Opera of Lyon

The Opera of Lyon (Opera de Lyon) or Nouvel Opera House (Opera Nouvel) is named after its architect, Jean Nouvel.

The first opera in Lyon was built in 1756 according to the design of the author of the Pantheon in Paris, Jacques-Germain Soufflot. As the building had been very small, it was demolished in 1826 and replaced by a new 1,200-seat opera house, created by Antoine-Marie Chenavard and Jean-Marie Pollet.

The opera's opening night was marked by The White Lady by Francois-Adrien Boieldieu. In the following decades, the audience of the Lyon Opera enjoyed such broad premieres as Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky, The Master-Singers of Nuremberg by Wagner, Expectation by Schoenberg, and many others.

At the end of the last century, it was decided to rebuild the opera house. The project of the famous French architect Jean Nouvel won the competition. The reconstruction lasted 4 years, from 1989 to 1993. From the original building, only the walls, facade, and foyer remain. All the internal premises of the opera house were completely redesigned. For example, underground floors designed for rehearsal rooms were added. Besides, the building became 2 times higher thanks to the semi-cylindrical glass dome. Today it houses the ballet troupe. The auditorium, designed in a traditional Italian style, has a horseshoe shape and 6 tiers of balconies.

At first, the citizens of Lyon met the design of the renovated opera house with a mixed reception. Many criticized it for its small capacity (the hall is designed for 1,100 seats) and appearance (the dark upper dome messes up the urban landscape). But later, they fell in love with it. By the way, the current main conductor of the Lyon Opera is Kazushi Ono from Japan.