European cultural traditions run deep in New Orleans, with opera emerging as its prominent historic music centuries before the first signs of blues, jazz or any other uniquely American art form. From Europe, New Orleans acquired its love of beauty and passion for art, its zest for drama and penchant for costume. The city still sets aside a carnival season for vibrant dress, music, satirical drama and general merriment. The survival of Mardi Gras is one indication that New Orleans retains a certain joie de vivre, a desire to celebrate the human experience that finds its roots in continental culture. Opera has always complemented the New Orleanian spirit.
Opera is an all-encompassing emotional medium.
With its large-scale musical scores, full orchestra, cast and chorus, choreography, visual theatrics, literary depth, and dramatic delivery, it is the ultimate, most complete art form. Opera's creators, in order to succeed, must surrender sharp specialization for expert sensibility in all areas of performance. New Orleans began reproducing this European indulgence by the end of the 18th century. No one knows exactly when the first opera performance in New Orleans occurred. Despite the fact that it burned and was rebuilt twice, the theater was New Orleans Opera's principal venue through most of its Golden Age, up until the outbreak of the Civil War, with some rivalry from opera impresario James Caldwell's theaters, the St. Charles and the New American.