Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Encyclopedia
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera
house located in the principality of Monaco
.
With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III
, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's private theatre with the main entrance reserved for the family. This was to be the Salle Garnier which opened in 1879.
During the renovation of the Salle Garnier in 2004/ 2005, the company presented operas at the Salle des Princes in the local Grimaldi Forum
, a modern conference and performance facility where Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra
regularly perform.
Charles Garnier
, who also designed the Palais Garnier
in Paris. The new Salle Garnier was an exact replica in miniature of the Paris Opera House. It seats only 524. Like its predecessor, it is in Belle Epoque
style.
It was inaugurated on 25 January 1879 with a performance by Sarah Bernhardt
dressed as a nymph. The first opera performed there was Robert Planquette
's Le Chevalier Gaston on 8 February 1879, followed by three additional operas in the first season.
With the influence of the first director, Jules Cohen (who was instrumental in bringing Adelina Patti
) and the fortunate combination of Raoul Gunsbourg
, the new director from 1883, and Princess Alice
, the opera-loving American wife of Charles III's successor, Albert I
, the company was thrust onto the world's opera community stage. Gunsbourg remained for sixty years, overseeing such premiere productions as Hector Berlioz
's La damnation de Faust in 1893, and the first appearances in January 1894 of the heroic Italian tenor, Francesco Tamagno
in Verdi
's Otello
, whose title role he had created for the opera's premiere in Italy.
By the early years of the twentieth century, the Salle Garnier was to see such great performers as Nellie Melba
and Enrico Caruso in La bohème
and Rigoletto
(in 1902), and Feodor Chaliapin
in the premiere of Jules Massenet
's Don Quichotte
(1910). This production formed part of a long association between the company and Massenet and his operas, two of which were presented there posthumously.
Other famous twentieth-century singers to appear at Monte Carlo included Titta Ruffo
, Geraldine Farrar
, Mary Garden
, Tito Schipa
, Beniamino Gigli
, Claudia Muzio
, Georges Thill
, Lily Pons
, and Mary McCormic
.
Apart from Massenet, composers whose works had their first performances at Monte Carlo included: Saint-Saëns
(Hélène
, 1904); Mascagni
(Amica
, 1905); and Puccini
(La rondine
, 1917). Indeed, since its inauguration, the theatre has hosted 45 world premiere productions of operas. René Blum was retained to found the Ballet de l'Opéra. The "Golden Age" of the Salle Garnier has passed, since small companies with small houses are not able to mount highly expensive productions. Nonetheless, the present day company still presents a season containing five or six operas.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
house located in the principality of Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
.
With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III
Charles III, Prince of Monaco
Charles III was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 20 June 1856 to his death. He was the founder of the famous casino in Monte Carlo, as his title in Monegasque and Italian was Carlo III.-Birth:...
, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's private theatre with the main entrance reserved for the family. This was to be the Salle Garnier which opened in 1879.
During the renovation of the Salle Garnier in 2004/ 2005, the company presented operas at the Salle des Princes in the local Grimaldi Forum
Grimaldi Forum
Grimaldi Forum, Monaco is a conference & congress centre located on the seafront of Monaco's eastern beach quartier, Larvotto. Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra regularly perform here...
, a modern conference and performance facility where Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo is a classical ballet company established in 1985 by Her Royal Highness the Princess of Hanover in accordance with the wishes of her mother, Princess Grace of Monaco...
and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra
Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra
The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra is the main orchestra in the principality of Monaco...
regularly perform.
Salle Garnier
The Salle Garnier was completed in eight months, directed by the architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Charles Garnier
Charles Garnier (architect)
Charles Garnier was a French architect, perhaps best known as the architect of the Palais Garnier and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.-Early life:...
, who also designed the Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
in Paris. The new Salle Garnier was an exact replica in miniature of the Paris Opera House. It seats only 524. Like its predecessor, it is in Belle Epoque
Belle Époque
The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the era of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, it was a period characterised by optimism and new technological and medical...
style.
It was inaugurated on 25 January 1879 with a performance by Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
dressed as a nymph. The first opera performed there was Robert Planquette
Robert Planquette
Jean Robert Planquette was a French composer of songs and operettas.Several of Planquette's operettas were extraordinarily successful in Britain, including Les cloches de Corneville , the length of whose initial London run broke all records for any piece of musical theatre up to that time, and Rip...
's Le Chevalier Gaston on 8 February 1879, followed by three additional operas in the first season.
