A Trip to the Moon

Location
Place Boieldieu - 75002 Paris
Capacity 1200 seats
Duration
2h 15min
With intermission
Details
Opera
For all audiences
In French subtitled in French and English
Highlights: A Trip to the Moon
Let's face it, A Trip To The Moon is not the best-known of Jacques Offenbach's operas. This work, which Jacques Offenbach himself called an "opera-féerie", is set in four acts, and has a libretto by Albert Vanloo, Eugène Leterrier, and Arnold Mortier. It was a huge success, no doubt due to the fact that the work was inspired by two novels by Jules Verne - From the Earth to the Moon and Journey To The Center of the Earth - and above all because of the composer's joyful music, his characteristic tunes, and his lively ballets. The zaniness of the opera becomes clear once you’ve heard the characters’ names: King V'Lan, Prince Caprice, Microscope, Popotte... Who says that opera stories are always sad?
Story: A Trip to the Moon
How about a trip to the moon? With the great Jacques Offenbach, certainly! The journey is sure to be joyful, full of fantasy, as well as plenty of twists and turns. Indeed, the Selenites (Offenbach’s " inhabitants of the Moon") are astounded when they see three Earthlings - Prince Caprice, King V'Lan, and the astronomer Microscope - who provide them with elixirs that will produce unexpected effects.
Laurent Pelly, the great French director, set designer, and costume designer, has created a joyful show full of surprises that will appeal to adults, and will also provide a first opportunity for the youngest audience members to appreciate opera. So, shall we meet you there? Where? On the moon, of course! Join us on A Trip to the Moon!
Reviews
Opéra Comique
Opéra Comique
If you take a walk in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, you will be delighted to discover in the small, quaint Place Boieldieu, a superb building of beautiful proportions topped by six caryatids: the Opéra Comique, a theatre house in Paris, which celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2015. You will be surprised to learn that this gold and red auditorium, also known as Salle Favart, is considered the first modern theatre in France because it was the first to be designed with fully electric equipment for both public and stage lighting.
That doesn’t rest as the only surprise… Despite its name, the Opéra Comique doesn’t only perform comic operas, a particular kind of musical show that mixes sung arias with spoken theatre (the ancestor of the musical), but a wide range of operas as well! It was in this venue that works that are now internationally known were created, such as Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust, Delibes's Lakmé, Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande... but also Massenet's Manon and Bizet's Carmen! This hall has welcomed the finest composers and never ceased to welcome works from the contemporary repertoire. Viva la musica! Viva l'opera!
Fast facts Capacity: 1,200 seats Handicap Accessible: Yes Air conditioning: No Chauffage: Yes