Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse

2021.03.30

I have a little memory in Toulouse. It was October 1994 when I was working for a newspaper company. At that time, I was in charge of the imperial family, and I landed in this city with the tour of the Emperor and Empress to France and Spain.

At that time, I met a wonderful concert. It was the London Philharmonic Concert, the conductor was Franz Welser-Mest. I will write the story about this on another occasion.

There are six national opera companies in France, including Paris, Lyon, Strasburg and Nancy, but both Toulouse and Marseille have their own municipal opera companies. And they are active. They are the 3rd and 4th cities of France. And they are both holding international voice competitions.

Toulouse is known as the “Rosy City” because of its many brick buildings. Since there were few stones suitable for construction in the surrounding area, many buildings were loaded with abundant peat-burned terracotta bricks. And the typical building is the city hall made of red brick and white limestone called “Capitol”. The theater is inside the Baroque city hall.

The city hall opened in 1736. The following year, in 1737, the first theater with less than 700 seats was set up. The theater was closed in 1800 and the second theater with 1,950 seats opened in 1818. However, it was closed again in 1878, and the third theater opened in 1880. But, this was destroyed by a war on August 10, 1917.

The third theater was reopened in 1923. In 1950 after the WWⅡ, the theater was renovated and the current theater opened. In 1974 and 1996, further major renovations were added.

The opera company has a chorus and a ballet company, and has more than 250 staff members. They dose not have a own orchestra, but the Toulouse Capitol Orchestra will come to the performance. The Toulouse Capitol Orchestra, as the name implies, evolved from a theater orchestra.

French maestro Michel Plasson became Chef Conductor of them in 1968. After that, under his guidance, the Toulouse Capitol Orchestra became one of France’s leading orchestras. Since 1981, it has been promoted to a national orchestra.

I wrote a news about director Nicolas Joel in 2020. He died in June at age 67. He was one of the leading figures in the French opera world, who was the president of the Paris National Opera from 2009 to 2014. Before went to Paris, he was the general director for a long time from 1990 to 2009 in this theater. Their long time work are now in bloom.

This city is the “student city” with the largest and oldest university in France, and is also a young city with many students coming and going from inside and outside. It is also one of France’s leading industrial cities, and the headquarters of the airplane manufacturer Airbus is also located in this city.

In addition to the headquarters of the National Space Center and the European aerospace industry are now gathering, and there is also a theme park about space called “Cite de l’Epas”. Recently, it has also become known as the “City of Space”.

And for foodies, it is known as the home of duck dishes, and specialty stores are lined up. There is also a community of immigrants from North Africa centered on Algeria, and a Spanish community with a deep historical connection, and it has a rich international flavor, and it is also a city where new winds are constantly blowing.

On the other hand, traditional dishes such as white beans, sausages, and cassoulet made with pork also well knouwn. It is also towns that cherish the history that has been handed down firmly.