Comédie-Française [SEP] architect
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Comédie-Française


; théâtre du Vieux-Colombier; Studio-Théâtre). The Comédie-Française has had several homes since its inception. In 1689, it was established in a theatre across from the Café Procope. The Odéon was designed by architects Marie-Joseph Peyre (1730–1785) and Charles De Wailly (1730–1798). From 1770 to 1782, the Comédie performed in the theatre in the royal palace of the Tuileries. Since 1799, the Comédie-Française has been housed in the Salle Richelieu (architect Victor Louis) at 2
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Salle de la rue des Fossés-Saint-Germain-des-Prés


The Salle de la rue des Fossés-Saint-Germain-des-Prés was the theatre of the Comédie-Française from 1689 to 1770. It was built to the designs of the French architect François d'Orbay on the site of a former indoor tennis court ("jeu de paume"), located at 14 rue des Fossés-Saint-Germain-des-Prés, now 14 rue de l'Ancienne Comédie, across from the Café Procope in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Since 1680 the Comédie-Française had been performing
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Catherine Leclerc du Rose


Catherine Leclerc du Rose, also known by her stage name Mademoiselle de Brie' (1630 – ca. 1706), was a French actress. She was a member of the pioneer troupe of both the Molière's company, and of the Comédie-Française. She belonged to the first Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française (see Troupe of the Comédie-Française in 1680). Catherine Leclerc du Rose was the daughter of actors. De Brie joined Molière's troupe in 1650. She became a member of the Comédie-
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Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française


The sociétaires of the Comédie-Française are chosen from among the "pensionnaires" who have been in the company a year or more. They are decided upon in the course of a general assembly of the company's administrative committee, made up of 6 existing sociétaires, the senior sociétaire, and the general administrator. A pensionnaire is thus named a societaire by a decree of the Ministry of Culture, from names put forward by the general administrator of the Comédie-Française. On becoming a sociétaire, an actor automatically becomes a
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Jacques Copeau


square of Florence. In Paris, he directed an adaptation of "Much Ado About Nothing" and Molière's "Le Misanthrope" at the Comédie-Française in 1936. In 1937, again at the Comédie-Française, he directed Jean Racine's "Bajazet", followed in 1938 by "Le Testement du Père Leleu", a reprise of Roger Martin du Gard's play from the days of the Vieux-Colombier. In 1940, Copeau was named Provisionary Administrator of the Comédie-Française, where he staged Pierre
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Eugène Silvain


Eugène-Charles-Joseph Silvain (17 June 1851 - 21 August 1930) was a French stage actor, pensionnaire of the Comédie française, sociétaire then dean of the compagny from 1878 to 1928. He leaves the army to devote himself to opera. He makes his debut in Algeria, then plays Beaumarchais in Paris. He is received at the Conservatoire d'art dramatique, and later admitted at the Comédie-Française where he is very successful. In 1883, he becomes sociétaire of the Comédie-Française. He marries , a
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Armande Béjart


the "troupe du roi", at first was unfortunate, but in 1679 they secured Mlle du Champmeslé, later absorbed the company of the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and in 1680 the Comédie-Française was born. On 31 May 1677, she married her second husband, the actor Eustache François Guérin (1636–1728), and had one son (1678–1708) by him. She became a Sociétaire of the Comédie-Française, as a member of its pioneer troupe of actors in 1680 (see Troupe of the Comédie-Française
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Comédie-Française


the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The theatre has also been known as the Théâtre de la République and popularly as "La Maison de Molière" (The House of Molière). It acquired the latter name from the troupe of the best-known playwright associated with the Comédie-Française, Molière. He was considered the patron of French actors. He died seven years before his troupe became known as the Comédie-Française, but the company continued to be known as "La Maison de Molière" even after the official change
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Comédie-Italienne


characteristic of the latter part of his reign began to lift. Philippe d'Orléans, the Regent, was particularly desirous of restoring pleasure and amusement to the capital. He and his friends fondly remembered the Théâtre-Italien from twenty years previous. The main options for theatre in Paris at the time were the highly refined productions of the Comédie-Française or the "crude and tasteless" performances of the fair theatres. There was a need for theatrical comedy somewhere in between, with greater popular appeal than the Comédie-Française, but
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Pierre-François Berruer


Philippe Néricault Destouches of the Académie française, which was installed at the Comédie-Française. He was one of the main artists whose work was included in the collection of the Comédie-Française at the end of the 18th century. Others were Jean-Baptiste d'Huez, Jean-Joseph Foucou, Simon-Louis Boizot and Augustin Pajou. Berruer was named a professor at the "École des Beaux-Arts" in Paris in 1785. His pupils included Charles-Louis Corbet (1758–1808). His best known works are the
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Mademoiselle Anaïs


Anaïs Pauline Nathalie Aubert, known as Mademoiselle Anaïs (1802 – 1871) was a French actress. Anaïs was born in Toury, Eure-et-Loir, and entered the Comédie-Française in 1816 at the age of just fourteen. In 1832 she was chosen to be the 252nd Sociétaire of the Comédie-Française. She distinguished herself particularly in "ingénue" parts, becoming famous in the roles of Chérubin in "The Marriage of Figaro" and Agnès in "The School for Wives". She had an affair
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The Guilty Mother


Countess". By 1796 Beaumarchais had returned to Paris and the play was finally presented at the Comédie-Française in 1797 and again in 1799–1800. The work thereafter fell out of the general repertoire, but was revived successfully at the Comédie-Française in 1990. The characters, as described by Beaumarchais's characterisations, are: The action takes place twenty years after the previous play in the trilogy, "The Marriage of Figaro". The story's premise is that several years ago, while the Count was away on a
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Lekain


Titus in Voltaire's "Brutus" and performed Seïde in Voltaire's "Mahomet" on 30 September. Owing to the hostility of the actors it was only after a struggle of seventeen months that, by the command of King Louis XV he was accepted at the Comédie-Française (see Troupe of the Comédie-Française in 1752). He had performed the leading role of Orosmane at court in Voltaire's "Zaïre", causing Louis XV to declare: "He made me weep, and I never weep."
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Fountains in Paris


