The Toulon Opera (L'opéra de Toulon) is a French opera house located in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

. The second-largest opera house in France, after the

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

in Paris, it opened thirteen years before the Garnier. It is currently the home of the Opéra Toulon Provence Méditerranée, under the direction of Jérôme Brunetière. The opera company performs about eight operas a season in the opera houses of

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. The house seats 1,797 people on five levels. The theatre sits on 2,000 square metres of foundation and has a stage width of 22 metres 80 centimetres and a depth of . The permanent opera staff consists of over 200 people.

History

The Toulon Opera House (Fr: ''Le Grand Theâtre de Toulon'') was one of a wave of lyric opera houses built in France and Europe in the middle of the 19th century, and it represented the exuberant style of the Second Empire. Its construction began on 5 March 1860, two years before the start of construction of the Palais Garnier. The designer was Léon Feuchéres, who had renovated the Marseille Opera House and built the opera house in

. He died in 1860, and the work was finished by Paris architects Charpentier, pére et fils. The 15-meter canvas on the ceiling was painted and its plaster ornament designed by Louis Duveau, who also created the ceiling of the Grand Salon of the Imperial Apartments in the Napoleon Wing of the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. The house was inaugurated on 1 October 1862, with ''Les Mousquetaires de la reine'', a comic opera by Fromental Halévy, followed a few days later by ''

La Juive ''La Juive'' (, ) is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra National de Paris, Opéra de Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' ...

'', Halévy's most famous opera. The opera house was the setting for the French film ' (''The Curse of Belphegor''), by Georges Combret, in 1966. Past music directors of the company have included Giuliano Carella (2003-2018) and Jurjen Hempel (2018-2021). In June 2021, the company announced the appointments of Marzena Diakun and Valerio Galli as co-principal conductors of the company, effective 1 September 2021.

References

External links

Official website of the Opéra de Toulon
{{authority control Toulon Opera houses in France Buildings and structures in Var (department) Tourist attractions in Var (department) Music venues completed in 1862 Theatres completed in 1862 1862 establishments in France Musical groups from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 19th-century architecture in France