Ten women who shaped the Opéra-Comique

The daughter of fairground performers and an outstanding negotiator, Catherine Vondrebeck obtained the right to combine music, singing and dance with fairground comedies in 1698, a decisive step towards the birth of comic opera. In 1714, she adopted the name ‘Opéra-Comique’, developed a mixed troupe and programmed parodies and comic operas: the intuition of a true institution.

Actress, singer, author, Justine Favart revolutionised acting by seeking truth in movement, costume and diction, to the point of ‘sacrificing the charms of appearance for the truth of character’. From Brussels to Paris, her influence spread to the Comédie-Italienne, then the Opéra-Comique, where she created more than forty roles.

A virtuoso actress and singer, she moved audiences in Nina ou la Folle par amour (1786) and lent her name to two roles still in use today, ‘jeune Dugazon’ and ‘mère Dugazon’, which shaped the typology of light mezzo-sopranos. She was a popular star whose hairstyles and costumes set the fashion, both on stage and at court.

A precocious musical novelist, then author of comic operas, Sophie Gail triumphed with Les Deux Jaloux (1813), a work that enjoyed long-lasting success, and La Sérénade (1818). At the time of her death, several of her works were still being performed; she remains to this day the most frequently performed composer at the Opéra-Comique.

Initially an actress and singer at the Opéra-Comique, she became one of the great poetic voices of the 19th century. Her intimate poetry inspired Paër, Offenbach, Bizet, Saint-Saëns, Hahn and many others; her ‘odd’ verses influenced Rimbaud and Verlaine, who placed her among his Poètes maudits (Cursed Poets). Her work is worth rediscovering, both on stage and on the page.

A composer celebrated throughout Europe and the United States, and a friend of George Sand, Loïsa Puget wrote hundreds of romances and made her debut at the Opéra-Comique in 1836 with Le Mauvais Œil. In 1851, she became the first female member of SACEM, a historic recognition of her place in musical art.

Rossini's muse and creator of roles in La Muette de Portici and Robert le Diable, she joined the Opéra-Comique, where she excelled in the art of dialogue and acting. The first female singing teacher at the Conservatoire (1833–1856), she passed on a technique and style that would influence generations of performers.

An actress and singer of rare intensity, she created 17 roles at the Opéra-Comique, including Mignon, Fantasio and, above all, Carmen. She suggested to Bizet that he replace the opening aria with a habanera by Sebastián Iradier: the iconic ‘L'amour est un oiseau rebelle’ was born. It was a turning point in the history of musical theatre.

Discovered when she stepped in at the last minute to replace Louise de Charpentier, Mary Garden became Debussy's Mélisande and the ambassador of the French repertoire in the United States. Her ‘gently insinuating’ tone, according to Debussy, and her stage presence established a model of intimate interpretation, perfectly suited to the aesthetic of the Opéra-Comique.

A visionary ballet mistress, she opened the corps de ballet to men, raised technical standards and introduced new aesthetics, even programming entire evenings of choreography. Collaborating with André Messager and Massenet, she contributed to the modernity of the Belle Époque and had a lasting influence on the Parisian stage.

Because they show a house in perpetual motion, driven by women who invented, transmitted and united. They transformed the practice of performance, expanded repertoires and blurred the lines between theatre and music, stage and society. Their legacy permeates our programming: natural acting, attention to the text, the power of musical storytelling and high choreographic standards remain at the heart of the Opéra-Comique's identity.