Salle Le Peletier

Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, Paris, circa 1865

Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique (also been known as the Théâtre Imperial de l´Opéra , Le Rue Peletier, or simply, Le Peletier, but more familiarly, as the Paris Opéra) was the name of the theatre which housed the Parisian opera and ballet companies from 1821 to 1873. It was designed by the architect Debret, and its construction was completed in only one year, replacing the previous theatre which had occupied its space.

History

In 1672 King Louis XIV gave a patent to Jean-Baptiste Lully handing him directorship of the Académie Royale de Musique which had been founded as Académie d'Opéra in 1669. This was the great institution of opera, baroque ballet (the artform that would one day evolve into classical ballet), and music in Paris, and was maintained lavishly at the expense of the crown. At this time French ballet and opera were virtually inseparable, and from 1671 until Lully's death in 1687 the ballet was directed by the dancing master Pierre Beauchamp (Beauchamp also held the role of director of the similarly named but separate Académie Royale de Danse). In 1713 Louis XIV made the Opéra a state institution, including a resident company of professional dancers known at that time as Le Ballet de l'Opéra. From that time until the 1810s the Académie Royale de Musique held 12 theatres as their principal venues, most of which were destroyed by fires. All of these theatres, regardless of the more "official" names which they were given, were all commonly known as the Paris Opéra or Opéra de Paris.

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A performance of Giselle in honor of a state visit from Tsar Alexander II at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, June 4, 1867

In 1804 Emperor Napoleon I ordered that a new theatre for the Parisian Opera and Ballet be constructed. The Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, known more popularly as the Paris Opéra, was designed by Jean-Baptiste Debret, and was completed in 1816. During the reign of Napoleon I the theatre was known for a time as the Théâtre Imperial de l´Opéra, though upon his de-thronement it reverted to its original name. The grand theatre, which comprised an incredible 14,000 square metres including a 104 ft. stage, was quite advanced for its time; on February 6, 1822 gas was used for the first time in order to light the stage effects in Nicolas Isouard's opera Aladin ou La Lampe merveilleuse.

Upon its inauguration in 1816, the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique was incorporated as part of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. In 1822 the Opera company made the theatre its principal venue, and soon many of the great grand operas of the 19th century were being presented for the first time on its stage, among them - Gioacchino Rossini's Guillaume Tell (1829), Giacomo Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable (1831), Gaetano Donizetti's La fille du régiment (1840), and Charles Gounod's Faust (1859).

Along with the Ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre in London, the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique played host to the heyday of the romantic ballet, with such Balletmasters as Jules Perrot, Arthur Saint-Léon, Filippo Taglioni, Joseph Mazilier, Jean Coralli, and Paul Taglioni staging many masterworks for the theatre's company - the Ballet of the Académie Royale de Musique (today known as the Paris Opera Ballet). Among these works - La Sylphide (1832), Giselle (1841), Paquita (1846), Le Corsaire (1856), Le Papillon (1860), La Source (1866), and Coppelia (1870). Among the great ballerinas to grace the stage of the Paris Opéra during this time were Marie Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi, Carolina Rosati, Fanny Elssler, Lucile Grahn, and Fanny Cerrito.

On October 19, 1873, the legendary Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique met the same fate as many of its predecessors: it was destroyed by a fire which raged for 27 hours, believed to have been started by the theatre's gas lighting. Fortunately, in 1858 Emperor Napoleon III hired the civic planner Baron Haussmann to begin construction on a second theatre for the Parisian Opera and Ballet based on the design of architect Charles Garnier, which after the destruction of the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique would be the only theatre for the two companies. In 1875 the new theatre, today known as the Palais Garnier, was inaugurated.

In 1989 the Opera company relocated to the newly completed Opéra Bastille, although performances are still held by the troupe at the Palais Garnier, where the Ballet company remains. In spite of the name, this theatre is still referred to by many people as the Paris Opéra.