The Salle de la Bouteille or Salle du Jeu de Paume de la Bouteille, later known as the Hôtel eGuénégaud or Guénégaud Theatre, was a 1671

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

located in Paris, France, between the

rue de Seine Rue de Seine is a street in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Rue de Seine is one of the most sought after streets in Paris due to its history and very close proximity to the Louvre and other famous Parisian landmarks. The rue de Seine and surro ...

and the rue des Fossés de Nesle (now 42 rue Mazarine, at its intersection with the rue Jacques Callot). It was across from the rue Guénégaud, which ran behind the garden of a townhouse formerly known as the Hôtel de Guénégaud on the quai de Nevers. The theatre was the first home of the Paris Opera and in 1680 became the first theatre of the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

. It closed in 1689 and was later partially demolished and remodeled for other purposes.

History

Originally a tennis court (''

jeu de paume ''Jeu de paume'' (, ; originally spelled ; ), nowadays known as real tennis, (US) court tennis or (in France) ''courte paume'', is a ball-and-court game that originated in France. It was an indoor precursor of tennis played without racquets, a ...

'') that was converted into a theatre, it was inaugurated in 1671 as the first home of

Pierre Perrin Pierre Perrin (c.1620 – 24 April 1675) was a French poet and librettist. Perrin, sometimes known as L'Abbé Perrin although he never belonged to the clergy, was born in Lyon. He founded the Académie d'Opéra, which later was renamed the Acad ...

's Académie d'Opéra (see Paris Opera). The first French opera,

Robert Cambert Robert Cambert (c. 1628–1677) was a French composer principally of opera. His opera '' Pomone'' was the first actual opera in French. Biography Under Mazarin Born in Paris c. 1628, he studied music under Chambonnières. His first position was ...

's '' Pomone'' with a libretto by Perrin, premiered there on 3 March of that year.Sadler 2001, p.180. Bashford 1992, p. 697: "Considered by modern scholars to be the first true French opera..." A second lyric work, ''Les peines et les plaisirs de l'amour'', with a libretto by

Gabriel Gilbert Gabriel Gilbert (c.1620 – c.1680) was a 17th-century French poet and playwright. He was secretary of duchesse de Rohan and secretary of commandments by Christina, Queen of Sweden in 1656. He wrote tragicomedies and tragedies, including ''Ma ...

and music by Cambert, was performed in 1672.Harris-Warrick 1992, p. 856. On 13 March 1672 the ''surintendant'' of the king's music, Jean-Baptiste Lully, acquired Perrin's rights to perform opera and named his company the Académie Royale de Musique, although it also continued to be called the Opéra. Because of legal difficulties Lully could not use the Salle de la Bouteille, and moved the Opéra to a theatre built by Carlo Vigarani in the Bel-Air tennis court on the

Rue de Vaugirard The Rue de Vaugirard (Street of Vaugirard) is the longest street inside Paris's former city walls, at . It spans the 6th and 15th arrondissements. The Senate, housed in the Palais du Luxembourg, is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard. Location The Rue de V ...

. In 1673, after the death of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...

, the Salle de la Bouteille became the home of the Guénégaud Theatre, a company formed from the remnants of the troupe of Molière and players from the

Théâtre du Marais The Théâtre du Marais has been the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France. The original and most famous theatre of the name operated in the 17th century. The name was briefly revived for a revolutionary theatre in 1791 ...

. In 1680, after merging with the troupe from the Hôtel de Bourgogne, the company became known as the

and continued to perform in the Guénégaud until 1689, when it moved to the Jeu de Paume de l'Étoile on the rue des Fossés-Saint-Germain-des-Prés (the southeastward extension of the rue des Fossés de Nesle), today known as the .Clarke 1998, pp. 1, 112.

Notes

Bibliography

* Bashford, Christina (1992). "Cambert, Robert", vol. 4, pp. 696–698, in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

'', 4 volumes, edited by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan. . * Chappuzeau, Samuel (1674). ''Le théâtre français'', edited by G. Monval. Paris: Bonnassies, 1875. * Clarke, Jan (1998). ''The Guénégaud Theatre in Paris (1673–1680). Volume One: Founding, Design and Production''. Lewiston, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press. . * Forman, Edward (2010). ''Historical Dictionary of French Theater''. Lanham: The Scarecrow Press. . * Harris-Warrick, Rebecca (1992). "Paris. 2. 1669–1725", vol. 3, pp. 856–858, in ''

'', 4 volumes, edited by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan. . * Howarth, William D., ed. (1997). ''French Theatre in the Neo-Classical Era 1550–1789''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (digital reprint, 2008). * La Salle, Albert de (1875). ''Les Treize Salles de l'Opéra''. Paris: Librairie Sartorius
Copy
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Notice bibliographique
at the BnF. * Lecomte, Louis-Henry (1905). ''Histoire des théâtres 1402–1904. Notice préliminaire''. Paris: Daragon
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. * Nuitter, Charles; Thoinan, Ernest (1886). ''Les Origines de l'Opéra français'' (in French). Paris: E. Plon, Nourrit et Cie. Copie
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. * Powell, John S. (2000). ''Music and Theatre in France 1600–1680''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * Sadler, Graham (2001). "Robert Cambert", p. 150, in ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', edited by

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...

. New York: Penguin Putnam. . * Wiley, W. L. (1960). ''The Early Public Theatre in France''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. . Greenwood Press reprint (1973): . {{authority control Buildings and structures in the 6th arrondissement of Paris Theatres completed in 1671 Former theatres in Paris Opera houses in Paris 17th century in Paris