Salle de la Bourse


The Salle de la Bourse was a Parisian theatre located on the rue Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement, across from the Paris Bourse, hence the name. It was successively the home of the Théâtre des Nouveautés, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre du Vaudeville. The theatre was demolished in 1869.

Théâtre des Nouveautés

The Salle de la Bourse was built to the designs of the French architect François Debret for the first Théâtre des Nouveautés, which opened there on 1 March 1827. The founder was Cyprien Bérard, a former director of the Théâtre du Vaudeville. The programs consisted of ballads, opéras comiques, satires and political plays. The theatre suffered the prohibitions of censorship and had recurrent difficulties with the Opéra-Comique, which refused to share its privileges. However, for other reasons Bérard was forced to close his theatre on 15 February 1832.

Opéra-Comique

By chance the Opéra-Comique, which had been bankrupted by the exorbitant rents at the Salle Ventadour, left that theatre and on 24 September 1832 opened at the Salle de la Bourse, which was often still referred to as the Théâtre des Nouveautés. The Opéra-Comique remained at the theatre for almost eight years, and the premieres of Hérold's Ludovic and Le pré aux clercs, Adam's Le chalet and Le postillon de Lonjumeau, Halévy's L'éclair, Auber's L'ambassadrice and Le domino noir, and Donizetti's La fille du régiment were all given there. The company's last performance in the theatre was on 30 April 1840, after which it moved to the new Salle Favart.

Théâtre du Vaudeville

The Théâtre du Vaudeville then moved into the Salle de la Bourse, remaining there until 1869, when it moved into a new theatre on the Boulevard des Capucines. The Salle de la Bourse was closed and immediately demolished. In its place there is now a pub named The Vaudeville in memory of that theatre.