, commemorating famous Parisians and located in places associated with them. Fontaine Molière. (1841–44). This fountain by Visconti, located at the corner of rue Traversière and rue Richelieu, was originally going to be a simple Renaissance fountain with a state of a nymph, but Régnier, the head of the Comédie Française, proposed that it be instead a monument to the playwright Molière, since the fountain was near the original site of the Comédie Française and the home of Molière. A public subscription raised money for the fountain.
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Hugues Gall


. The "Gall Commission" was composed of Paul Andreu, architect, Edmonde Charles-Roux, writer, Patrice Chéreau, director, Pascal Dusapin, composer, Marc Fumaroli, historian, , Ambassador of France, , , Brigitte Lefèvre, Director of Dance at the Paris Opera Ballet, and of Muriel Mayette, General Administrator of the Comédie-Française. In May 2008, of the three candidates selected and presented at the choice of the President of the Republic, it was Frédéric Mitterrand who was appointed Director of the Académie
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Comédie-Française


The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is considered the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state theatre in France to have its own permanent troupe of actors. The company's primary venue is the Salle Richelieu, which is a part of the Palais-Royal complex and located at 2 rue de Richelieu on the Place André-Malraux in
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Benoît-Constant Coquelin


the Conservatoire, where he entered Régnier's class in 1859. He won the first prize for comedy within a year, and made his début on 7 December 1860 at the Comédie-Française as the comic valet, Gros-René, in Molière's "Le Dépit amoureux", but his first great success was as Figaro in "The Barber of Seville", in the following year. It was an honor for Coquelin to be a part of the Comédie-Française at such a young age. This company had already
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François-Joseph Talma


IX", produced on 4 November 1789, that a prophetic couplet on the destruction of the Bastille made the house burst into a salvo of applause, led by Mirabeau. This play was responsible for the political dissensions in the Comédie-Française which resulted in the establishment, under Talma, of a new theatre. By the 1820s, Talma was established as "the dominant personality at the Comédie-Française, where he alone could still successfully impose classical tragedy upon the public". It was at this time that a young
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Paris during the Bourbon Restoration


-Royal, the home of the Comédie-Française, there was the Odéon, inaugurated by Marie Antoinette, and famous during the Restoration as a musical theater, with an orchestra of Italian musicians. It burned in 1818 and was replaced by the present structure, designed by the architect of the Arc de Triomphe, in 1819. Other theaters remaining from the Empire included the Vaudeville, the Variétés, the Ambigu, the Gaieté, and the Opera Buffa. To these were added the Théâtre les Italiens, Théâtre de la Porte
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Augustin Pajou


Pajou provided a number of new figures for the work. Mention should also be made of his bust of Carlin Bertinazzi (1763) at the Comédie Française, and the monument to Marie Leszczyńska, Queen of France (in the Salon of 1769). Pajou was one of the main artists whose work was included in the collection of the Comédie-Française at the end of the 18th century. Others were Jean-Baptiste d'Huez, Jean-Joseph Foucou, Simon-Louis Boizot and Pierre-François Berruer. Pajou was commissioned
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Charles Bodinier


1874. In 1876 he joined the staff of the Comédie-Française. Bodinier was Secretary-General of the Comédie-Française from 1882 to 1889. In 1886 Bodinier proposed to establish a small theater where the students of the Conservatoire could stage performances of the Classics, a concept that was well received by the Minister of Fine Arts. In his application to the "Commission des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques" Bodinier insisted that the Théâtre d'Application would be a school and not a profit-making enterprise, and on that basis he
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Éric Vigner


" (Comédie-Française 1995), Corneille's "L’Illusion Comique" (Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers 1996), Victor Hugo's "Marion De Lorme" (Théâtre de la Ville 1999), Molière's "L’École des femmes" (Comédie-Française 1999) and Shakeapeare's "Othello" (Odéon – Théâtre de l’Europe 2008). He has chosen a course as a pioneer, an "’inter-lingual" navigator, building on dramatic art as common ground. He developed international collaborations to last over the
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Molière's company


du Marais and moving to the Théâtre de Guénégaud. In 1680 the troupe of the Hôtel de Bourgogne joined the players at the Guénégaud, giving birth to the Comédie-Française. In 1680, by order of Louis XIV of France, the troupe at the Hôtel de Bourgogne merged into those already gathered by Molière and the Théâtre du Marais. The larger company allowed daily shows, and even to play to the court and to the city on the same day. Thus the Comédie-Française was born. By date of joining
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Charles Fechter


. At the same time he attended classes at the Conservatoire with the view of gaining admission to the Comédie-Française. Late in 1844 he won the grand medal of the Académie des Beaux-Arts with a piece of sculpture, and made his debut at the Comédie-Française as Seide in Voltaire's "Mahomet" and Valère in Molière's "Tartuffe". He acquitted himself with credit; but, tired of the small parts he found himself condemned to play, returned again to his sculptor's studio in 1846.
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Jacques Marie Boutet


also to have a great importance to the theater-life in Sweden. At the French Revolution he returned to Paris, embraced its principles with ardour, and joined the theatre in the rue Richelieu (the rival of the Comédie-Française), which, under Talma, with Dugazon, his sister Mme Vestris, Grandmesnil (1737–1816) and Mme Desgarcins, was soon to become the Théatre de la République. After the Revolution, Monvel returned to the reconstituted Comédie-Française with all his old companions, but retired in 1807
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Jeanne Sully


her debut in 1925 at the Comédie-Française in Jean Racine's play Britannicus, in the role of Junie. She played in many stage roles, and in some films. She became the 394th member of the Comédie-Française in 1934. She retired in 1946, but continued to make tours or give lectures both in France and abroad. She died in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, on 28 June 1995 at the home for actors at Couilly-Pont-aux-Dames, Seine-et-Marne
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Philippe Torreton


