Editing Opera Comique

{{Short description|19th-century theatre in London}}
{{Other uses|Opera comique (disambiguation){{!}}Opera comique}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox Theatre
|name           = Opera Comique
|image          = 1901 WychStreet.jpg
|caption        = A 1901 postcard of Wych Street, shortly before its demolition
|address        = 299 [[Strand, London|Strand]]
|city           = [[City of Westminster|Westminster]], London
|designation    = ''Demolished''
|coordinates    = {{coord|51|30|47|N|00|06|57|W|type:landmark }}
|architect      = [[Francis Fowler (architect)|F. H. Fowler]]
|capacity       = 
|opened         = 1870
|closed         = 1899
|currentuse     = Site occupied by [[Bush House]]
}}

The '''Opera Comique''' was a 19th-century theatre constructed in [[City of Westminster|Westminster]], London, located between [[Wych Street]], Holywell Street and the [[Strand, London|Strand]]. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the [[Aldwych]] and [[Kingsway, London|Kingsway]].

The theatre was built cheaply as a speculative venture, and was known as one of the "rickety twins" along with the adjacent [[Globe Theatre (Newcastle Street)|Globe Theatre]]. Numerous managements presented plays in English, French and German, and the house was also used for [[Victorian burlesque|extravaganzas]] and English versions of French [[opéra bouffe|opéras bouffes]]. It is best remembered as the theatre where several early [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] operas had their first runs, between 1877 and 1881.

==History==
===Background and early years===
In the 16th century [[Lyon's Inn]], one of the [[Inns of Chancery]] attached to London's [[Inner Temple]], stood on the site. By the 1860s the area had deteriorated greatly, and the old inn had been converted into what the historians [[Mander and Mitchenson]] describe as "dwellings of a dubious nature".<ref name=m62>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 62</ref> In 1864 part of the area was cleared, and the impresario [[Sefton Henry Parry|Sefton Parry]] built a new theatre, the [[Globe Theatre (Newcastle Street)|Globe]], which opened in 1868.<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 63</ref> He acquired an adjacent site, bounded by [[Wych Street]], Holywell Street and the [[Strand, London|Strand]], on which he built the Opera Comique two years later.<ref name=m128>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 128</ref> The architect was [[Francis Fowler (architect)|Francis Fowler]].<ref name=era>"The New Opera Comique", ''[[The Era (newspaper)|The Era]]'', 30 October 1870, p. 13</ref>

Parry's construction of the theatres was a speculative venture: he hoped to make large profits from compensation when the area was demolished, which was even then in contemplation.<ref name=m62/> It remained in contemplation for more than thirty years.<ref name=mg/> The two theatres, which backed on to each other, became known as "the rickety twins":<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 67 and 133</ref> both were of such flimsy construction that performers could hear each other through the common wall.<ref name=g34>Goodman, p. 34</ref> Despite the nickname, the Opera Comique was by no means a twin of the Globe, being only about half the size, with a seating capacity of 862,<ref>Wearing, J. P. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3206178 "The London West End Theatre in the 1890s"], ''Educational Theatre Journal'', Vol. 29, No. 3 (October 1977), pp. 320–332 {{subscription required}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609050912/http://www.jstor.org/stable/3206178 |date=9 June 2016 }}</ref> compared with more than 1,500 at the Globe.<ref>"The Globe Theatre", ''The Era'', 29 November 1868, ''quoted'' in Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 63–64</ref>

Another way in which the two theatres differed was that, unlike the Globe, the Opera Comique was largely underground. It was entered through tunnels from three streets (including the Strand) and was nicknamed the "Theatre Royal Tunnels".<ref name=m128/> It was reportedly draughty, and its long flight of stairs leading down to the level of the stalls was a dangerous fire hazard.<ref>[http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/OperaComique.htm "The Opera Comique, East Strand, London"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508114129/http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/OperaComique.htm |date=8 May 2009 }}, Arthur Lloyd website. Retrieved 15 April 2020</ref> Despite this and the flimsy construction, the theatre attracted high praise from the press after it opened. ''[[The Era (newspaper)|The Era]]'', commented, "For elegance of design and perfect adaptability to the requirements of dramatic art it is not surpassed, if indeed it be equalled, by any existing Theatre".<ref name=era/> Another London journal reported:
:We are almost inclined to pronounce it ''the'' prettiest theatre in London. It is in the flat horse-shoe form, the stage being well within sight and hearing of every part of the auditorium. This comprises rows of comfortable and elegant stalls on the floor, with three tiers or circles extending nearly round the house as dress-circle, family-circle, and amphitheatre, respectively, and six private boxes on either side of the stage. The design of construction reflects the highest credit on Mr F. H. Fowler, the architect, and the chaste and elegant decorations of Mr K. W. Bradwell deserve great praise.<ref>"Opera Comique", ''The Examiner and London Review'', 5 November 1870, p. 713</ref>

