Gio Paolo Bombarda (Rome, c.1650 – Paris, 6 December 1712) was the founder of the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels.

Life

Musician, councillor and treasurer to

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian II (11 July 1662 – 26 February 1726), also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Electorate of Bavaria, Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last governor of the Spani ...

in Munich, he was taken on by the court orchestra in 1680 and, in 1686, he married the daughter of the composer Ercole Bernabei. When Maximilian became

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

in 1692, Bombarda went with him to Brussels and became his emissary to the French and Dutch bankers. In 1693 he married his second wife, in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, the daughter of the

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

banker Cloots. In 1694 Bombarda and Pietro Antonio Fiocco rented the Opéra du Quai au Foin, managing it for three years. After the Bombardment of Brussels by French troops under maréchal de Villeroy, Maximilien-Emmanuel entrusted Bombarda with the construction of a new theatre right in the heart of the city – the Théâtre ''sur la Monnoye'', which opened in 1700. The Académie royale de musique in Paris was then in financial difficulties and its director Jean-Nicolas de Francine was unable to remedy the situation alone. The able financier Bombarda was thus called to the Académie in 1703 and left the elector's services to set up himself and his family in Paris in 1705, in a house on rue d'Argenteuil, not far from the

Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former French royal palace located on Rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre Palace, Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Ca ...

, where he died in 1712.

Children

His eldest daughter, Anne-Marie-Pauline (1697–1719), married

Jean-Jacques Amelot de Chaillou Jean-Jacques is a French name, equivalent to "John James" in English. Since the second half of 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau was widely known as Jean Jacques. Notable people bearing this name include: Given name * Jean-Jacques Annaud (born 19 ...

in 1716, whilst his son Pierre-Paul (1698–1783), known as Bombarde de Beaulieu, in 1718 married the daughter of the famous salonnière Madame Doublet.

Succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bombarda, Gio Paolo 1650s births 1712 deaths Emigrants from the Papal States Businesspeople from the Austrian Netherlands Musicians from the Austrian Netherlands Directors of La Monnaie