Our visit to the Opéra Comique

On March 16 a group of AAPA members was given a tour of the Opéra Comique by its director, Louis Langrée. He explained that if an opera is a place where people sing, and a theatre a place where people speak, then the Opéra Comique is a place where people both speak and sing. That’s a comic opera (meaning that it isn’t necessarily funny).
The building itself, built in the 18th century, the oldest of Paris’s three opera houses, is a classical gem hidden behind the Boulevard des Italiens. It’s a much smaller, more intimate setting than the Opéra Garnier – and has to be, as the audience needs to be near enough the stage to hear the speech.
When you get there, make sure to go up to the first floor to see the stunning murals. The story goes that when the Occupation began, staff added blobs of brown to dissuade the Germans from wanting to take the paintings home with them.
Many of us had lived in Paris forever without noticing the place before. Yet it is storied. Debussy and Ravel composed their first operas for it, and many great singers debuted here. “We don’t hire stars. We create stars,” explained Langrée, who spoke about his institution with unmistakable love