New Orleans Opera

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Opera has long been part of the musical culture of New Orleans, Louisiana. Operas have regularly been performed in the city since the 1790s, and for the majority of the city's history since the early 19th century, New Orleans has had a resident company regularly performing opera in addition to theaters hosting traveling performers and companies.

[edit] The Old Opera House

Operas were staged at a variety of theaters in the city, but the most famous for generations was the New Orleans Opera House, better known in its later decades as the "Old French Opera." It was located on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. It opened in 1859 and hosted more performances than any place in the world.^{[citation needed]} New Orleans social life, whether high or low, imported or indigenous, found a receptive audience in this cosmopolitan city.

The theater burned down in 1919, causing severe disruption in opera in the city. As attempts to arrange finances to rebuild did not succeed, the company disbanded and for a generation most opera in New Orleans was put on by touring companies at various theaters in the city.