Torreton entered the Comédie-Française in 1990 as a "pensionnaire" (salaried actor having no share in the profits) and became a "sociétaire" (shareholding member of the Comédie-Française) in 1994. He left in 1999 having played many prestigious roles including Scapin, Lorenzaccio, Hamlet, Henry V, Tartuffe. He played Capitaine Conan in the film of the same name, directed by Bertrand Tavernier, based on a little-known incident from the time of the First World War, and for which he won
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Comédie-Française


of name. The Comédie-Française was founded on 8 August 1680 by a decree of Louis XIV merging the only two Parisian acting troupes of the time, the troupe of the Guénégaud Theatre and that of the Hôtel de Bourgogne. On the death of Molière in 1673, the troupe at the Guénégaud had been formed by a merger of the Théâtre du Marais and the Troupe de Molière. Two years later they received a royal grant of 12,000 livres per year; and seven years later they received their present designation. Thus the
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Comédie-Française


Comédie-Française was often enjoyed by the French nobility, since the price to watch at the theater was expensive. On the performance of Joseph Chénier's anti-monarchical play "Charles IX" in 1789, violent political discussions arose among the performers, and ultimately they split into two sections: the Republican party, under the young tragedian Talma, establishing a new theatre under the name "Théâtre de la République," on the site of the present building in the Rue de Richelieu; while the Royalist section took the title
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Jeanne Samary


Jeanne Samary (4 March 1857 as Léontine Pauline Jeanne Samary in Neuilly-sur-Seine – 18 September 1890 in Paris) was a French actress at the Comédie-Française and a model for Auguste Renoir, including for Renoir's 1881 painting, "Luncheon of the Boating Party". Between the years 1871–1874, Jeanne Samary attended the Paris drama school and passed with distinction. In 1874, she became a member of the Comédie-Française and debuted on 24 August 1874 as Dorine in "Tartuffe" by Molière. Jeanne
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Jacques Offenbach


and occasional conductor, at the Opéra-Comique, but was not encouraged in his aspirations to compose. His talents had been noted by the director of the Comédie Française, Arsène Houssaye, who appointed him musical director of the theatre, with a brief to enlarge and improve the orchestra. Offenbach composed songs and incidental music for eleven classical and modern dramas for the Comédie Française in the early 1850s. Some of his songs became very popular, and he gained valuable experience in writing for the theatre. Houssaye later wrote that Offenbach
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Michel Baron


in 1670. He played the role of Domitien in Pierre Corneille's "Tite et Bérénice" and played in Corneille's "Psyché". He stayed with the troupe until Molière's death in 1673, when he joined the troupe at the Hotel de Bourgogne. This troupe merged with another in 1680 to become the Comédie-Française. With Comédie-Française, Baron was the undisputed master of the French stage until his retirement in 1691. He created many of the leading roles in Racine's plays, and in his own
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Jean-Baptiste Masse


Jean Baptiste Masse (c. 1700 – c. 1757) was a French composer and violoncello player. He was an "Ordinaire de la Chambre du Roi" and a member of the King's Bande of Twenty-Four Violins and of the orchestra of the "Comédie Française". Little is known of his life other than the publication dates of his first three volumes of sonatas and the appearance of his name on the payroll of the "Comédie Française" in 1752 as cellist and bass player. According to Jules Bonnassies ("
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Actors of the Comédie-Française


Coquettes qui pour voir galans au rendez vous (), usually referred to in Russian sources as Actors of the Comédie-Française, is an oil on panel painting in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, by French painter Jean-Antoine Watteau, an important artist of the Rococo style. A part of the Crozat collection, the work was acquired by Catherine II of Russia in 1772 and then held among the Russian imperial family collections in the Winter Palace and later in the Gatchina Palace; in 1920, the painting was transitioned
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Opéra-National


the Comédie-Française, or the Opéra-Comique had to pay a fee to the management of the appropriate company. In addition, only the Opéra could perform particular historical and mythological ballets, thus burdening several companies, particularly the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin. In spite of these measures, the situation continued to worsen, and on 29 July 1807 Napoleon decided that only eight theatres (four primary and four secondary) could continue to operate. The primary theatres were the Opéra, the Comédie-Française,
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Champmeslé


Charles Chevillet, "sieur de" Champmeslé, (20 October 1642 – 22 August 1701) was a 17th-century French actor and playwright (see Troupe of the Comédie-Française in 1680). Champmeslé made his theatre debut in 1665 in a troupe of the province and married Marie Desmares in Rouen on 9 January 1666. He then played at the Théâtre du Marais then at the Hôtel de Bourgogne and became one of the first sociétaires of the Comédie-Française. When he died, coming out of a tavern,
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Marcel Bozonnet


Marcel-Louis Bozonnet (born 18 May 1944, in Semur-en-Auxois), is a French actor. Bozonnet entered the Comédie-Française in 1982, and became a "sociétaire" in 1986. He subsequently directed the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique de Paris from 1993 to 2001. Appointed administrateur général of the Comédie-Française in 2001, il opened the "salle Richelieu" to contemporary authors (creating a poay of Valère Novarina in 2006), created a notable show on the "Fables" of Jean
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Rosimond


