Théâtre du Capitole
opera house in Toulouse, France

The Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse is an opera house within the main administration buildings, the Capitole, of the city of Toulouse in south-west France. It houses an opera company, ballet company and symphony orchestra, Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse.
The first performance space, a salle du jeu de spectacle, was created to a design by Guillaume Cammas in 1736. Following a period of neglect, the current space was created during the rebuild of 1818. The theatre suffered fire damage in 1917 but was restored in 1923. The front of house areas were modernised in 1996. The current capacity is 1156 seats.
Michel Plasson was responsible for the artistic direction of the company from 1973. He was followed by Jacques Doucet in 1981, by Nicolas Joel in 1991, and by Frédéric Chambert in 2009, after Joel's move to the Opéra national de Paris. Chambert's first season was marked by the use of alternate spaces while the theatre was renovated, and the theatre was re-opened for the beginning of the 2010–11 season.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Théâtre du Capitole” is opera house in Toulouse, France. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Théâtre, Capitole and opera, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “opera house in Toulouse, France” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 7, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q3091701. VIAF identifies the subject as 141778863. The Library of Congress control number is n82055952. Authority coordinates are 43.604, 1.444. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1736, 1818, 1917 and 1923.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Théâtre du Capitole”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Théâtre du Capitole primary sources, Théâtre du Capitole archive and Théâtre research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Théâtre du Capitole”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Théâtre du Capitole” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.