Opéra national de Bordeaux, Opera company in Bordeaux, France

The Opéra National de Bordeaux is an established opera company offering a diverse yearly program ranging from classical operas to contemporary works. Performances take place in a grand theater setting and feature orchestral accompaniment and professional singers across multiple genres throughout the season.

The Opéra national de Bordeaux is a public cultural institution whose history is tied to the Grand Théâtre, its seat, and to the Orchestre national Bordeaux Aquitaine, which accompanies its operatic and dance performances. It received the label of opéra national en région on 28 June 2002, under a convention signed by the State, the city and the region, committing it to regional decentralisation of its programming and to work with different audiences. Its ballet has created pieces since the 18th century, including Jean Dauberval's La Fille mal gardée in 1789.

The ballet company has created works that toured worldwide, such as Jean Dauberval's La Fille mal gardée in 1789. Marius Petipa invented his first narrative ballet, La jolie Bordelaise, here in 1841. The institution also runs open days, public rehearsals and workshops, and tours the orchestra and ballet across Aquitaine.

The Opéra national de Bordeaux performs mainly at the Grand Théâtre, with some events at the Auditorium and the espace Saint-Rémi; check which venue a given date uses before setting out. The Grand Théâtre faces a paved square, its colonnade reached by steps, and banners hang between the columns. The company also tours the Orchestre national Bordeaux Aquitaine and the Ballet across Aquitaine and beyond, to Arcachon, Périgueux, Agen and Royan.

The company's ballet has created works that travelled worldwide: Jean Dauberval choreographed La Fille mal gardée here in 1789, and Marius Petipa invented his first narrative ballet, La jolie Bordelaise, in 1841. Jean-Baptiste Blache choreographed L'heureuse nouvelle in a few hours and staged it the same evening in September 1820, for the birth of Henri d'Artois, Duc de Bordeaux.