Opéra de Marseille

Also, French premieres of major operatic works were given in the theatre: these include Aida (1877), La Fanciulla del West (1912), and an historic performance by Dame Nellie Melba in Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet in 1890.

Some years following the installation of electricity, in November 1919 a fire destroyed the 18th century theatre, leaving only its shell and an exterior stone colonnade.

The present day opera house, the Opéra Municipal de Marseille, dates from its opening on 4 December 1924.

Designed by the three architects Ebrard, Castel, and Raymond, the theatre preserved the stone colonnade and, located the surviving original box office in the centre of the entrance hall, up from which led two staircases to the elegant main foyer.

Beauvert describes it as "an Art Deco temple", the "soul mate" of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris.