![Les acteurs de la Comédie italienne - Nicolas Lancret - Louvre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Les_acteurs_de_la_Com%C3%A9die_italienne_-_Nicolas_Lancret_-_Louvre.jpg)
Comédie-Italienne or Théâtre-Italien are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France.
The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were
commedia dell'arte
(; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
companies employed by the French court under the Italian-born queens
Catherine de Medici
Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King H ...
and
Marie de Medici
Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingdom ...
. These troupes also gave public performances in Paris at the
theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne, probably the earliest public theatre to be built in France.
The first official use of the name Comédie-Italienne was in 1680, 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
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 ...
, 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
The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...
, but the names Comédie-Italienne and Théâtre-Italien continued to be used, even though the repertory soon became almost exclusively French
opéra-comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...
. The names were dropped completely in 1801, when the company was merged with the
Théâtre Feydeau
The Théâtre Feydeau (), a former Parisian theatre company, was founded in 1789 with the patronage of Monsieur, Comte de Provence (later to become Louis XVIII), and was therefore initially named the Théâtre de Monsieur. It began performing in t ...
.
From 1801 to 1878, Théâtre-Italien was used for a succession of Parisian opera companies performing Italian opera in Italian. In 1980 the name
La Comédie-Italienne was used for a theatre in the
Montparnasse
Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...
district of Paris, which presents Italian commedia dell'arte plays in French translation.
["Historique du Théâtre" a]
La Comédie Italienne
website.
The Comédie-Italienne in the 17th century
In the 17th century, the historical Comédie-Italienne was supported by the king. At that time, a distinction was made between so-called legitimate theatre, which could be performed in royally-sanctioned theatres, and the more lowbrow street theatre, which did not undergo the scrutiny of royal censors. Italian troupes performed in the
Hôtel de Bourgogne up to 1645, at which time they moved to
Petit Bourbon. In 1660 they moved to the
Palais-Royal
The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal R ...
, where they performed in alternation with the
troupe of Molière. It was during this period that
Tiberio Fiorillo
Tiberio Fiorilli, also spelled Fiorillo and Fiurelli (November 9, 1608 – December 7, 1694)"Fiorillo, Tiberio" in
''The New Encyclopædia Britannica'' (15th edition, Chicago, 1991) vol. 4, p. 787.
was an Italian actor of '' commedia dell'arte' ...
, who was to have a strong influence on
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 world ...
, was the head of the Italian company. Both troupes, evicted from the Palais-Royal by Lully's
Académie royale de Musique
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...
in 1673, moved to the
Théâtre Guénégaud
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 located in Paris, France, between the rue de Seine and the rue des Fossés de Nesle (now 42 ...
, where they continued to perform in alternation until the establishment 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 ...
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.
[Wild 1989, pp. 100–101.]
The historical Comédie-Italienne presented to the French-speaking public spectacles performed by professional Italian actors. At first, these actors performed
commedia dell'arte
(; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
in their native Italian. Commedia dell'arte is an improvisational type of theatre; there were no scripts. They had multiple scenarios that they would pick from to perform, but inside that scenario they really did not have anything else planned out. They did however have specific character types, called Stock Characters, that became famous and loved by the theatre goers.
![Depart Comediens italiens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Depart_Comediens_italiens.jpg)
After moving to the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1680 the troupe began presenting scripted plays by dramatists such as
Regnard,
Dufresny, and
Palaprat.
[Roy 1995, p. 234.] Around the same time the troupe became widely popular, King Louis XIV gave the newly formed national theatre of France, the Comedie Francaise, a monopoly on spoken French drama. The royalty saw the troupe's cooperation with French playwrights as a threat and began to consider refusing the troupe their annual pension.
In 1697, a single event caused the King to finalize his decision. The actors had just announced upcoming performances of the play ''La fausse prude'', or ''The False Hypocrite'', a play that directly ridiculed King
Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of ...
's wife,
Madame de Maintenon Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ( ...
. There is a debate among scholars as to whether or not the play was actually performed or if the play was simply advertised and the King learned of its existence. Regardless, upon his knowledge of the play's existence, the king had the actors sent away and the theatre shut down.
The Comédie-Italienne in the 18th century
After the period of mourning following the death of Louis XIV in 1715, the oppressive atmosphere of religious devotion characteristic of the latter part of his reign began to lift.
Philippe d'Orléans, the
Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
, 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
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 ...
