had been designed as an indoor equestrian circus (founded by the British impresario Philip Astley). At a cost of 200,000 francs, it was renovated and altered for use as an opera house by the architect Louis Charles Théodore Charpentier. Having a capacity of 2400, it was unusually large, so the acoustics were less than ideal, but the stage projected into the auditorium, which was a help to the singers. The theatre opened on 15 November 1847 with a musical prologue (Les premiers pas ou Les deux génies) and the premiere of a 3-act opera Gastibelza. The opera had a libretto by Adolphe d'Ennery and Eugène Cormon, and music by Aimé Maillart. The prologue, a pastiche with music by Adam, Daniel Auber, Fromental Halévy, and Michele Carafa, and a libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, was highly topical, with references to the new railway from Paris to Tours (a technical wonder of the time) and the Boulevard du Crime (nickname of the Boulevard du Temple, for the numerous melodramas about sensational crimes performed in many of the theatres located there). Subsequent early productions included: 16 November 1847 – a revival of the 3-act opéra-comique Aline, reine de Goconde by Henri Montan Berton, first performed at the Salle Feydeau on 3 September 1803, and re-orchestrated by Adam for the revival 23 November 1847 – a revival of the 1-act opéra-comique Une bonne fortune by Adam, first performed by the Opéra-Comique on 23 January 1834 at the Salle de la Bourse 22 December 1847 – a revival of the 3-act opéra-comique Félix, ou L'enfant trouvé by Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny with a libretto by Michel-Jean Sedaine, first performed at Fontainebleau on 10 November 1777, repeated at the Hôtel de Bourgogne on 24 November, and revived at the Salle Feydeau on 23 November 1801; re-orchestrated by Adam for the revival 22 January 1848 – a revival of the 3-act opéra-comique Le brasseur de Preston by Adam, first performed at the Salle de la Bourse on 31 October 1838 30 January 1848 – a revival of the 1-act opéra-comique La tête de Méduse by Scard with a libretto by Louis-Émile Vanderburch and Philippe-August Deforges The company had financial difficulties from the very beginning, and its artistic achievement was minimal. The Musical World of 22 January 1848 wrote that one performance "obtained but a mediocre success owing to the detestable style in which it was executed," adding