page_title: Royal Opera of Versailles
section_title: Return to temporary theatres and conversions, 1729 to 1770
hierarchical_section_title: Royal Opera of Versailles / Return to temporary theatres and conversions, 1729 to 1770
caption_attribution_description: English: A performance of Rameau's La princesse de Navarre on 23 February 1745 in the theatre of the Grande Écurie, Versailles, as part of the celebrations of the marriage of the dauphin Louis to Maria Teresa of Spain.
context_page_description: The Royal Opera of Versailles is the main theatre and opera house of the Palace of Versailles. Designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, it is also known as the Théâtre Gabriel. The interior decoration by Augustin Pajou is constructed almost entirely of wood, painted to resemble marble in a technique known as faux marble. The excellent acoustics of the opera house are at least partly due to its wooden interior.
  The house is located at the northern extremity of the north wing of the palace. General public access to the theater is gained through the two-story vestibule. Some parts of the Opéra, such as the King's Loge and the King's Boudoir represent some of the earliest expressions of what would become known as Louis XVI style.
  Lully’s Persée — written in 1682, the year Louis XIV moved into the palace — inaugurated the Opéra on 16 May 1770 in celebration of the marriage of the dauphin — the future Louis XVI — to Marie Antoinette.
  The Opéra Royal can serve either as a theater for opera, stage plays, or orchestral events, when it can accommodate an audience of 712, or as a ballroom, when the floor of the orchestra level of the auditorium can be raised to the level of the stage.
context_section_description: With the return of the court to Versailles in 1722, spaces used by Louis XIV were once again pressed into service for the needs of the court.  In 1729, as part of the festivities in celebration of the birth of the dauphin, a temporary theatre was constructed in the Cour de Marbre.  The salle de la Comédie and the Manège of the Grand Écurie continued to be used as they had during the reign of Louis XIV.
  However, owing to Louis XV proclivity for more a more intimate theater, a number of temporary theaters known as the théâtres des cabinets were created.  These theaters were most often constructed in one of the rooms of the petit appartement du roi, with the petite galerie being the most frequently used starting from 1746.  In 1748, the Escalier des ambassadeurs was converted into a theatre, in which the Marquise de Pompadour staged and acted in a number of plays.  Two years later, the theatre was dismantled when the Escalier des ambassadeurs was destroyed for the construction of the appartement de Madame Adélaïde.
  Acutely aware of the need for a larger and more permanent theater, as early as the 1740s Louis XV, seriously considered reviving Louis XIV's plans for a permanent salle de spectacle to be constructed at the northern end of the Aile de Nobles.  However, owing to the Seven Years’ War, construction would not be able to commence for nearly 20 years.  When fire destroyed the Grand Écurie and the theatre of the Manège in 1751, and since the salle de la Comédie had become an unfeasible venue due to its size for theatrical productions, Louis XV finally authorized Ange-Jacques Gabriel to design the Opéra in 1763.
caption: Premiere of Rameau's La princesse de Navarre on 23 February 1745 in the Grande Écurie, engraving by Charles-Nicolas Cochin.
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