théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin

{{short description|Parisian theatre and opera house}}

{{Infobox venue

| name = Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin

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| image = Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin.JPG

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| caption = The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin in 2009

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| address = 18 Boulevard Saint-Martin

| location = Paris, France

| coordinates = {{coord|48|52|8.5|N|2|21|24|E|type:landmark_region:FR|display=it}}

| type = Theatre

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| opened = {{Start date|1781}}

| renovated = 1873

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| architect = Oscar de la Chardonnière

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| website = {{URL|http://www.portestmartin.com}}

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The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin ({{IPA|fr|teɑtʁ də la pɔʁt sɛ̃ maʁtɛ̃}}) is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.

== History ==

File:Porte Saint-Martin XVIII.jpg

File:Louis-Léopold Boilly - Carnival Scene.jpg by Louis-Léopold Boilly, 1832. The theatre is in the background.]]

It was first built very rapidly in 1781 under the direction of {{Interlanguage link multi|Nicolas Lenoir|fr}} (1726–1810) to house the Paris Opéra, whose previous home, the second Salle du Palais-Royal, had burned down on 8 June 1781. The new theatre had a capacity of about 2,000 spectators and included a parterre with the lowest-priced tickets sold only to males who stood throughout the performances, an amphitheatre, and four rows of boxes. The Opéra used the theatre from 27 October 1781 until August 1794."Paris" 3: 862, 867. Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1992). The new Grove dictionary of opera (4 volumes). London: Macmillan. {{ISBN|978-1-56159-228-9}}.[http://www.paris.fr/portail/Culture/Portal.lut?page_id=102&document_type_id=4&document_id=22132&portlet_id=22798&multileveldocument_sheet_id=14359 "Atlantes et cariatides des grands boulevards - Paris.fr"] {{in lang|fr}}.

The theatre was destroyed by fire during the Paris Commune of 1871 and replaced in 1873 with a building designed by the architect Oscar de la Chardonnière (d. 1881), who enlisted the aid of the sculptor Jacques-Hyacinthe Chevalier (1825–1895) in the design of the new facade. The new interior was designed by H. Chevalier. With relatively brief interruptions, the theatre has been in continuous operation since.