Charles Bodinier (6 January 1844 - 1911) was a French theater manager. After working for the Comédie-Française he became director of the Théâtre d'Application and then of the Théâtre La Bodinière. La Bodinière appealed to an elite audience, and staged a variety of lectures and performances until Bodinier retired in 1902.
Early years
Charles Bodinier was born on 6 January 1844 in
Beaufort-en-Vallée
Beaufort-en-Vallée () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Beaufort-en-Anjou.war of 1870.
He was not released until 1874. In 1876 he joined the staff of the Comédie-Française.
Bodinier was Secretary-General of the Comédie-Française from 1882 to 1889.
Théatre d'Application
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 was given permission for six months.
Both the municipal council and the ministry subscribed to establishing the theater.
In 1887 Bodinier opened the Théâtre d'Application in an old tannery at 18
rue Saint-Lazare
The Rue Saint-Lazare is a street in the 8th and 9th arrondissements of Paris, France. It starts at 9 Rue Bourdaloue and 1 Rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, and ends at Place Gabriel-Péri and Rue de Rome.
History
This street already existed in 1700 unde ...
for use by students at the
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
.
He became director of the theater in 1888.
The foyer of the premises were used as an art gallery. The artists Jules Chéret, Ferdinand Bac and
Théophile Steinlen
Théophile Alexandre Steinlen (November 10, 1859 – December 13, 1923), was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker.
Biography
Born in Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-R ...
had their first one-person shows there while the main room was being used for the Théâtre d'Application.
La Bodinière
The original purpose evolved. The theater at 18 rue Saint-Lazare became known as "
La Bodinière
The Théâtre La Bodinière was a theater in Paris directed by Charles Bodinier between 1890 and 1902.
It staged lectures and performances for a distinguished audience of aristocrats, grand bourgeois and intelligentsia.
Background
Charles Bodi ...
" and began to be used for different purposes.
La Bodinière's audience came to include members of the Parisian upper class and intelligentsia.
Starting in 1890, Bodinier began to put on ''matinées-causeries'', where well-known literary figures gave talks.
He also staged plays and shadow shows.
A popular format was a combined lecture with a recital that illustrated the topic.
Charles Bodinier abandoned the theater in 1902 and left philosophically to spend in a quiet retirement in the suburbs.
He died in 1911 aged 67.