Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser was performed in Paris for the first time in March 1861. The critical reaction was mixed. Some critics claimed that the opera was not at all suited for French taste.

Monsieur, c’est un lit à musique : rien que du Tannhäuser, on dort parfaitement là-dedans. / Sir, this is a music bed : it plays only Tannhäuser, one sleeps perfectly in it.
L'Illustration, Vol. XLII No. 1082 (21 November 1863): 348.