page_title: Théâtre Lyrique
section_title: 1856–1860: Léon Carvalho
hierarchical_section_title: Théâtre Lyrique / On the boulevard du Temple / 1856–1860: Léon Carvalho
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Léon Carvalho (1825–1897), a French impresario and stage director
context_page_description: The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century. The company was founded in 1847 as the Opéra-National by the French composer Adolphe Adam and renamed Théâtre Lyrique in 1852. It used four different theatres in succession, the Cirque Olympique, the Théâtre Historique, the Salle du Théâtre-Lyrique, and the Salle de l'Athénée, until it ceased operations in 1872.
  The diverse repertoire of the company "cracked the strict organization of the Parisian operatic world by breaking away from the principle that institution and genre were of one substance."
context_section_description: Léon Carvalho had had little or no experience as a theatre director when he took on the position at the Théâtre Lyrique, yet he proved to be the most successful in the company's history. His counterpart at the Opéra-Comique, Nestor Roqueplan, was later to say: "I admit my weakness for this indomitable and inventive director, who has done more for the spreading of great music than all the other lyric theatres in Paris put together." Carvalho was greatly aided in his success by the presence of his wife Caroline Miolan-Carvalho, who became the leading soprano and the company's greatest box office attraction, but Léon Carvalho also engaged other important singers who were already, or would become, major stars, including Delphine Ugalde, Marie Sax, Pauline Viardot, and Christine Nilsson.
  Most of Léon Carvalho's productions were to be substantial works of 3 acts or more, as opposed to the large number of one-act opéras comiques which had previously predominated. His presentations were more carefully prepared and lavishly produced, and one production (or an alternating pair) was kept on stage until it was no longer making money. If successful, fewer productions were mounted in a given year, if not, new production activity could become almost feverish. He put a greater emphasis on public domain works, significantly exceeding the 1851 rule (which had been established for the Opéra-National) of only 33% of acts in this category.
  The company's success with Robin des Bois prompted Carvalho to mount three additional Weber operas, although none did as well as Robin. The first was Obéron, in a French translation by Charles Nuitter, Alexandre Beaumont, and Paul de Chazot (27 February 1857; 100 performances), followed by Euryanthe in a French translation by Adolphe de Leuven and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges (1 September 1857; 28 performances), and the one-act opéra comique Abou Hassan in a French translation by Charles Nuitter and Louis-Alexandre Beaumont (11 May 1859; 21 performances).
  Other successful revivals under Carvalho's leadership at the Théâtre Historique included André Grétry's three-act opéra comiqe Richard Coeur-de-lion (23 May 1856; 302 performances); Les noces de Figaro, a French translation by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré of Mozart's four-act comic opera Le nozze di Figaro (8 May 1858; 200 performances); L'enlèvement au sérail, a French translation by Prosper Pascal of Mozart's two-act opéra comique Die Entführung aus dem Serail (11 May 1859; 87 performances); and Gluck's Orphée (18 November 1859; 138 performances). The last had been translated from the original Italian by Pierre-Louis Moline when Gluck had adapted his Vienna version in 1774 for the Paris Opera, replacing the alto castrato role of Orfeo with the high tenor (haute-contre) role of Orphée. The Théâtre Lyrique's production was a landmark revival in the history of the opera, with the music adapted by Hector Berlioz for the mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot as Orphée. Eurydice was sung by Marie Sax, who later became a leading soprano at the Paris Opera.
  This period was also distinguished by many successful productions of new French works, including Louis Clapisson's three-act opéra comique La fanchonnette (1 March 1856; 192 performances), Aimé Maillart's three-act opéra comique Les dragons de Villars (19 September 1856; 156 performances), Victor Massé's three-act opéra comique La reine topaze (19 September 1856; 170 performances), Léo Delibes' one-act opéra comique Maître Griffard (3 October 1857; 64 performances), and Charles Gounod's three-act opéra comique Le médecin malgré lui (15 January 1858; 142 performances). The most significant premiere under Carvalho, however, was Gounod's opera Faust (19 March 1859; 306 performances) in which Carvalho's wife Caroline Miolan-Carvalho sang the role of Marguerite. She later became internationally famous in the part.
  Beginning on 18 February 1860 Gounod's Philémon et Baucis premiered at the theatre. Despite a strong cast, with Caroline Carvalho as Baucis, Marie Sax as the Bacchante, and Charles-Amable Battaille as 
caption: Léon Carvalho
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