Nestled on a remote square away from the crowded Boulevard des Italiens, the Opéra Comique is one of the best kept secret in Paris.
Founded during the reign of Louis XIV, in 1714, the Opéra Comique is one of the oldest theatres and music halls in France, together with the Opéra de Paris and the Comédie Française. In 2005 the Opéra Comique was finally registered as one of the five National Theatres and in 2015, it celebrated its 300th anniversary !
The place is iconic for having witnessed the creation of internationally renown master pieces such as The Damnation of Faust by Berlioz, Lakmé by Delibes, The Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach, Pelleas and Melisande by Debussy and L’heure Espagnole by Ravel…and more importantly the creation of Carmen, by Georges Bizet and of Manon by Massenet. The two rebellious women have been greeting audiences in the great hall of the Opéra Comique to this day.