The theatre opened under the name "Royal Opera Comique" on 29 October 1870.<ref name=m128/> A company from the [[Théâtre Déjazet]] in Paris, led by the veteran actress [[Virginie Déjazet]], presented [[Victorien Sardou]]'s comedy ''Les Prés Saint-Gervais'' and two shorter pieces, to an audience that included the [[Edward VII|Prince of Wales]].<ref name=era/> The following year, French drama continued, when the [[Comédie-Française]] company made its first appearance outside France, an event that caused considerable interest.<ref name=m131>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 131</ref>
 
The first home-grown production at the theatre was a musical play in 1871, ''Marie'', with music by [[Richard D'Oyly Carte]] and a libretto by E. Spencer Mott. This accompanied an English adaptation of [[Molière]]'s ''[[Le Médecin malgré lui]]''. The production was not a success.<ref name=Ainger92>Ainger, p. 92; and "Original Correspondence", ''The Era'', 10 September 1871</ref> [[Opéra bouffe|Opéras bouffes]] by [[Hervé (composer)|Hervé]], [[Jacques Offenbach|Offenbach]] and [[Charles Lecocq|Lecocq]], and [[Victorian burlesque|extravaganzas]] by [[F. C. Burnand]] followed.<ref name=e98>"The Opera Comique Theatre", ''The Era'', 15 October 1898, p. 11</ref> After short seasons starring the Italian tragedienne [[Adelaide Ristori]] and then the English operetta star [[Emily Soldene]], Carte became manager of the theatre in 1874, and presented ''The Broken Branch'', an English version of [[Gaston Serpette]]'s operetta ''La branch cassée'', starring [[Pauline Rita]].<ref>"Opera Comique!, ''The Graphic'', 29 August 1874, p. 211; and "Opera Comique", '' [[The Pall Mall Gazette]]'', 29 August 1874, p. 11</ref> Carte's first attempt to found "a permanent abode for Light Opera"<ref name=m131/> failed, and the theatre passed into other hands for the next three years.<ref name=m131/>

The word "Royal" was dropped from the name of the theatre in 1876.<ref  name=m128/> Burnand and [[Charles Morton (impresario)|Charles Morton]] were both briefly managers there, presenting extravaganzas and comic operas respectively. Morton's season in 1876 included well-received productions of Offenbach's ''[[Madame l'archiduc]]'' and Lecocq's ''[[La fille de Madame Angot]]'', featuring Soldene and [[Kate Santley]] and, in the second piece, [[W. S. Penley]], promoted from the chorus. Morton also presented a successful double bill of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s ''[[Trial by Jury]]'' and Offenbach's ''[[Geneviève de Brabant]]''.<ref name=e98/> After Morton a succession of managements between May 1876 and September 1877 staged productions that made little impact.<ref name=e98/>

===Gilbert and Sullivan===
[[File:Sorctrial.jpg |thumb|upright|1878 programme cover]]
In November 1877 the Comedy Opera Company, managed by Carte, took on the lease and staged the premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan's ''[[The Sorcerer]]''. This was followed in 1878 by the same team's ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'', which became a hit, running for 571 performances, the second-longest theatrical run in history, to that date.<ref>Gaye, p. 1532; and Gillan, Don. [http://www.stagebeauty.net/th-frames.html?http&&&www.stagebeauty.net/th-longr.html "Longest Running Plays in London and New York"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613222559/http://www.stagebeauty.net/th-frames.html?http&&&www.stagebeauty.net%2Fth-longr.html |date=13 June 2020 }}, StageBeauty.net. Retrieved 10 March 2009</ref> During the performance on 31 July 1879, Carte's former business partners in the Comedy Opera Company (with whom Carte, Gilbert and Sullivan had split) tried to seize the set, creating a celebrated fracas.<ref>"The Fracas at the Opera Comique", ''The Era'', 10 August 1879, p. 5; "The Fracas at the Opera Comique", ''The Leeds Mercury'', 13 August 1879, p. 8; and Gillan, Don. [http://www.stagebeauty.net/th-opcom.html Account of the "Fracas at the Opera Comique"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723085638/http://www.stagebeauty.net/th-opcom.html |date=23 July 2011 }}</ref> Over Christmas 1878, during the run of ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', the theatre was renovated and redecorated by E. W. Bradwell, reopening on 1 February 1879. ''The Era'' commented, "We can hardly overpraise the beauty and grace of the Opera Comique as it now appears to the delighted audience."<ref name=Renovation>[https://www.gsarchive.net/pinafore/reviews/era790209.html "Opera Comique"] {{dead link|date=May 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. ''The Era'', 9 February 1879, reprinted at ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive''. Retrieved 8 July 2010</ref>

