Opéra de Lille, Opera house in Lille, France

The Opéra de Lille is a neo-classical theatre with a light beige stone facade. Its front has three dark double doors below three large arched windows set between tall columns, with two sculpted relief panels flanking the arches and a sculpted group of figures at the roofline. The building was constructed from reinforced concrete using the Hennebique system, clad in Soignies and Savonnières stone.

After a 1903 fire destroyed the Lequeux theatre, the city chose Louis Marie Cordonnier in a competition; work began in 1907 on 1,050 concrete piles sunk about 5 m into a dried arm of the Deûle. Occupied unfinished by German forces in 1914, it was inscribed "Théâtre allemand" and hosted a first performance at Christmas 1915. Restored, it reopened in 1923.

The name recalls the hall built by Michel-Joseph Lequeux in 1787, whose street, rue de la Vieille Comédie, still marks the earlier city-hall stage destroyed in 1700. The house belongs to the Réunion des opéras de France, RESEO and Opera Europa, and has been an établissement public de coopération culturelle since 1 January 2008. Its season mixes opera, ballet and concerts, and the building is inscribed in the monuments historiques inventory since 1999.

The opera house stands on Place du Théâtre, served by the Gare Lille-Flandres and Rihour metro stations. The main entrance is reached by a wide stone step, and the building was inscribed on the historic monuments inventory in 1999. The auditorium seats are red, a legacy of the 1914 German requisition of the blue seats planned by Cordonnier.

The 1914 German occupation left a visible trace inside: seats are red because occupying forces requisitioned the blue furnishings planned by Cordonnier for the Théâtre Sébastopol. Only the ceiling rose still recalls his original blue scheme. The Germans also inscribed "Théâtre allemand" on the pediment and held about a hundred performances before leaving in September 1918.