The Imaginary Invalid", and became one of the first sociétaires of the Comédie-Française in 1680 (see Troupe of the Comédie-Française in 1680). He died in the same circumstances as Molière, when coming out of stage, and his family met the same difficulties for his burial (see Excommunication of actors by the Catholic Church). Under the pen name Jean-Baptiste Du Mesnil, Rosimond wrote "Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année", published in 1680. The same year, he
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Pascal Rambert


read by Denis Podalydès of the Comédie Française, was first staged at the 2013 67th Festival d’Avignon in the Cour d’Honneur du Palais des Papes. His play, "Répétition" ("Rehearsal"), written for Emmanuelle Béart, Audrey Bonnet, Denis Podalydès of the Comédie Française, Stanislas Nordey, and Claire Zeller, premiered December 12, 2014 at T2G, Théâtre de Gennevilliers- national dramatic center for contemporary creation as part of Festival d’Automne in Paris. It was subsequently performed in Lyon and toured nationally and internationally in the
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Larive


another first appearance at the Comédie-Française and was admitted as a sociétaire on the following 18 May. Three years later, the death of Lekain put him in first place among the sociétaires. He regularly toured the provinces and appeared in his birthplace in 1780, as well as in Lille, Geneva and Bordeaux. He left the Comédie-Française in 1788 but returned to it in 1790, after appearing in Lille. Supplanted by Talma, he was imprisoned several times during the French Revolution and retired to his property at Montlignon,
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Abraham-Joseph Bénard


Fleury [Abraham Joseph Bénard] (October 26, 1750 – March 3, 1822), French actor of the Comédie-Française, was one of the greatest comedians of his time. He was born at Chartres, and began his stage apprenticeship at Nancy, where his father was at the head of a company of actors attached to the court of Stanisław Leszczyński. After four years in the provinces, he came to Paris in 1778, and almost immediately was made "sociétaire" at the Comédie Française, although the public
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Jeanne Ludwig


Jeanne-Clarisse-Victoire Ludwig (October 25, 1867 – June 27, 1898) was a French actress and "sociétaire" of the Comédie-Française. Ludwig studied at the Conservatoire de Paris under actor Louis-Arsène Delaunay. While there, she won first prize in comedy. Ludwig debuted as a "pensionnaire" with the Comédie-Française in 1887, in Pierre de Marivaux's "Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard" (The Game of Love and Chance). Other shows with Ludwig in the cast
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Lekain


Lekain was the stage name of Henri Louis Cain (31 March 1728 – 8 February 1778), a French actor. He was born in Paris, the son of a silversmith. He was educated at the Collège Mazarin, and joined an amateur company of players against which the Comédie-Française obtained an injunction. Voltaire supported him for a time and enabled him to act in his private theatre and also before the duchess of Maine. He made his debut at the Comédie-Française on 14 September 1750 in the role of
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Comédie-Italienne


when it was given to the commedia dell'arte troupe at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, to distinguish it from the French troupe, the Comédie-Française, which was founded that year, and just as the name Théâtre-Français was commonly applied to the latter, Théâtre-Italien was used for the Italians. Over time French phrases, songs, whole scenes, and eventually entire plays were incorporated into the Comédie-Italienne's performances. By 1762 the company was merged with the Opéra-Comique, but the names Comédie-Italienne
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Marie-Joseph Peyre


into accord with the comte de Provence's residence, the Palais du Luxembourg. Work, on foundations already constructed by Moreau, began in May 1779, paid for by Monsieur, and by 16 February 1782, the players of the Comédie Française, who had objected to the project from the start, were installed in the new theatre, which was inaugurated by Marie-Antoinette, 9 April 1782, with a performance of Racine's "Iphigénie". Peyre was the architect of the Hôtel de Nivernais, rue de Tournon,
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Comédie-Française


Comédie-Française may be said to have an unbroken tradition reaching back to the days of Molière. The company gave its first performance on 25 August 1680 at the Guénégaud. Its leading actors included Molière's widow, Armande Béjart, her husband, Guérin d'Estriché, La Grange, Mlle Champmeslé, Baron, Hauteroche, and Raymond Poisson. The repertoire consisted of the collection of theatrical works by Molière and Jean Racine, along with a few works by Pierre Corneille, Paul Scarron and Jean Rotrou. In the 18th century, the
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Comédie-Française


"Théâtre de la Nation." On 3 September 1793, during the French Revolution, the Théâtre de la Nation was closed by order of the Committee of Public Safety for putting on the allegedly seditious play "Pamela", and the actors were imprisoned though gradually released later. On 31 May 1799, the new government made the Salle Richelieu available and allowed the actors to reconstitute the troupe. The Comédie-Française today has a repertoire of 3,000 works and three theatres in Paris (Salle Richelieu, next to the Palais Royal
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Paris in the 18th century


to the Salle Favert. On the left bank, the Odéon Theater opened in 1782. The most successful Paris playwright was Pierre Beaumarchais who first put on stage the "Le Barbier de Séville" in 1775 in the Tuileries Palace, performed by the Comédie Française. It was followed by "Le Mariage de Figaro", which was accepted for production by the management of the Comédie Française in 1781, but at private reading before the French court the play so shocked King Louis XVI that he forbade its public presentation. Beaumarchais revised
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Laurent Stocker


Laurent Stocker (born 27 May 1973) is a French theatre and cinema actor, and a sociétaire of the Comédie-Française. He trained at the Ateliers Gérard Philipe and the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique from 1993 to 1996 in the classes of Madeleine Marion, Daniel Mesguich and Philippe Adrien. He entered the Comédie-Française on 14 June 2001, where he became the 511th sociétaire on 1 January 2004. He starred in, among other films, "Ensemble, c'est tout" by Claude Berri, after the novel of
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Jean Piat


Jean Piat (23 September 1924 – 18 September 2018) was a French actor and writer. Piat was born in Lannoy, Nord. He enlisted in the Comédie-Française on 1 September 1947, and became a member on 1 January 1953. He left the Comédie-Française on 31 December 1972, and became an honorary member the following day. He was an officer in the Légion d'honneur and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and a grand officer in the Ordre national du Mérite. He was married to actress
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Actors of the Comédie-Française


in the Winter Palace, where it currently remains as part of the Hermitage Museum permanent exhibition. Throughout its provenance, the work has also been known under a number of various titles before studies of Watteau's drawings in the 20th century established a possible identity. The painting is a rare example of a group portrait which depicts five figures, with four of them presumed to be and identified as members of the Comédie-Française in their roles from Florent Carton Dancourt's play "The Three Cousins": Charlotte Desmares, a mistress
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Actors of the Comédie-Française


