Louis Véron and the Finances of the Académie Royale de Musique

Louis Véron became director of the Académie Royale de Musique in 1831 and managed it «à ses risques, périls et fortune». It had been poorly managed in the Restoration period with too rapid a turnover of directors, much waste and many abuses. With great determination and flair, Véron immediately initiated substantial changes in order to cut costs and raise receipts. The great success of Robert le Diable, both artistically and financially, was pivotal to his own success and he did indeed make a fortune. In so doing, however, he was too single-minded and fell out with all the State authorities. He failed to keep them informed and too often breached the obligations in his Cahier des charges. He resigned in 1835, with eighteen months of his six-year concession still to run.