This helps them run their two theatres and pay a large team. This team includes an orchestra of 170 musicians, a chorus of 110 singers, and a corps de ballet (a group of ballet dancers) of 150. Each year, the company puts on about 380 shows, including operas, ballets, and concerts. Around 800,000 people come to watch these performances.

History of the Paris Opera

Starting the Opera: Louis XIV's Vision

Pierre Perrin's Idea

The idea for French opera began with a poet named Pierre Perrin in 1655. He believed that French could be a musical language, even though many people at the time thought it couldn't. In 1666, he suggested to the minister Colbert that the king should create an "Academy of Poetry and Music." This academy would mix French language and music to create a new type of musical theatre.

King Louis XIV liked Perrin's idea. On June 28, 1669, he gave Perrin special permission to start an opera academy in France. This permission meant Perrin had the only right for 12 years to create opera academies that performed in French. He could choose his business partners and set ticket prices. No one, not even members of the royal court, could get in for free. Also, no one else could start a similar opera company. This special permission helped protect the new opera company from competition.

Perrin turned a building used for tennis, called the Bouteille tennis court, into a theatre. It had space for stage machinery and scenery and could hold about 1200 people.

Jean-Baptiste Lully Takes Over

A view of the Salle du Bel-Air, one of the early homes of the Paris Opera.

In 1672, the opera company was renamed the Académie Royale de Musique. It became known simply as the Opéra. Jean-Baptiste Lully, a famous composer, took charge. He convinced the king to limit other French and Italian theatre groups. This meant they could only use a few singers and musicians, giving the Opéra a big advantage.

Because of some legal issues, Lully couldn't use Perrin's first theatre. So, a new theatre was built by Carlo Vigarani at the Bel-Air tennis court. Later, Lully also gained permission to use the theatre at the Palais-Royal. This theatre was designed by Jacques Le Mercier and was a good size for clear sound. Lully made more changes to it in 1674.

During Lully's time, only his own works were performed. The first show was Les fêtes de l'Amour et de Bacchus in 1672. His first tragédie lyrique (a type of French opera) was Cadmus et Hermione in 1673. The first show at the new Palais-Royal theatre was Alceste in 1674. King Louis XIV often arranged for new operas to be shown first at court. This helped pay for rehearsals, sets, and costumes, which were then given to the Opéra for use in Paris.

Performances at the Opéra happened all year, except for three weeks around Easter. Regular shows were on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. About two to three new works were put on each year. Lully created thirteen tragédie en musique operas during his time there.

After Lully's Time

A map of the Palais-Royal in 1679, showing where the Paris Opera's theatre was located (in blue).

After Lully passed away in 1687, the number of new operas each year almost doubled. This was because the new directors found it harder to keep the audience interested. Old works by Lully were often performed again. French composers usually wrote music for new stories. One important new work from this time was an opéra-ballet called L'Europe galante by André Campra in 1697.

The Birth of Ballet

In 1661, King Louis XIV, who loved to dance, started the Académie Royale de Danse. This academy aimed to set rules for court dances and train dance teachers. From 1680 until Lully's death, it was led by Pierre Beauchamp, who created the five positions of the feet that are still used in ballet today.

When Lully took over the Opéra in 1672, he and Beauchamp made theatrical ballet a very important part of the company's shows. At first, ballet was just a part of the opera. But as it grew more important, the dance group became known as the Paris Opera Ballet. In 1713, a ballet school was opened, which is now the famous Paris Opera Ballet School.

Changing Names and Homes

The Théâtre des Arts, a main home for the Paris Opera from 1794 to 1820.

The beautiful interior of the Palais Garnier, showing the stage.

During the French Revolution, the company changed its name many times. It dropped any connection to the royal family. In 1794, it moved to the Théâtre National de la rue de la Loi and was called the Théâtre des Arts.

Napoleon took control of the company in 1802. When he created the First French Empire, he renamed it the Académie Impériale de Musique. After the monarchy returned in 1814, it became the Académie Royale de Musique again. In 1821, the company moved to the Salle Le Peletier, where it stayed until a fire destroyed the building in 1873.

In the late 1800s, the name changed back to Académie Impériale de Musique under Napoleon III. After 1870, with the French Third Republic, it became the Théâtre National de l'Opéra.

In 1875, the opera company moved into its grand new home, the Palais Garnier. In 1939, the Opéra joined with another company, the Opéra-Comique. The combined company was called Réunion des Théâtres Lyriques Nationaux.

In 1990, the Opéra moved its main performances to the new Opéra Bastille. It became the Opéra de Paris. However, it still uses the Palais Garnier, mostly for ballet shows. The Opéra-Comique also became independent again. In 1994, the company's name changed one last time to Opéra National de Paris. Even with all these official name changes, people usually just call it "the Opéra."

The current director of the Opéra is Alexander Neef, who started in September 2020. Famous music directors have included Myung-whun Chung, James Conlon, and Philippe Jordan.

Gallery

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  The Palais Garnier at night, looking magical.

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  The Grand Foyer inside the Palais Garnier, a very fancy room.

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  The inside of the Opéra Bastille, seen from the stage.

List of Official Company Names

List of Theatres Used by the Paris Opera

Other Parisian Opera Companies and Theatres

From 1725 to 1791, there were mainly four public theatres allowed in Paris:

• Opéra de Paris
• Comédie-Française
• Comédie-Italienne
• Opéra-Comique

In 1762, the Opéra-Comique joined with the Comédie-Italienne.

In 1791, laws changed, allowing many more public theatres to open. This led to a lot of new theatres and companies. Some of these new theatres included:

After about 1870, the opera scene in Paris was simpler, mainly with the Opéra and the Opéra-Comique. Other companies that performed operas or operettas during this time included:

See also

In Spanish: Ópera de París para niños

• List of theatres and entertainment venues in Paris
• Opéra (Paris Métro)
• Category:Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera
• The Phantom of the Opera (a famous story set at the Palais Garnier)