Opera hat Opera hat An opera hat, also called a chapeau claque or gibus, is a top hat variant that is collapsible through a spring system, originally intended for less spacious venues, such as theatre and opera visits. Typically made of satin in black colour, its advantage is that it folds vertically through a push or a snap on the top of the hat, in order to be conveniently stored in a wardrobe or under the seat. Invertably, it opens in the same one moment fashion by an easy push from underneath. Its French name "chapeau claque" is a composition of "chapeau",
The Italian Straw Hat (play) The Italian Straw Hat (play) The Italian Straw Hat ("Un chapeau de paille d'Italie") is a five-act comedy by Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel. It premiered at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris on 14 August 1851. It has been adapted for the cinema in French, English, German and Russian, and as a musical play in English and Italian versions. The piece remains regularly staged in France, where it entered the repertoire of the Comédie-Française in Paris and of theatres in other French cities. The play is set in Paris in the middle of the 19th century, on the morning of