La Peniche Opera - A unique floating opera venue in Paris
Classed as one of the smallest opera venues in the world, located on a former commercial barge that has been fully restored, there is a varied programme from operettas through to opera comedy, musicals, and Baroque opera through to contemporary opera and musical theatre shows, etc.
About the Peniche Opera
The Peniche Opera was first founded back in 1982 with actors and actresses such as Beatrice Cramoix and Pierre Danais along with the director Mireille Larroche, who stepped down from this position in 2015.
The whole concept was to provide an intimate and unusual venue for people to be able to discover many different forms of opera in Paris like baroque, contemporary, operettas, etc, and the idea of a barge, which is called La Peniche Adelaide meant that the productions could also move to other places, which it still does today.
Surprisingly the Peniche Opera is actually classed as a houseboat, plus it also goes under a name of Peniche Adelaide and the company have now welcomed over 200,000 people on board to see one or more of the 95 different productions that they have showcased, although there have been over half a million people in total that have seen one of the productions including at special events hosted in different theatres.
Now this opera company provides anything from around 120 to 170 different performances each year, and approximately 100 of these are within the Ile de France region, with the majority being in Paris, but they also travel to different regions and even to other countries for approximately 30 to 50 performances.
So with this in mind, you will have to plan a visit to see one of the shows and their unusual productions that is now recognised as a part of the National Opera Company, yet they also provide a few specifically designed for a young audience as well, so this is ideal for a family evening out.
Visiting La Peniche Opera in Paris
When it comes to seeing one of the shows at the Peniche Opera, the tickets do have to be purchased in advance, which can be done online or via telephone between the hours of 10am and 6pm on a Monday to Friday. And they are an average cost of around €20 to €30 as of 2018.
When this unusual opera venue is in Paris you will find it located moored on the Quai de la Loire in the 19th Arrondissement close to the Parc de la Villette, but do bear in mind that the barge is not moored at the Bassin de la Villette all year round, as it travels to other places throughout Ile de France and far further afield.
Yet when it is in the capital city of France, the nearest modes of public transport in Paris are the Metro stations called the Jaures stop serving lines 2 and 5, the Laumiere stop serving line 5 and the Stalingrad stop serving lines 2, 5 and 7.
Alternatively, within walking distance of La Peniche Opera - La Peniche Adelaide, there are the bus lines 26, 48, 54 and 60 along with the Noctilien Night Bus Service via lines N13, N41, N42 and N45.
