From October to November 1890, the Belgian director Henri Verdhurt tried to establish a new Théâtre-Lyrique at the Éden-Théâtre, which had been staging féeries ever since its 1883 opening. Verdhurt actually wanted to revive the legendary opera theater of Second Empire Paris. Awarded particularly flexible contractual requirements, his Théâtre-Lyrique was able to accommodate all types of works and provide an important place for original productions. But, after opening the theater's first season with the Parisian premiere of Samson et Dalila by Saint-Saëns, Verdhurt was forced to close his doors a month later. This debacle ultimately exposes his inability to follow through on a project that he had already attempted to set up both at the Théâtre de la Monnaie (1885-1886) and at Rouen's Théâtre des arts (1889-1890). Not to mention his bad luck, which repeated itself from one theater to the next, Verdhurt's personality and artistic ambitions put off many singers, and his projects no longer seemed to fall in line with the expectations of the authorities. His ambitious policy nevertheless foreshadowed what certain theaters do nowadays, for Verdhurt wanted to lead a sustained effort that favored original production and offer works from a repertoire, whether French or foreign, that ranged widely in genre and time. His brief tenure at these three theaters also enabled the premieres of Chabrier's Gwendoline in Brussels and Samson et Dalila in France. Furthermore, it encouraged the composition of Massenet's Cendrillon, which revives the féerie, emblematic genre of the Éden-Théâtre.