Two more Gilbert and Sullivan successes followed, now produced by the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]]: ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'' (1880) and, finally, ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'' (1881), which was later transferred to Carte's new and larger theatre, the [[Savoy Theatre|Savoy]].<ref>Rollins and Witts, pp. 1 and 8</ref> During this period, Carte also presented various companion pieces with the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, including the 1877 revival of ''[[Dora's Dream]]'' by [[Arthur Cecil]] and [[Alfred Cellier]]; ''[[The Spectre Knight]]'' (1878); revivals of ''[[Trial by Jury]]''; several pieces by [[George Grossmith]] beginning in 1878: ''Beauties on the Beach'', ''A Silver Wedding'', ''Five Hamlets'', and ''[[Cups and Saucers]]''; revivals of Gilbert's ''[[After All!]]'';<ref name=Renovation/> a ''Children's Pinafore'' with an entirely juvenile cast (1878); ''[[In the Sulks]]'' (1880); and ''[[Uncle Samuel]]'' (1881).<ref>Rollins and Witts, Appendix, p. IX</ref>

===Later years===
Once D'Oyly Carte left the Opera Comique the theatre's fortunes declined. It was unoccupied from October to the end of 1881.<ref name=e98/>  At the start of 1882, [[John Hollingshead]] and [[Richard Barker (stage manager)|Richard Barker]] presented ''Mother-in-Law'', a frivolous comedy by [[George R. Sims]], which ran in a double bill with a [[Victorian burlesque|burlesque]] called ''Vulcan'', until May. They were followed by a spoof called ''The Wreck of the Pinafore'' by  H. Lingard and [[Luscombe Searelle]], described by ''The Era'' as "curious and impudent", which ran until October.<ref name=e98/> During the rest of the 1880s a succession of managements presented a wide range of genres, from adaptations of French plays, [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]], [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan|Sheridan]], [[Ibsen]], and a [[Charles Dickens|Dickens]] adaptation by the novelist's son, to musical shows, including ''The Fay o' Fire'' by Edward Jones and Henry Herman, which ''The Era'' later described as "notable as introducing Miss [[Marie Tempest]] to the regular stage".<ref name=e98/> Composers whose works were presented at the Opera Comique in this period included Julia Woolf, [[Meyer Lutz]] and  [[Victor Roger]]. Performers included [[Nelly Bromley]], [[Frank Wyatt]], [[Johnston Forbes-Robertson]], [[Julia Gwynne]] and Penley.<ref name=e98/>

[[File:Opera-comique-1887.jpg|thumb|upright|1887 programme cover]]
The theatre was again renovated in 1885, under the proprietorship of the actor-manager, [[David James (actor, born 1839)|David James]]. ''The Era'' thought that the refurbishments made it "one of the most convenient, handsome, and acceptable places of entertainment in London".<ref name=e1885>"The Opera Comique Theatre", ''The Era'', 4 April 1885, p. 8</ref> James had bought adjoining premises in Holywell Street to make room for an extension to the theatre. The bars and circulation areas were, according to ''The Era'', much improved, a spacious smoking room was added, and new emergency exits were installed.<ref name=e1885/> In 1891, [[George Edwardes]] took on the management of the theatre and presented a burlesque of ''Joan of Arc'' by [[Adrian Ross]], J. L. Shine and [[Frank Osmond Carr]], with a cast including [[Arthur Roberts (comedian)|Arthur Roberts]] and [[Marion Hood]]. It was well received and ran from January to September.<ref name=e98/> After that, the theatre reverted to its pattern of rapidly changing productions and short-lived managements.<ref name=e98/>