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 higher production values than those of the theatres at the fairs. In the spring of 1716 Philippe asked his cousin, the
Duke of Parma
The Duke of Parma and Piacenza () was the ruler of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, a historical state of Northern Italy, which existed between 1545 and 1802, and again from 1814 to 1859.
The Duke of Parma was also Duke of Piacenza, excep ...
, to send him a troupe of Italian actors to revive the Comédie-Italienne in Paris, which had been disbanded nearly twenty years previous. To avoid some of the difficulties of the earlier troupe, he specified that its leader should be a man of good character and manners.
was chosen, and in a few weeks he assembled a group of ten actors, all of whom were devout Christians.
![Antoine Watteau 026](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Antoine_Watteau_026.jpg)
Riccoboni's troupe performed at the
Palais-Royal
The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal R ...
from 18 May 1716 until the Hôtel de Bourgogne had been renovated. Their first performance in the renovated Bourgogne theatre was on 1 June, when they performed ''La Folle supposée'' (''La Finta Pazza'') in Italian. After an initial period of success, audiences dwindled, and the new company was also forced to begin performing more and more plays in French. Between 1720 and 1740 the company presented around 20 plays of
Marivaux
Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist.
He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing nume ...
with great success.
[ The actress Silvia Balletti was particularly famous for her portrayals of Marivaux's heroines. As the competition from the fair theatres increased, the company began presenting similar fare, including French '' comédies-en-vaudevilles'' and '' opéras-comiques''.][
In 1762, the company merged with the ]Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...
of the Théâtre de la Foire Théâtre de la foire is the collective name given to the theatre put on at the annual fairs at Saint-Germain and Saint-Laurent (and for a time, at Saint-Ovide) in Paris.
Foire Saint-Germain
The earliest references to the annual fair date to 11 ...
. The combined company opened at the Bourgogne on 3 February 1762 and continued to perform in the theatre until 4 April 1783, after which they moved to the new Salle Favart.[ By this time all the Italian players had either retired or returned to Italy, and the traditional Comédie-Italienne had in effect ceased to exist.][ The name Comédie-Italienne was used less and less and was completely abandoned in 1801, when the company merged with the ]Théâtre Feydeau
The Théâtre Feydeau (), a former Parisian theatre company, was founded in 1789 with the patronage of Monsieur, Comte de Provence (later to become Louis XVIII), and was therefore initially named the Théâtre de Monsieur. It began performing in t ...
.
Italian opera in Paris in the 17th and 18th centuries
The first operas shown in Paris were Italian and were given in the mid-17th century (1645–1662) by Italian singers invited to France by the regent Anne d'Autriche
Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unt ...
and her Italian-born first minister, Cardinal Mazarin
Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...
. The first was really a play with music, a ''comédie italienne'', which may have been Marco Marazzoli's ''Il giudito della ragione tra la Beltà e l'Affetto'', although this has been disputed. It was presented at Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
's theatre, the Salle du Palais-Royal
Salle is the French word for 'hall', 'room' or 'auditorium', as in:
* Salle des Concerts Herz, a former Paris concert hall
*Salle Favart, theatre of the Paris Opéra-Comique
*Salle Le Peletier, former home of the Paris Opéra
*Salle Pleyel, a Pari ...
, on 28 February 1645. Francesco Sacrati's opera ''La finta pazza
''La finta pazza'' (''The feigned madwoman'') is an opera composed by Francesco Sacrati to a libretto by Giulio Strozzi. Its premiere in Venice during the Carnival season of 1641 inaugurated the Teatro Novissimo. It became one of the most popu ...
'' was presented at the Salle du Petit-Bourbon on 14 December 1645, and ''Egisto'' (probably a version of '' Egisto'' with music by Francesco Cavalli) was given at the Palais-Royal on 13 February 1646. A new Italian opera, ''Orfeo
Orfeo Classic Schallplatten und Musikfilm GmbH of Munich was a German independent classical record label founded in 1979 by Axel Mehrle and launched in 1980. It has been owned by Naxos since 2015.
History
The Orfeo music label was registered ...
'', with music composed by Luigi Rossi, premiered at the Palais-Royal on 2 March 1647.[Powell 2000, pp. 21–23, 57; Anthony 1992.]
During the Fronde
The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...
