The summer of 1885 was ending when Gayarre went to Paris. The theater of the Grande Opera in the capital of France was the one that was missing. She had to prepare herself by learning French well, its exact pronunciation. In this he put all his efforts.
But Madrid demanded his presence. Arrived in Madrid, before his presentation, the king expired. The funeral of Alfonso XII, in the great temple of San Francisco, was the most important event. The musical part was entrusted to maestro Barbieri, who called his friend Gayarre who had recently arrived in Madrid. Gayarre had to sing the lesson Taedet animate meam , in plain song, without any accompaniment. Gayarre doubted, but as he listened to the teacher's lecture, he became more and more interested, until he exclaimed: "This is sublime!". He quickly assumed the meaning and depth of that religious lesson. And when the time came, he sang as the msh bil maestro de capilla would have done. The first Bishop of Madrid d: "Both I and my brother bishops who occupied the presbytery were made to rise from their seats by the magical voice of Gayarre; and that one eruere , the last word of the lesson, getting lost in the vaults of the temple, I resembled an angelic echo that reached the Throne of the Most High". Gayarre's brilliant campaign ended with Lucía , who sang as a farewell. The public did not stop in their applause. Then, Juli n Gayarre ordered a piano to be brought on stage and intoned Gernikako Arbola .
Engaged to the businessman Ghaillard, on the night of April 7, 1886, debut at the Grande Opera with La Africana . It should not be forgotten that that theater was the bulwark of French artists who considered the Grande Opera their exclusive sanctuary. However, Gayarre broke the initial ice. "But where the ovation was immense, colossal; where it absolutely electrified the entire public; where -J. Enciso- definitely won, it was in the fourth act when he sang the romance Pays merveilleux , which he said in a marvelous way, having to it to thunderous applause". The xen phobos used some press against Gayarre. But this does not tarnish his triumph in the slightest. The whole Par soay gave Gayarre. "Le Figaro", "Le Temps", "La France", "Le Matin", all the responsible press, celebrated his triumph. He received congratulations from the President of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Freycinet, from the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Floquet, who went up on stage every night to congratulate him. At the end of the season, he was presented with a commemorative gold medal for his brilliant performance. Gayarre, in his letter to Enciso, dated 4-14-1886, from Paris, reveals some detail of the xenophobic campaign: "A scowling critic from I don't remember which newspaper, protesting my admission n in the Academy of Music (Opera), as disturbing and, above all, because I am a star, and everything else disappears, which is humiliating for the other artists".
MEL