1958 catalogue of the painting collection. Josz's contemporary considered figures to be "a family group dressed for an elegant masquerade," painted after material from sketchbooks. In her monograph on Watteau published in 1950, Helene Adhemar identified the woman in red as Charlotte Desmares, a leading actress of the Comédie-Française during the 1700s and the 1710s and once a mistress of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans; Adhemar's point was furthered in Karl Parker and Jacques Mathey's 1957–1958 catalogue of Watteau drawings; they concluded that the old
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Actors of the Comédie-Française


man could be another Comédie-Française player, Pierre Le Noir. In the Soviet Union, the Hermitage staff member Inna Nemilova supported these points, and also concluded the young man to be Philippe Poisson. In addition, Nemilova pointed out Desmares could be possibly depicted by Watteau in both versions of "The Embarkation for Cythera", and also other canvas and various drawings. Watteau's authorship of the panel has never been seriously questioned by scholars until the early 20th century, when considered it a work by Philippe Mercier in a
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La Thorillière


Thorillière's death in 1680 that, among other reasons, precipitated the merger of the players from the Bourgogne with those at the Guénégaud Theatre, leading to the creation of the Comédie-Française. Some scholars have suggested he had been opposed to any merger since 1673, possibly due to animosity or rivalry between La Thorillière and La Grange, the orator of that troupe. His son Pierre (1659–1731), also known as La Thorillière, became a sociétaire of the Comédie-Française. His daughter Charlotte (born 1661) married
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Lockroy


Joseph-Philippe Simon, called Lockroy (February 17, 1803 – January 19, 1891) was a French actor and playwright. Born in Turin as the son of Baron General Henri Simon, who forbade his son's use of his surname in an artistic career, Joseph-Philippe Simon began as an actor under the pseudonym Lockroy at the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe and the Comédie-Française in Paris before devoting himself entirely to writing. For a few months in 1848 he served as provisional administrator of the Comédie-Française
21789839
Jean Desailly


Jean Desailly (24 August 1920 – 11 June 2008) was a French actor. He was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1942 to 1946, and later participated in about 90 movies. Desailly studied at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts and the Conservatoire de Paris winning first prize, joining the Comédie-Française in 1942. In 1946 he became a leading member of the Jean-Louis Barrault-Madeleine Renaud company at the Théâtre Marigny, playing in a wide repertoire from "Les Fausses Confidences",
21836996
María Casares


she was nominated for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress in "La Lectrice". From 1952 onward, although she continued to appear in occasional films, she devoted herself mainly to the stage. She joined the Festival d'Avignon, the Comédie-Française and the Théâtre National Populaire under the leadership of Jean Vilar. Before her, no one actor or actress of foreign origin had ever played at Comédie-Française. She toured extensively throughout the world, appearing in the great classics of French theatre, including, in 1958,
2775949
Marie Champmeslé


and her husband deserted the Hotel de Bourgogne for the Théâtre Guénégaud. When the latter company merged into the new Comédie-Française, "Phaedre" was selected for the opening on 26 August 1680 (see Troupe of the Comédie-Française in 1680). Here, with Madame Gurin as the leading comedy actress, she played the great tragic love parts for more than thirty years. During her career, “La Champmeslé” created a large number of famous roles. Besides those already mentioned, she did Bérénice, Ariane,
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Louis-Arsène Delaunay


became a regular member of Comédie-Française in 1850. He continued to act as "jeune premier" until he was sixty, his grace, marvellous diction and passion enchanting his audiences. It was especially in the plays of Alfred de Musset that his gifts found their happiest expression. In the 37 years during which he was a member of the Comédie-Française, Delaunay took or created nearly two hundred parts. In 1877 he was appointed professor of dramatic declamation at the Conservatoire de Paris. He retired in 1887, having
4457089
Marc-Antoine Legrand


Marc-Antoine Legrand or Le Grand (30 January 1673, Paris – 7 January 1728) was a 17th–18th-century French actor and playwright. The son of a surgeon at the Hôtel des Invalides, Legrand started very early his acting career, first in Lyon in 1692 in the company of Marshall de Villeroy and made a first attempt at the Comédie-Française 19 March 1694 but was not received. After a stay in Warsaw at the court of John III Sobieski, he returned to the Comédie-Française 21 March 1702
4772093
Jean Mounet-Sully


military career had almost convinced him to give up the stage, until he was offered the opportunity to play the part of Oreste in Racine's "Andromaque" at the Comédie Française in 1872. His striking presence and voice and the passionate vigor of his acting made an immediate impression, which resulted in his election as "sociétaire" in 1874. He became one of the mainstays of the Comédie Française, and distinguished himself in a great variety of tragic and romantic parts. Perhaps his most famous role was that of Oedipus in
7262399
Théâtre de la foire


to September 15). It disappeared in 1777, destroyed by a fire. From marionettes and tightrope walkers, fairground performers gradually came to perform extremely small plays, often written by renowned and talented authors. After the expulsion of Italian actors in 1697, actors and showmen were emboldened and they appropriated the Italians' repertoire. The professionalization of entertainment at the fair began to worry the Comédie-Française, which saw in it a dangerous competition. The Comédie-Française tried every means to preserve its privileges and, after many trials
7285304
Julie Talma


an actor who had just started at the Comédie-Française, and they began an affair. Talma gave his support to the French Revolution in 1789, causing a split in the Comédie-Française. He took several leading democratic actors with him, including Monvel (Jacques Marie Boutet), Rose Vestris and Amélie-Julie Candeille. Juie became pregnant and the couple decided to marry. They had difficulty finding a priest who would perform the ceremony since Talma insisted on giving his profession as an actor, a sinful occupation, and
8308168
Paris in the 18th century


unfinished, but the "façades" were finished in 1765-66. The other monumental major building projects of Louis XV were all on the Left Bank: a new mint, the "Hôtel des Monnaies", with a 117-meter façade along the Seine (1767–1775); a new medical school, the "École de Chirurgie", designed by Jacques Gondouin (1771–1775), and a new theater for the "Comédie Française", called the "Théâtre de l'Odéon", designed by the architects Charles de Wailly and Marie
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Théâtre des Tuileries


