With Barbier and Carré, Gounod turned from French comedy to German legend for "Faust". The three had worked on the piece in 1856, but it had to be shelved to avoid clashing with a rival (non-operatic) "Faust" at another theatre. Returning to it in 1858 Gounod completed the score, rehearsals began towards the end of the year and the opera opened at the Théâtre-Lyrique in March 1859. One critic reported that it was presented "under circumstances of uncommon excitement and expectation"; another praised the work but doubted if it would have enough popular appeal to be a commercial triumph. The composer later recalled that the opera "did not strike the public very much at first", but after some revision and with a good deal of vigorous promotion by Gounod's publisher, Antoine de Choudens, it became an international success. There were productions in Vienna in 1861, and in Berlin, London and New York in 1863. "Faust" has remained Gounod's most popular opera and one of the staples of the operatic repertoire.