French Opera House

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The French Opera House opened on December 2, 1859. Operas were held in the city as early as 1791, but the opening of the French Opera House heralded a new era of grand opera in New Orleans. [1] The French Opera House was closed during the Civil War and ultimately destroyed by a fire in 1919. [2] New Orleans was the first American city to support an opera company. A 1913 souvenir album proclaimed that the city of New Orleans as “America’s Musical Capital” because of the prominent presence of opera. [3]

Charles Boudousquie, the head of a stock company and later manager and commissioner of the French Opera House, approached James Gallier Jr. and Richard Easterbrook to build the opera house. [10] The French Opera House’s construction began in 1859 on the corner of Bourbon and Toulouse Streets. It took 233 days and $118,500 to build. Construction workers used bonfires to illuminate the construction site in the evenings, allowing the structures rapid construction. [9]

The French Opera House was built in the style of European grand operas. The Greek Revival building measured 166 feet on Bourbon Street and 187 feet on Toulouse Street. The central portion of the Bourbon Street façade projected onto the sidewalk. This arcade protected theatre-goers in bad weather. This was extended by a gallery projecting over the street.

The elliptical auditorium had a proscenium stage thrusting forward with a curved apron. There was an orchestra pit followed by curved parquette (orchestra) seating. Boxes lined the side of the parquette as well as the pit. Four tiers of seating curved along the walls of the auditorium. The first two tiers had stalls and boxes. The third tier held seats that provided cheap tickets for white patrons. Non-whites were only allowed in the fourth tier of seating. [11]

With this opera house and other theatres around the city, New Orleans became a world center for theatre. Aida was performed for the first time in the United States at the French Opera House in 1880. [12]

Though by far the most common type of performance, grand opera was not the only type of performance shown in the opera house. The theatre tried to vary the acts and audiences who came. German prima donna Madame Anna Grunewald performed Lachner’s operetta “Last Rendezvous” at the Opera House in 1865 after a world tour. The show also featured Vaudeville acts and comedies. [13, 14]

During the late 1800s, one could purchase subscriptions for the season at Philip Werlein's Music Store at 135 Canal Street. Season tickets ranged from proscenium seats at $384, to balcony seats at $64. [17] The subscriptions could also be obtained at significantly lower prices at auctions. [18] In the 1900s, subscriptions were bought at Grunewald’s Music Store with prices ranging from $1500, for proscenium seats, to $110, for balcony seats. [19]

In the 1800s, the French Opera House was a cultural center as well as a theatre. The House was used during Mardi Gras as a meeting place for revelers before parades and to house the Mardi Gras balls. [20]

Even before a fire destroyed the House in 1919, accidents were common. In 1854, during a comedy sketch by a Mr. Carrier, the upper two balconies of the theatre collapsed, killing two and injuring dozens. Almost all of those affected were Creole due to the location of their seats. [23]

On December 4, 1919, a fire destroyed The French Opera House. The fire started across the street in Silvestre's Restaurant. [24] Though the brick exterior walls were resistant to the flames, the wooden interior caught fire quickly. [25] At the time of its destruction, the Opera House was owned by the Tulane University Fund. Damages from the fire were estimated at $250,000, but the building was insured for less than ten percent of that. [26] Despite efforts to rebuild, the theatre was closed for good.

After the fire, the site was used as a lumber yard and parking lot. Winthrop Rockefeller built a hotel, Le Downtowner du Vieux Carré, on the site in the mid-1960s, about the same time he was elected governor of Arkansas. The property has gone through several owners, names, and concepts since then.