In 1902, the Théâtre municipal took on the name by which we know it today: the Opéra de Nice.
A landmark venue for opera and symphonic music
After its reopening, operatic life in Nice flourished once more, with premieres such as Marie-Madeleine by Massenet (1903), French premieres of works including Berlioz’s Les Troyens (1891), Ponchielli’s La Gioconda (1886), Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Wagner’s Das Rheingold (1902), Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, and the world premiere of Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers (1965).
A long line of divas graced its stage: Nelly Melba, Felia Litvinne, Emma Calvé, Mado Robin, Régine Crespin, Barbara Hendricks, and Montserrat Caballé — whose name is given to the Opéra de Nice’s foyer. Legendary singers have also displayed their vocal talents here: José Luccioni, Cesare Vezzani, Georges Thill, Mario del Monaco, Carlo Bergonzi, Luciano Pavarotti, Franco Corelli, Ruggiero Raimondi, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Jonas Kaufmann.
Montserrat Caballé: the Opéra’s foyer today bears the name of Montserrat Caballé, the great Spanish soprano (1933–2018), who performed many times at the Opéra de Nice.
The Opéra de Nice stage has also hosted prestigious concerts featuring soloists such as pianists Marguerite Long, Arthur Rubinstein, Wilhelm Kempff, and Krystian Zimerman; violinists Jacques Thibaud, Zino Francescatti, and Yehudi Menuhin; and conductors Georges Enesco, Jascha Horenstein, Paul Paray, Igor Markevitch, Eugen Jochum, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and others.