History - period 1902 – 1992

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.

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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.

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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.

Direction: Ferdinand Aymé

Since the building first opened, a number of elements have changed. The main entrance, which originally led to a grand staircase set within the theatre’s rotunda, was moved to the Rue Saint-François-de-Paule.

Likewise, the proscenium was reduced in size, the great chandelier removed and then reinstated in 1960 (it holds 600 light bulbs), the stalls enlarged, and the paintings in the entrance hall replaced by large mirrors.

The stage tower was rebuilt and modernised in 1979.

The orchestra pit, thanks to its movable platform, allows for a significantly larger number of musicians for concerts and enables the performance of a wider repertoire.

Management: Pierre Médecin

A passionate music enthusiast, he had been an assistant to Wieland Wagner at Bayreuth in the 1950s, before working alongside Georges-François Hirsch when the latter was head of dance at the Opéra Garnier (1979–1981).

Pierre Médecin served as Artistic Adviser to the Opéra de Nice between 1959 and 1966, and became its Artistic Director in 1982. There he produced the complete Wagner Ring cycle and the complete Mozart operas to mark the bicentenary of the composer’s death, as well as a great many works from the standard repertoire and several French premieres, including Janáček’s Kátya Kabanová.

La Diacosmie, from the Greek word “diakosmos” meaning “décor”, was inaugurated on 18 June 1987.

The Opéra de Nice’s production centre, La Diacosmie brings together under one roof the design, construction, creation, storage and rehearsal functions essential to the life of a major theatre today.