The Théâtre des Tuileries was a theatre in the former Tuileries Palace in Paris. It was also known as the Salle des Machines, because of its elaborate stage machinery, designed by the Italian theatre architects Gaspare Vigarani and his two sons, Carlo and Lodovico. Constructed in 1659–1661, it was originally intended for spectacular productions mounted by the court of the young Louis XIV, but in 1763 the theatre was greatly reduced in size and used in turn by the Paris Opera (up to 1770), the Comédie-Française (from
15548211
Charles de Wailly


Charles de Wailly () (9 November 1730 – 2 November 1798) was a French architect and urbanist, and furniture designer, one of the principals in the Neoclassical revival of the Antique. His major work was the Théâtre de l'Odéon for the Comédie-Française (1779–82). In his designs, de Wailly showed a predilection for the perfect figure, the circle. De Wailly was born in Paris. Starting in 1749, he was the pupil of Jacques-François Blondel at "l'École des Arts", where he
8635906
Comédie-Italienne


Fiorillo, who was to have a strong influence on Molière, was the head of the Italian company. Both troupes, evicted from the Palais-Royal by Lully's Académie royale de Musique in 1673, moved to the Théâtre Guénégaud, where they continued to perform in alternation until the establishment of the Comédie-Française in 1680, at which time the Italians, now officially the Comédie-Italienne, returned to the Hôtel de Bourgogne, where they performed until the company was disbanded in 1697. The historical Comédie-Italienne presented
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Jean-Pierre Miquel


Jean-Pierre Miquel (22 January 1937 – 22 February 2003) was a French actor and theatre director, as well as an administrator of the Comédie française. Artistic director at the Théâtre de l'Odéon from 1971 to 1977, he becomes managing director of the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique from 1982 to 1993 and administrator of the Comédie française. from 1993 to 2001. In 1985, as director of the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique de Paris, he organised a great exhibition of paintings by Dolores Puthod devoted to the Commedia dell'Arte
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Cécile Sorel


in playing a stock character known as the "grande coquette". She was especially well known for her portrayal of Célimène in "The Misanthrope". In 1904, she became the 339th "Sociétaire de la Comédie-Française" and remained with the theater until 1933. Although long engaged to Whitney Warren, an American architect who was related to the Vanderbilts, she eventually married the Comte de Ségur-Lamoignon, great grandson of the famous Comtesse de Ségur, who acted under the name Guillaume de Sax. They were sometimes
1306503
Artists in Isabey's Studio


unknown man, the sculptor Charles-Louis Corbet, the painters Michel Martin Drolling, Jean-Louis Demarne, Jean-Baptiste Isabey (leaning towards the easel), François Gérard (seated before the easel), Nicolas-Antoine Taunay, Swebach-Desfontaines, the miniature painter Charles Bourgeois, the painter Guillon Lethière, Carle Vernet, the engraver Jean Duplessis-Bertaux, the architects Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine and Charles Percier, the actor Baptiste aîné of the Comédie-Française (seated by a folio of drawings)
21057096
Salle Richelieu


The Salle Richelieu is the principal theatre of the Comédie-Française. It is located in the Palais-Royal in the first arrondissement of Paris and was originally constructed in 1786–1790 to the designs of the architect Victor Louis. It seats 862 spectators. For the auditorium of his earlier theatre, the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux (1773–1780), Victor Louis had combined the ancient semicircle with the ellipse giving a horseshoe plan and devised open balcony boxes, both features which he employed again in the Salle Richelieu (1786–1790), as well
22128912
Kate Santley


the First Chief Officer of the London Fire Brigade strongly recommended to the Metropolitan Board of Works the immediate closure of the theatre. Santley, however, had it reconstructed to designs of architect Thomas Verity, whose plans, providing improved means of egress, were approved in 1882. Many of the productions at the Royalty were opera-bouffes adapted from the French. M. L. Mayer, formerly of the Gaiety Theatre, staged twice-yearly seasons of plays in French. The Coquelins and other luminaries of the Comédie-Française appeared here
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Sarah Bernhardt


as soon as he learned Bernhardt had resigned from the Comédie Française, the impresario Edward Jarrett hurried to Paris and proposed that she make a theatrical tour of England and then the United States. She could select her repertoire and the cast. She would receive 5,000 francs per performance, plus 15% of any earnings over 15,0000 franca, plus all of her expenses, plus an account in her name for 100,000 francs, the amount she owed to the Comédie Française. She accepted immediately. Now on her own, Bernhardt first assembled
1070137
Jean-Charles-Alexandre Moreau


Jean-Charles-Alexandre Moreau (1762–1810) was a French history painter, decorative painter and architect. He was born in Rimaucourt near Neufchâteau, Vosges. He studied architecture in Paris with Louis-François Trouard and won the first prize in architecture in the Prix de Rome competition of 1785. He visited Rome four times during his career. Later he studied history painting with Jacques-Louis David. From 1797 to 1810, he exhibited at the Paris Salon. In 1798 he renovated the theatre of the Comédie-Française.
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Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm


. In 1779, he introduced Giacomo Quarenghi as an architect and Clodion as a sculptor, when Étienne Maurice Falconet came back to Paris. In 1787, Catherine asked Grimm to burn her letters to him, "or else put them in safekeeping, so that no one can unearth them for a century." Like Christoph Willibald von Gluck and Ranieri de' Calzabigi, Grimm was occupied with operatic reform. Grimm loved theatre, criticized the Comédie Française and praised the private theatre of Madame de Montesson, the wife of his employer
19045198
Julien Bertheau