, Mazarin was in exile and no Italian works were performed, but after his return to Paris, Carlo Caproli's '' Le nozze di Peleo e di Theti'' was produced at the Petit-Bourbon on 14 April 1654. Cavalli's ''Xerse
''Il Xerse'' ( in its 1660 French version ''Xerxès'') is an opera by Francesco Cavalli (specifically, a ''dramma per musica'') about Xerxes I. The libretto was written by Nicolò Minato, and was later set by both Giovanni Bononcini (1694, '' ...
'' was given in the Salle du Louvre on 22 November 1660, and his ''Ercole amante
''Ercole amante'' (''Hercules in Love'', French: ''Hercule amoureux'') is an opera in a prologue and five acts by Francesco Cavalli. Its Italian libretto is by Francesco Buti, based on Sophocles' ''The Trachiniae'' and on the ninth book of Ovid ...
'' premiered at the new Salle des Machines
Salle is the French word for 'hall', 'room' or 'auditorium', as in:
*Salle des Concerts Herz, a former Paris concert hall
*Salle Favart, theatre of the Paris Opéra-Comique
*Salle Le Peletier, former home of the Paris Opéra
*Salle Pleyel, a Paris ...
in the Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...
on 7 February 1662. These early Paris productions of Italian operas were usually tailored to French taste. Ballets with music by French composers were often interpolated between acts. They were also highly elaborate visual spectacles, several with numerous set changes and scenic effects accomplished with stage machinery designed by Giacomo Torelli
Giacomo Torelli (1 September 1608 – 17 June 1678) was an Italian stage designer, scenery painter, engineer, and architect. His work in stage design, particularly his designs of machinery for creating spectacular scenery changes and other spe ...
. The visual spectacle enhanced their popularity with the French, who mostly did not understand Italian.[
Italian opera was abandoned in favour of ]French opera
French opera is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions, containing works by composers of the stature of Rameau, Berlioz, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc and Messiaen. Many foreign-born composers have played a part i ...
, not long after Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
assumed power, as witnessed by the creation of the Académie d'Opéra
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...
in 1669. Despite this, over the course of the 18th century, Italian musical performers came to Paris. In particular, in 1752, performances of the opera buffa
''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...
''La serva padrona
''La serva padrona'', or ''The Maid Turned Mistress'', is a 1733 intermezzo by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736) to a libretto by Gennaro Federico, after the play by Jacopo Angello Nelli. It is some 40 minutes long, in two parts without o ...
'' led to the Querelle des Bouffons
The ("Quarrel of the Comic Actors"), also known as the ("War of the Comic Actors"), was the name given to a battle of musical philosophies that took place in Paris between 1752 and 1754. The controversy concerned the relative merits of French a ...
, a debate about the relative superiorities of French and Italian musical traditions.
In 1787, after the particular success of one troupe of Italian singers, came the idea of establishing a resident theatrical company for ''opera buffa''. This initiative became reality in January 1789 with the founding of the Théâtre de Monsieur company, which was soon put under the auspices of the Count of Provence
The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...
, the king's brother, known at court as Monsieur. They first performed at the Tuileries Palace theatre, before moving to the Théâtre Feydeau
The Théâtre Feydeau (), a former Parisian theatre company, was founded in 1789 with the patronage of Monsieur, Comte de Provence (later to become Louis XVIII), and was therefore initially named the Théâtre de Monsieur. It began performing in t ...
. However, in 1792, the Italian troupe departed due to the upheaval of the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, but the theatre continued presenting French plays and opéra-comique.
The Théâtre-Italien in the 19th century
A new Théâtre-Italien, performing Italian opera in Italian, was formed by Mademoiselle Montansier in 1801, when it was officially known as the Opera Buffa, but more familiarly as the Bouffons. The company first performed at the Théâtre Olympique on the rue de la Victoire, but moved to the Salle Favart
The Salle Favart, officially the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, is a Paris opera house and theatre, the current home of the Opéra-Comique. It was built from 1893 to 1898 in a neo-Baroque style to the designs of the French architect Louis Bernie ...
on 17 January 1802. Montansier retired on 21 March 1803. From 9 July 1804 the company performed at the Théâtre Louvois, and from 16 June 1808, at the Théâtre de l'Odéon, at that time called the "Théâtre de l'Impératrice". They stayed there until 1815.
During this early period the Théâtre-Italien first presented opera buffa
''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...
by Domenico Cimarosa
Domenico Cimarosa (; 17 December 1749 – 11 January 1801) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan school and of the Classical period. He wrote more than eighty operas, the best known of which is ''Il matrimonio segreto'' (1792); most of his ...
and Giovanni Paisiello
Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini.
