Opera Comique
- 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, near the old Globe Theatre (not Shakespeare's theatre, which was demolished in 1644) on Newcastle Street. The two theatres were back to back, and were known as the "Rickety Twins". It opened in 1871 and was demolished in 1899. The theatre had three entrances through long narrow tunnels from three streets 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.[1]
The first production at the theatre in 1871 was a musical play based on a Moliere work called The Doctor in Spite of Himself, with music by Richard D'Oyly Carte, which was a failure. The Parisian company of the Comedie-Francaise played there during the Franco-Prussian War. In 1873 Ristori appeared there. In November 1877, Carte premiered Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer at the theatre, followed by H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and Patience, which was later transferred to Carte's larger new theatre, the Savoy Theatre.
The theatre was demolished in 1899 when London's Aldwych, named after old Wych Street, began construction.