Talk:Théâtre de la Gaîté (rue Papin)

Operettas and operas

The new sentence in the lead reads: "Unlike the previous Théâtre de la Gaîté, which concentrated on melodrama, the theatre on rue Papin, which opened on 3 September 1862, performed operetta and opera, so that it also came to be known as the Gaîté-Lyrique." This is not accurate. Although the Bouffes-Parisiens and the Folies-Nouvelles were being described as theatres which presented opérettes by 1867, up to at least 1868 (and probably even later) the Gaîté was still known for melodramas, pantomimes, and vaudevilles. Although the new sentence reads better, the previous one ("In this version of the theatre, which opened on 3 September 1862, the focus shifted from melodrama to operetta and opera, so that it also came to be known as the Gaîté-Lyrique.") was more accurate, since it allows for the fact that the shift to operettas occurred well after the theatre opened. The first operetta to be performed at the new theatre may have been Le roi carotte in 1872. It was commissioned in 1869 by the director Boulet, who had become the director of the theatre on 13 March of that year. We need to find a new way to say this which does not misrepresent the situation. --Robert.Allen (talk) 08:01, 15 August 2011 (UTC)