Opera Comique

51°30′47″N 0°7′7″W

This article is about the London opera house. For the Paris opera house associated with the premieres of operettas by Berlioz and Debussy, see Opéra-Comique. For the opera style, see opéra comique.

The Opera Comique was a 19th-century opera house located in London, on the East Strand between Wych Street and Holywell Street, which opened in 1871, followed shortly by construction of the adjoining Globe Theatre (not Shakespeare's Globe Theatre). The two theatres, both owned by Sefton Parry, were back to back, and were known as the "Rickety Twins". The theatre closed in 1899. The theatre, built partly underground, had three entrances through long narrow tunnels from three streets (including the Strand) and was nicknamed the "Theatre Royal, Tunnels". It was reportedly hastily built, and draughty, and its long flight of stairs leading down to the level of the stalls was a dangerous fire hazard. However, it was nicely decorated. Parry built the theatre cheaply hoping ‘to make handsome profits in compensation when the area was demolished, which was even then in contemplation’.

History

An early poster showing scenes from The Sorcerer, H.M.S. Pinafore, and Trial by Jury

The first production at the theatre was a musical play in 1871, based on a Moliere work, and called The Doctor in Spite of Himself, with music by Richard D'Oyly Carte, which was a failure. The theatre then turned to presenting French works in translation. The theatre was not popular with audiences, at first, partly because the public did not approve of its French name and its repertoire. The fact that the Parisian company, Comedie-Francaise, played there during the Franco-Prussian War did nothing to change that opinion. In 1873 another foreigner, Italian tragedienne Adelaide Ristori, appeared there.

In November 1877, however, Carte returned to premiere Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer, a proudly English comic opera, at the theatre. This was followed by the patriotic H.M.S. Pinafore (during a performance of which Carte's old partners tried to seize the set), which became a nearly unprecedented hit. Next came The Pirates of Penzance, and finally Patience, which was later transferred to Carte's larger new theatre, the Savoy Theatre. During this period, Carte also presented various companion pieces with the G&S operas, including Dora's Dream (premiering in 1877), by Arthur Cecil and Alfred Cellier; The Spectre Knight (1878); revivals of Trial by Jury; several pieces by George Grossmith beginning in 1878: Beauties on the Beach, A Silver Wedding, Five Hamlets, and Cups and Saucers; revivals of Gilbert's After All!; a Children's Pinafore (1878); In the Sulks (1880); and Uncle Samuel (1881).

Once the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company left the theatre, its fortunes declined. Later productions includied farces and burlesque, such as Mother-In-Law (1885, by George R. Sims), which was paired with Vulcan, by Rose and Harris.

The Opera Comique was rebuilt in 1895 and closed in 1899, to be demolished in 1902 when the maze of slums in the area was redeveloped to create Aldwych (named after old Wych Street) and Kingsway.

See also

• Savoy Opera

External links

• Information about the Opera Comique
• Article on the Opera Comique and other London theatres
• Profile of the theatre and other Victorian theatres
• Account of the "Fracas at the Opera Comique" in 1879