Julien Bertheau (19 June 1910 – 28 October 1995) was a French actor. Born in Algiers, Algeria, before making his debut at the Comédie-Française on 18 December 1936, he worked as manager of the Theatre de la Porte Saint-Martin, then he studied with Charles Dullin at the Atelier Theatre, appeared in plays at the Comédie des Champs-Elysées and finally worked with Louis Jouvet. He left the Comédie-French after twenty-two years. In 1961, he starred in "Madame Sans-
15900716
Pierre de Marivaux


in the Mississippi scheme. His pen now became almost his sole resource. Marivaux had a connection with both the fashionable theatres: "Annibal" had played at the Comédie Française and "Arlequin poli" at the Comédie Italienne. He also endeavoured to start a weekly newspaper, the "Spectateur Français", to which he was the sole contributor. But his irregular work ethic killed the paper after less than two years. Thus, for nearly twenty years the theatre, especially the Comédie Italienne, was Marivaux's chief support.
21379401
Hôtel de Bourgogne (theatre)


troupe from the Théâtre du Marais) to form the Comédie-Française. The Guénégaud's company of Italian actors moved to the now unoccupied Hôtel de Bourgogne and became known as the Comédie-Italienne. The Comédie-Italienne gradually began to perform plays in French, merged with the Opéra Comique of the Théâtre de la Foire in 1762, and moved to the Salle Favart in 1783, after which the theatre at the Hôtel de Bourgogne permanently closed. In 1548, the society of the Confrérie de la Passion ("Brotherhood of
686474
François Just Marie Raynouard


"Éléonore de Bavière" and "Les Templiers" were accepted by the Comédie-Française. "Les Templiers" was produced in 1805, and, over the opposition of Geoffroy, was a great success. Elected to the Académie française in 1807, elected to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1816, Raynouard was admitted "secrétaire perpétuel" of the Académie française in 1817. From 1806 to 1814 he represented the department of Var in the Corps législatif. Raynouard wrote other plays, one of which, "
6004806
The Barber of Seville (play)


The Barber of Seville or the Useless Precaution () is a French play by Pierre Beaumarchais, with original music by Antoine-Laurent Baudron. It was initially conceived as an opéra comique, and was rejected as such in 1772 by the Comédie-Italienne. The play as it is now known was written in 1773, but, due to legal and political problems of the author, it was not performed until February 23, 1775, at the Comédie-Française in the Tuileries. It is the first play in a trilogy
4052561
Henri Barboux


Louis Henri Barboux (24 September 1834, Châteauroux, Indre – 25 April 1910, Paris) was a prominent French financial lawyer, politician, and member of the Académie française. Barboux was the lawyer for Sarah Bernhardt in her 1880 breach-of-contract suit against the Comédie-Française, and famously represented canal developer Ferdinand de Lesseps in the court trials of the financial Panama scandals beginning in 1892. Despite the political controversies attached to the Panama scandals, Barboux was elected member of the Académie française in 1907 and served only
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Parterre (theater audience)


them, but were undermining the very authority of the court, who remained, at the same time, the patrons of France’s “privileged” theaters, the Comédie-Française, Comédie-Italienne, and the" Paris Opera". In other words, “the public theatre...did not reproduce the forms of political and cultural authority generated at Versailles.” As part of his analysis, Ravel examines representations of the parterre in literature, from the 17th to 18th centuries. Ravel demonstrates how writers constructed an image of
14273951
The Barber of Seville


originally conceived as an opéra comique, but was rejected as such by the Comédie-Italienne. The play as it is now known was premiered in 1775 by the Comédie-Française at the Théâtre des Tuileries in Paris. Other operas based on the first play were composed by Giovanni Paisiello (his "Il barbiere di Siviglia" premiered in 1782), by Nicolas Isouard in 1796, and then by Francesco Morlacchi in 1816. Though the work of Paisiello triumphed for a time, only Rossini's version has stood the test of
17168061
Pascal Rambert


Sophie Ferdane, at the CDN Orléans / Loiret / Centre, then presented it at La Comédie in Reims and at the T2G, Théâtre de Gennevilliers - national dramatic center for contemporary creation. In May 2017, he directed "Une vie"( "A life"), which he wrote for the Comédie-Française ensemble, at the Théâtre du Vieux Colombier in Paris. In August 2017, he directed "GHOSTs," written for a group of Taiwanese actors and presented for the opening of the Performing Art Festival
2530660
Denis-Pierre-Jean Papillon de la Ferté


de la Ferté, "président trésorier" of the "généralité" of Champagne, the King's Lieutenant of Châlons. His remarkable longevity in a position that was concentrated in his person in 1762, spanning two reigns and the change in taste from rococo to neoclassicism, in music as well as the visual arts, is testament to his ability and character. His "Journal", published in 1887, gives an insight not only into the workings of the Menus-Plaisirs, but the Comédie française and the Comédie-Italienne
42782
François Lays


of the Comédie-Française and the Comédie-Italienne; moreover, their pay was only partly fixed and permanent, the rest being linked to how frequently they appeared on stage and the size of their roles. The rebellious Lays soon became embroiled in a heated confrontation with the management, behaving almost like a modern union agitator, with the support of two singers who had joined the company around the same time, the haute-contre Jean-Joseph Rousseau (1761–1800) and the bass Auguste-Athanase Chéron (1760–1829).
10245277
Ériphyle (tragedy)


but to reintroduce to French tragedy the element of 'terror' which Voltaire felt had been lost as a result of the taste for gallantry on stage. Voltaire's correspondence in March 1732 with Moncrif, secretary to the Comte de Clermont, indicates that the actors of the Comédie-Française may have been reluctant to perform the play: Voltaire wanted to dedicate the work to Clermont and urged Moncrif to ensure that his master recommended the work to them, so they knew it enjoyed his patronage. The play premiered at the Comédie-
12395161
La Clairon


pamphlet "Histoire de la demoiselle Cronel', dite Frétillon, actrice de la Comédie de Rouen, écrite par elle-mme" (The Hague, 1746), or to be inferred from the disingenuousness of her own "Mémoires d'Hippolyte Clairon" (1798); and she had great difficulty in obtaining an order to make her debut at the Comédie-Française. Succeeding, however, at last, she had the courage to select the title-role of "Phèdre", and she obtained a veritable triumph. During
12709607
Marie Baptiste


of tragedies and comedies of the Comédie-Française and Comédie-Italienne as well as the breeches roles of the opéra comique, while her husband was contracted to play supporting roles. Marie Baptiste attracted particular appreciation as a tragedienne, and Prince Gustav compared her to the Marie Dumesnil in Paris. She had one of her biggest successes in "Gabrielle de Vergy" by Belloy. Marie Baptiste was also a singer, and performed in several concerts at the "Riddarhuset" between 1759 and 1771. Marie Baptiste is remembered in connection to
1311548
Parterre (theater audience)


