Paris, Opéra-Comique

Paris, Opéra-Comique. Opera house in Paris, orig. housing Fr. mus. works with spoken dialogue. It has had a chequered history: opened 1715, closed 1745, reopened 1752. Moved to the rue Favart 1782 (still sometimes being known as the Salle Favart). Closed 1801, amalgamated with a rival co. Works by Méhul, Boïeldieu, and Auber were produced there in the first half of the 19th cent. as well as La Fille du régiment (1840). Later, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Lakmé, and several operas by Massenet, incl. Manon and Cendrillon, had their f.ps. there. The building was burned down in 1887, the co. finding haven elsewhere until 1898 when the present th. opened. Pelléas et Mélisande was given its f.p. in the new th. in 1902. In 1959 administration of the Opéra-Comique and the Paris Opéra was merged under A. M. Julien, succeeded 1962 by Auric, 1969–71 by Nicoly. The th. closed in 1972 and reopened 1973 as Opéra Studio de Paris under dir. of Louis Erlo. Opéra Studio moved to Lyons 1976, and Opéra-Comique, dir. by R. Liebermann, 1973–80, opened with old name of Salle Favart.