Paris best kept secret

Salle Favart

Salle Favart © Stefan Brion

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True Jewel in the heart of Paris, the Opéra Comique is only a short walk from Opéra Garnier in the second arrondissement. Inaugurated in 1783, the Opéra Comique and its Salle Favart have witnessed more than three centuries of history, a typically French eclectic architecture and a unique eponymous genre, opéra-comique, a delicate balance of singing and spoken drama.

As tangible and intangible heritage, the Opéra Comique is glorified with a ceiling painted by Benjamin-Constant, an ode to music and singing and to our house’s iconic premieres of the French repertoire, such as Carmen by Georges Bizet, one of the most famous opéra-comiques in the world, Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach and Pelléas et Mélisande by Claude Debussy.

Besides its self-named genre, the theater is a breeding ground for creations and the perfect playing field for a new and protean generation of artists such as Thomas Jolly, Francesco Filidei, Jeanne Candel, Raphaël Pichon, Joël Pommerat, Valérie Lesort and Christian Hecq. Discover and revise your classics in a rich atmosphere open to all audiences.

The Opéra Comique offers a variety of events and projects, such as cabaret with Porte 8, initiation to singing and opera with A l’heure du déjeuner and Chantez maintenant as well as Chanson à partager and Mécanopéra for young people, and a festival intended for children and musical exploration called Mon Premier Festival d’Opéra.

If you wish to visit our house, you are welcome to guided tours of the Opéra Comique outside performance hours.