France attribute the movement to install seats in playhouses with efforts to silence the unwieldy parterre. Seats were installed in the Comédie-Française in 1782 and in 1788 benches were installed in the Comédie-Italienne. In 1777 Jean-François de La Harpe’s proposal to install seats in the parterre sparked the debates between philosophes, playwrights, and officials about the desirability and motives behind seating the parterre. Marmontel insisted that plans to seat the parterre was really an imposition of the “aristocracy” on “theatrical democracy.” The theater
14273940
Naomi Wallace


2009, "One Flea Spare" was incorporated into the permanent répertoire of the French National Theatre, the Comédie-Française, and produced there in 2012. Wallace is the only living American playwright to enter the répertoire. Only two American playwrights have ever been added to La Comédie's repertoire in 300 years: the other being Tennessee Williams. The play was translated into French by Dominique Hollier. In 2012, Wallace was a recipient of the Horton Foote Prize for most promising new American play. In 2013, she was awarded
1482015
Marie Allard


Marie Allard (1742–1802) was a French ballerina. She debuted in the Paris Opera in 1761. Marie Allard was born in 1742 to a poor family in Marseille. At the age of 10, she was offered to a Monsieur V. and the Comédie de Marseille. Her mother died two years later and Marie became a "première danseuse" (first dancer) of the Lyon opera. By the age of 14, she was employed at the Comédie-Française and lived in a small apartment in Paris. Shortly after beginning
18156677
Benoît-Constant Coquelin


with the authorities over the question of his right to make provincial tours in France he resigned in 1886. Three years later, however, the breach was healed; and after a successful series of tours in Europe and the United States he rejoined the Comédie-Française as "pensionnaire" in 1890. During his time away from the Comédie he wrote his book "Art and the Actor." It was during this period that he took the part of Labussière, in the production of Victorien Sardou's "Thermidor", which
3447694
Concert Spirituel


The Concert Spirituel was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790; later, concerts or series of concerts of the same name occurred in Paris, Vienna, London and elsewhere. The series was founded to provide entertainment during the Easter fortnight and on religious holidays when the other spectacles (the Paris Opera, Comédie-Française, and Comédie-Italienne) were closed. The programs featured a mixture of sacred choral works and virtuosic instrumental pieces, and for many
4635657
Jean-Henri Gourgaud


went with Talma and the others to what became the Théâtre de la République. After the closing of this theatre and the dissolution of the Comédie Française, he took refuge at the Théâtre Feydeau until he returned to the restored "Comédie" in 1799. He retired in 1805, and died insane at Sandillon. Dugazon wrote three mediocre comedies of a political character, performed at the Théâtre de la République. He married, in 1776, Louise-Rosalie Lefebvre, but was soon divorced and then married again. Together they had
4703499
Hôtel de Bourgogne (theatre)


the troupe at the Guénégaud, forming the Comédie-Française. With the merger of the Comédiens du Roi and the troupe of the Guénégaud in 1680, the Comédie-Italienne, which had been sharing the Guénégaud with the Troupe du Roi, moved to the now unoccupied Hôtel de Bourgogne. They continued to perform there until 1697, when they produced "La Fausse prude". Louis XIV saw the play as a satirical attack on his mistress Madame de Maintenon and ordered the Italians to return to Italy. After Louis' death
686492
Théâtre de la foire


. Thus the Opéra-Comique was born in 1714. Given the growing success of the fair performances, the opera demanded increasingly exorbitant royalties, which put a strain on fair directors. The strategic ally of the Opera, the Comédie-Française took the opportunity to deal a fatal blow in 1719: it obtained the removal of all fair shows, with the exception of marionnettes and tightrope walking. Meanwhile, the regent had restored the Comédie-Italienne: it took the opportunity to occupy the St. Laurent fair for three years,
7285309
Comédie en vaudevilles


began to frequently utilize new music, although still labelled "vaudeville". The vaudeville final was almost never used in works presented at the Comédie-Française or the Académie Royale de Musique, and the exceptions are comedies, an example at the former being Pierre Beaumarchais's play "Le mariage de Figaro" (1784), which ends with a vaudeville, and at the latter, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "Le devin du village" (1752), which has a vaudeville final. Although it fell out of style
7469316
French theatre of the late 18th century


favourably ("cabales"), the play would not receive royalty payments. Before the creation of the National Assembly in 1789, the monarchy supported only three theatres in Paris: the Académie Royale de Musique (Paris Opera), the Comédie-Italienne, and the Comédie-Française. Royal patronage resulted in a monopoly over the theatre and safeguarded the monarch from mockery and criticism. It was not until the late 1780s that this system was criticised for preventing the success and freedom enjoyed by theatres elsewhere. The government of the
7737621
Marie NDiaye


"Comédie classique", a 200-page novel made up of a single sentence, which was published by Éditions P.O.L in 1988, when she was 21 years old. As well as novels, NDiaye has written a number of plays and a screenplay. Her 2003 drama "Papa doit manger" is only the second play by a female writer to be taken into the repertoire of the Comédie française. In 1998, NDiaye wrote a letter to the press in which she argued that her novel "La Sorcière", published two years
8919541