In 2017, the Opera celebrated the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation by staging Les Huguenots, the wonderful grand opéra by Giacomo Meyerbeer.
The story is based on one of the most horrible events in the French Wars of Religion: the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre, when thousands of French Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots) gathered in Paris were butchered with the assent of the king.
The piece is one of the most brilliant examples of French grande opera, conquering the entire globe soon after its world premiere in Paris. It has remained one of the most popular and frequently played operatic works ever since.