Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe explained

48.8495°N 2.3388°W

Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe
Address:2 rue Corneille, 6th arrondissement of Paris
City:Paris
Architect:Pierre Thomas Baraguay
Capacity:800
Opened:1782
Reopened:1808
Rebuilt:1819
Website:www.theatre-odeon.eu

The Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe (English: European Music Hall) (formerly the Théâtre de l'Odéon (English: Music Hall)) is one of France's six national theatres. It is located at 2 rue Corneille in the 6th arrondissement of Paris on the left bank of the Seine, next to the Luxembourg Garden and the Luxembourg Palace, which houses the Senate.

First theatre

The original building, the Salle du Faubourg Saint-Germain, was constructed for the Théâtre Français between 1779 and 1782 to a Neoclassical design by Charles De Wailly and Marie-Joseph Peyre. The site was in the garden of the former Hôtel de Condé. The new theatre was inaugurated by Marie-Antoinette on April 9, 1782. It was there that Beaumarchais' play The Marriage of Figaro was premiered two years later. On April 27, 1791, during the Revolution, the company split. The players sympathetic to the crown remained in the theatre in the Faubourg Saint-Germain. They were arrested and incarcerated on the night of September 3, 1793, but were allowed to return a year later. In 1797, the theater was remodeled by the architect Jean-François Leclerc and became known as the Odéon, but it was destroyed by a fire on March 18, 1799.[1] [2]

Second theatre

An 1808 reconstruction of the theater designed by Jean Chalgrin (architect of the Arc de Triomphe) was officially named the Théâtre de l'Impératrice, but everyone still called it the Odéon.[3] It burned down in 1818.

Third theatre

The third and present structure, designed by Pierre Thomas Baraguay, was opened in September 1819. In 1990, the theater was given the sobriquet 'Théâtre de l'Europe'. It is a member theater of the Union of the Theatres of Europe.

Access

The Line 4 and Line 10 serves Odéon station.

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Wild 2012, pp. 98–100, 289–290; Carlson 1966, pp. 1–5 (The Marriage of Figaro).
  2. http://www.hopstop.com/Od_on_Th_tre_de_l_Europe-Attractions-Paris-799499473-l.html Culture & History of Odéon Théâtre de l'Europe
  3. Regarding the name Théâtre de l'Impératrice, see Hemmings 1994, p. 106.