With the influence of the first director, Jules Cohen (who was instrumental in bringing Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti was a highly acclaimed 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851 and gave her last performance before an audience in 1914...
) and the fortunate combination of Raoul Gunsbourg
Raoul Gunsbourg
Raoul Samuel Gunsbourg was a Jewish-Romania-born opera director, impresario, composer and writer...
, the new director from 1883, and Princess Alice
Alice Heine
Alice Heine , styled HSH The Princess of Monaco, and also The Duchess of Richelieu, was the American-born second wife of Prince Albert I of Monaco, a great-grandfather of Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Marcel Proust used her as a model for the Princesse de Luxembourg in In Search of Lost Time...
, the opera-loving American wife of Charles III's successor, Albert I
Albert I, Prince of Monaco
Albert I was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 10 September 1889 until his death.-Early life:...
, the company was thrust onto the world's opera community stage. Gunsbourg remained for sixty years, overseeing such premiere productions as Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
's La damnation de Faust in 1893, and the first appearances in January 1894 of the heroic Italian tenor, Francesco Tamagno
Francesco Tamagno
Francesco Tamagno was an operatic tenor from Italy who sang with enormous success throughout Europe and America. On 5 February 1887, he cemented his place in musical history by creating the role of Otello in Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece of the same name...
in Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, whose title role he had created for the opera's premiere in Italy.
By the early years of the twentieth century, the Salle Garnier was to see such great performers as Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
and Enrico Caruso in La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
and Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
(in 1902), and Feodor Chaliapin
Feodor Chaliapin
Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. The possessor of a large and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form.During the first phase...
in the premiere of Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
's Don Quichotte
Don Quichotte
Don Quichotte is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn.Massenet's comédie-héroïque, like so many other dramatized versions of the story of Don Quixote, relates only indirectly to the great novel by Miguel de Cervantes...
(1910). This production formed part of a long association between the company and Massenet and his operas, two of which were presented there posthumously.
Other famous twentieth-century singers to appear at Monte Carlo included Titta Ruffo
Titta Ruffo
Titta Ruffo , born as Ruffo Titta Cafiero, was an Italian opera star who had a major international singing career. Known as the "Voce del leone" , he was greatly admired, even by rival baritones, such as Giuseppe De Luca, who said of Ruffo: "His was not a voice, it was a miracle" Titta Ruffo (9...
, Geraldine Farrar
Geraldine Farrar
Geraldine Farrar was an American soprano opera singer and film actress, noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".- Early life and opera career :Farrar was born in Melrose,...
, Mary Garden
Mary Garden
Mary Garden , was a Scottish operatic soprano with a substantial career in France and America in the first third of the 20th century...
, Tito Schipa
Tito Schipa
Tito Schipa was an Italian tenor. He is considered one of the finest tenori di grazia in operatic history...
, Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism...
, Claudia Muzio
Claudia Muzio
Claudia Muzio was an Italian operatic soprano, whose international career was among the most successful of the early 20th century.-Early years:...
, Georges Thill
Georges Thill
Georges Thill was a French opera singer, often considered to be his country's greatest lyric-dramatic tenor...
, Lily Pons
Lily Pons
Lily Pons was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer she specialized in the coloratura soprano repertoire and was particularly associated with the title roles in Léo Delibes' Lakmé and Gaetano...
, and Mary McCormic
Mary McCormic
Mary McCormic was an American operatic soprano and a professor of opera at the University of North Texas College of Music ....
.
Apart from Massenet, composers whose works had their first performances at Monte Carlo included: Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
(Hélène
Hélène (opera)
Hélène is a poème lyrique or opera in one act by composer Camille Saint-Saëns. It is the first opera for which Saint-Saëns wrote his own French libretto which is based on the classic story of Helen of Troy and Paris from Greek mythology. The opera premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in Monaco on...
, 1904); Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music...
(Amica
Amica (opera)
Amica is an opera in two acts by Pietro Mascagni, originally composed to a libretto by Paul Bérel . The only opera by Mascagni with a French libretto, it was an immediate success with both the audience and the critics on its opening night at the Théâtre du Casino in Monte-Carlo on 16 March 1905....
, 1905); and Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
(La rondine
La rondine
La rondine is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert...
, 1917). Indeed, since its inauguration, the theatre has hosted 45 world premiere productions of operas. René Blum was retained to found the Ballet de l'Opéra. The "Golden Age" of the Salle Garnier has passed, since small companies with small houses are not able to mount highly expensive productions. Nonetheless, the present day company still presents a season containing five or six operas.