page_title: Opéra-National
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Opéra-National / Background
context_page_description: The Opéra-National was a Parisian opera company that the French composer Adolphe Adam founded in 1847 to provide an alternative to the two primary French opera companies in Paris, the Opéra and the Opéra-Comique. The goals of the new company were to "foster new compositional talent," revive opéras comiques from an earlier period, and produce opera at a lower ticket price for a wider public.
  The company first performed in the relatively large Cirque Olympique on the Boulevard du Temple, in a working class district of Paris. Financial difficulties and the turmoil of the 1848 Revolution caused the company to close in March of that year. It was revived under a new director, Edmond Seveste, in 1851, when it moved to the Théâtre Historique, a short distance away on the Boulevard du Temple. In 1852 the company was renamed Théâtre Lyrique and operated under that name until 1872.
context_section_description: In 1791, during the French Revolution, many restrictions on theatres were removed. New laws allowed essentially anyone to open a theatre. Developers founded many new theatres, and it became increasingly difficult for any, including state sponsored theatres, to make money. On 8 June 1806 Napoleon issued a decree that regulated the opening of new theatres. No person could open a theatre without the approval of the emperor, based on a proposal prepared and submitted by the minister of the interior. On 25 April 1807 he enacted a second, more highly developed decree that determined the genres permitted at each theatre. Any theatre wanting to stage a work in the repertory of the state-supported Opéra, the Comédie-Française, or the Opéra-Comique had to pay a fee to the management of the appropriate company. In addition, only the Opéra could perform particular historical and mythological ballets, thus burdening several companies, particularly the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin.
  In spite of these measures, the situation continued to worsen, and on 29 July 1807 Napoleon decided that only eight theatres (four primary and four secondary) could continue to operate. The primary theatres were the Opéra, the Comédie-Française, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre de l'Impératrice (Théâtre-Italien). The four secondary theatres were the Vaudeville, the Variétés, the Gaité, and the Ambigu-Comique. The other twenty-five or so existing theatres had to close by 15 August. Venues for the performance of French-language opera were reduced to two: the Opéra and the Opéra-Comique.
  After Napoleon's downfall, licenses for new theatres began to increase, and the enforcement of restrictions on genre began to relax. Official censors were more concerned with content rather than genre. Opéra comique was given at the Théâtre du Gymnase as early as 1820. From 1824 to 1829 operas, such as Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia and Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, were produced at the Théâtre Lyrique de l'Odéon. From 1827 to 1831 opéra-comique and French adaptations of Rossini and Mozart were presented at the Théâtre des Nouveautés. After the July Revolution of 1830, restrictions loosened even more, and beginning in 1838 opéras-comiques and operas, including the premiere of Donizetti's Lucie de Lammermoor (the French adaptation of his Lucia di Lammermoor), were presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance. None at these theatres presented operas exclusively, however. In fact, opera represented a very small part of their repertory. Moreover, all of these endeavours were short-lived attempts. The latter theatre failed in mid-1841.
  As early as 14 May 1842, several composers, including Hector Berlioz, Ambroise Thomas, and  Adolphe Adam, petitioned administrative authorities to create a permanent third opera house in Paris. A commission was established, and by August plans for a new theatre were announced. However, on 28 October the petition was rejected. In September 1844 a second petition was submitted by winners of the Prix de Rome, requesting the establishment of a new lyric theatre dedicated to works of younger, lesser known composers and librettists. This petition was also rejected. Finally in 1847, on the third attempt, one composer, Adolphe Adam, succeeded.
caption: Napoleon
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