A feature of the early 1890s was the frequent presentation of adaptations from, or original works by, novelists such as [[Henry James]], [[Rudyard Kipling]] and [[George Moore (novelist)|George Moore]].<ref name=e98/> A further season of French plays, performed in their original language, was followed by a German season, also given in the original, in 1894, which ran for more than two months.<ref name=e98/> In early 1895, "[[Nellie Farren]] started her unfortunate season here with a bad comedy … and a worse burlesque", according to ''The Era''.<ref name=e98/> Later that year [[Augustus Harris]] presented [[Charles Villiers Stanford]]'s comic opera ''Shamus O'Brien'', which ran for two months, from March to May.<ref>Wood, pp. 115–116</ref> Osmond Carr's ''The Maid of Athens'', ran for a month in June 1897, after which, said ''The Era'', "nothing worthy of any record whatever has been attempted at this temple of the drama, which has had a singularly eccentric and mostly disastrous career."<ref name=e98/> A revival of a musical adaptation of ''[[Alice in Wonderland (musical)|Alice in Wonderland]]'', with music by [[Walter Slaughter]], opened for the Christmas season of 1898 and ran until mid-February 1899.<ref>"Alice in Wonderland", ''[[The Pall Mall Gazette]]'', 23 December 1898, p. 1; and "Tonight's Entertainment's", ''The Pall Mall Gazette,'' 16 February 1899, p. 1</ref> In March 1899, [[Horace Sedger]] announced a burlesque for the Opera Comique, ''Great Caesar'', by [[Paul Rubens (composer)|Paul]] and Walter Rubens and [[George Grossmith Jr.]],<ref>"Theatrical Gossip", ''The Era'', 11 March 1899, p. 12</ref> but he changed his plans and presented it at the [[Comedy Theatre]].<ref>"Theatrical Gossip", ''The Era'', 25 March 1899, p. 12</ref>

The Opera Comique closed in 1899 and was compulsorily purchased by the [[London County Council]] for £40,000.<ref>''The Pall Mall Gazette'', 3 January 1900, p. 6</ref> It was demolished in 1902 when the area was redeveloped to create [[Aldwych]] (named after old Wych Street) and [[Kingsway (London)|Kingsway]].<ref name=mg>"Our London Correspondence", ''[[The Guardian|The Manchester Guardian]]'', 17 October 1902, p. 4</ref>

==References and sources==
===References===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book | last = Ainger | first = Michael | year = 2002 | title = Gilbert and Sullivan – A Dual Biography | location = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-514769-8}}
* {{cite book|editor-last= Gaye|editor-first=Freda  |year= 1967|title=Who's Who in the Theatre |edition=fourteenth|location=London |publisher=Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons |oclc=5997224 }}
* {{cite book | last= Goodman | first= Andrew | title= Gilbert and Sullivan's London | year= 1988| location= London | publisher= Spellmount | isbn=978-0-946771-31-8 }}
* {{cite book | last=Mander | first=Raymond|author-link=Mander and Mitchenson|author2=Joe Mitchenson|author2-link=Mander and Mitchenson|title= Lost Theatres of London | year=1976|orig-year= 1968| edition=second|location=London | publisher= New English Library | isbn=978-0-450-02838-0 }}
* {{cite book | editor-last= Parker | editor-first= John | year=1925 | title= Who's Who in the Theatre | location=London |edition=fifth| publisher=Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons | oclc=10013159 }}
* {{cite book|last=Rollins|first=Cyril|year=1962|author2=R. John Witts|title=The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas: A Record of Productions, 1875&ndash;1961| location=London|publisher=Michael Joseph|oclc=504581419}} 
* {{cite book|last=Wood|first=Henry J|author-link=Henry Wood|title=My Life of Music|location=London|publisher=Victor Gollancz|year=1938|oclc=30533927}}

==External links==
*[http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/OperaComique.htm Information about the Opera Comique]
*[https://archive.today/20070624104011/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/lma_learning/theatrelands/text.asp?ID=335 Article on the Opera Comique and other London theatres]
*[http://www.victorianweb.org/mt/theaters/pva234.html Profile of the theatre and other Victorian theatres]

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[[Category:Former buildings and structures in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Opera in London]]
[[Category:Gilbert and Sullivan]]
[[Category:Former theatres in London]]
[[Category:Opera houses in England]]
[[Category:Music venues completed in 1870]]
[[Category:1899 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:1870 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Theatres completed in 1870]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1902]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in London]]