Life
Paisiello was born in T ...
, later adding those by Ferdinando Paër
Ferdinando Paer (1 July 1771 – 3 May 1839) was an Italian composer known for his operas. He was of Austrian descent and used the German spelling Pär in application for printing in Venice, and later in France the spelling Paër.
Life and career ...
and Simone Mayr. The theatre commissioned Valentino Fioravanti
Valentino Fioravanti (11 September 1764 – 16 June 1837) was a celebrated Italian composer of ''opera buffas''.
Fioravanti was born in Rome. One of the best ''opera buffa'' composers between Domenico Cimarosa and Gioacchino Rossini, he was ...
’s ''I virtuosi ambulanti'', first presented on 26 September 1807. Several of Mozart's operas were first presented in Italian in Paris by the company, including '' Figaro'' (23 December 1807), ''Così
''Così'' is a play by Australian playwright Louis Nowra which was first performed in 1992 at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia. Set in a Melbourne mental hospital in 1971, ''Così'' is semi-autobiographical, and is the sequel to his pr ...
'' (28 January 1809), and ''Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
'' (2 September 1811), the last under Gaspare Spontini
Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 177424 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor from the classical era.
Biography
Born in Maiolati, Papal State (now Maiolati Spontini, Province of Ancona), he spent most of his ...
, who served as director from 1810 to 1812. Spontini also added '' opera serie'' by Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli
Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli (; 4 April 1752 – 5 May 1837) was an Italian composer, chiefly of opera.
Life
Early career
Zingarelli was born in Naples, where he studied (from the age of 7) at the Santa Maria di Loreto Conservatory under Fena ...
and others.
At the time of the Bourbon Restoration, King Louis XVIII wanted to entrust the theatre to the soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
Angelica Catalani
Angelica Catalani (10 May 178012 June 1849) was an Italian opera singer, the daughter of a tradesman. Her greatest gift was her voice, a soprano of nearly three octaves in range. Its unsurpassed power and flexibility made her one of the greatest ...
. Almost everything was set for the transfer, when the return of Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
and his reign of a Hundred Days
The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...
disrupted the King's plans. The actors therefore stayed a little longer at the Théâtre de l'Impératrice. Upon the restoration of King Louis XVIII to power, Madame Catalani joined the troupe. However, she soon went on a tour across Europe, leaving control of the theatre to Paër, who presented the first Rossini opera to be performed in Paris, ''L'Italiana in Algeri
''L'italiana in Algeri'' (; ''The Italian Girl in Algiers'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San ...
'' on 1 February 1817 in the first Salle Favart, although the production was so inferior, he was accused of "attempting to sabotage Rossini's reception in Paris."
In 1818, Madame Catalani's ''privilège'', or royal permission to perform, was revoked, and the theatre shut down. It was then decided to hand over administration of the theatre, now known as the Théâtre Royal Italien, to the Academie Royale de Musique (as the Paris Opéra
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...
was known at that time), while maintaining the autonomy of each establishment. Paër again served as director from 1819 to 1824 and 1826 to 1827. From 1819 to 1825 the company performed at the Salle Louvois, which only accommodated 1100 spectators.[Johnson 1992.] Several Paris premieres of Rossini operas were given there: ''Il barbiere di Siviglia
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...
'' (26 October 1819), ''Torvaldo e Dorliska
''Torvaldo e Dorliska'' is an operatic dramma semiserio in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini, based on the novel/memoir ' (1787–1790) by the revolutionary Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai, whose work was t ...
'' (21 November 1820), ''Otello
''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887.
Th ...
'' (5 June 1821), and ''Tancredi
''Tancredi'' is a ''melodramma eroico'' ('' opera seria'' or heroic opera) in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Gaetano Rossi (who was also to write ''Semiramide'' ten years later), based on Voltaire's play ''Tancrède'' (176 ...
'' (23 April 1822). His operas were so popular, that some of his Paris premieres were given at the larger Salle Le Peletier
The Salle Le Peletier or Lepeletier (sometimes referred to as the Salle de la rue Le Peletier or the Opéra Le Peletier) was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and con ...
, including ''La gazza ladra
''La gazza ladra'' (, ''The Thieving Magpie'') is a ''melodramma'' or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini, with a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on ''La pie voleuse'' by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigni ...
'' (18 September 1821), ''Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra
''Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra'' (; ''Elizabeth, Queen of England'') is a ''dramma per musica'' or opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giovanni Schmidt, from the play ''Il paggio di Leicester'' (''Leicester's Page'') by C ...
'' (10 March 1822), ''Mosè in Egitto
''Mosè in Egitto'' (; "''Moses in Egypt''") is a three-act opera written by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, which was based on a 1760 play by Francesco Ringhieri, ''L'Osiride''. It premièred on 5 March 1818 at ...
'' (20 October 1822), and ''La donna del lago
''La donna del lago'' (English: ''The Lady of the Lake'') is an opera composed by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola (whose verses are described as "limpid" by one critic) based on the French translationOsborne, Charles 19 ...
'' (7 September 1824, produced under Rossini's supervision).
Rossini himself had come to Paris by 1 August 1824 and became director of the Théâtre-Italien on 1 December 1824.[Wild 1989, p. 198.] He revived eight of his earlier works, including ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'' and ''Tancredi''. His last Italian opera, ''Il viaggio a Reims
''Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L'albergo del giglio d'oro'' (''The Journey to Reims, or The Hotel of the Golden Fleur-de-lis'') is an operatic dramma giocoso, originally performed in three acts,Janet Johnson: ''A Lost Masterpiece Recovered'', pp. 37 ...
'', was premiered by the company on 19 June 1825 but was not a success. He also produced the first opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...
to be performed in Paris, '' Il crociato in Egitto'', on 25 September 1825. On 12 November 1825 the company moved from the Salle Louvois to the refurbished first Salle Favart,[ where Rossini staged '']Semiramide
''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini.
The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first performed at La Fenice ...
'' (18 December 1825) and ''Zelmira
''Zelmira'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola. Based on the French play, ''Zelmire'' by de Belloy, it was the last of the composer's Neapolitan operas. Stendhal called its music Teutonic, compa ...
'' (14 March 1826). Under Rossini the troupe's singers included Giuditta Pasta
Giuditta Angiola Maria Costanza Pasta (née Negri; 26 October 1797 – 1 April 1865) was an Italian soprano opera singer. She has been compared to the 20th-century soprano Maria Callas.
Career Early career
Pasta was born Giuditta Angiola Maria C ...
, Laure Cinti-Damoreau, Ester Mombelli
Maria Ester Mombelli (1792 – after 1827) was an Italian opera singer particularly known for her performances in operas by Rossini and Donizetti. She sang both soprano and mezzo-soprano roles, and often sang with her younger sister Anna.
Life a ...
, Nicolas Levasseur
Nicolas Levasseur (9 March 1791 – 7 December 1871) was a French bass, particularly associated with Rossini roles.
Born Nicolas-Prosper Levasseur at Bresles, Oise, he studied at the Paris Music Conservatory from 1807 to 1811, with Pierre-Je ...
, Carlo Zucchelli, Domenico Donzelli
Domenico Donzelli (2 February 1790 – 31 March 1873) was an Italian tenor with a robust voice who enjoyed an important career in Paris, London and his native country during the 1808-1841 period.
Biography
Donzelli can be regarded as an off ...
, Felice Pellegrini, and Vincenzo Graziani.[ Paer resumed the directorship in November 1826,][ and Rossini's attention turned to creating French operas at the Opéra. The Théâtre-Italien's association with the Opéra only lasted until October 1827, when it regained its independence from the crown and lost the appellation "Royal". Paër was replaced as director by Émile Laurent on 2 October. Rossini continued to help the Théâtre-Italien to recruit singers, including ]Maria Malibran
Maria Felicia Malibran (24 March 1808 – 23 September 1836) was a Spanish singer who commonly sang both contralto and soprano parts, and was one of the best-known opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality ...
, Henriette Sontag
Henriette Sontag, born Gertrude Walpurgis Sontag, and, after her marriage, entitled Henriette, Countess Rossi (3 January 1806 – 17 June 1854), was a German operatic soprano of great international renown. She possessed a sweet-toned, lyrical voi ...
, Benedetta Rosmunda Pisaroni
Benedetta Rosmunda Pisaroni (born Piacenza, 16 May 1793 – died Piacenza, 6 August 1872) was an Italian soprano who later became a contralto.
She was born as Benedetta Pisaroni to Giambattista Pisaroni and Luigia Pratti. Active on the operati ...
, Filippo Galli
Filippo Galli (born 19 May 1963) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a defender.
He is mostly remembered for his lengthy and successful spell with A.C. Milan, where he played alongside Baresi, Maldini, Costacurta, ...
, