In Russia, the last three decades of the eighteenth century were marked by important events in political and sociocultural life. This phenomenon known as the Russian Age of Enlightenment was determined by the progressive ideas that came from France. According to our hypothesis, the rapid dissemination of ideas of the French Enlightenment in a deeply feudal country was largely due to the rise of the French comic opera, which dominated the Russian stage at that time. Indeed, during the last quarter of the eighteenth century this kind of opera invaded theatrical scenes-from the popular theatre to the imperial court. Thus, according to different sources, between 1764 and 1800, approximately 100 opéras-comiques written by French composers, notably those by Duni, Grétry, Dalayrac, Monsigny, Dezède, and Philidor were successfully represented there. Touching on quite serious social problems and performing realistic feelings, as well as the sufferings of the third estate, the opéra-comique became a disseminator of the ideas of the French Enlightenment. This 'democratic' type of opera, combining spoken dialogue and musical numbers, made the progressives' ideas popular among all the social classes. The purpose of this research is to highlight the key role of the comédie mêlée d'ariettes in the Russian Enlightenment of the eighteenth century. This article is based on the results of the study of historical context, places of representation of French comic opera, and some features of its repertory as well.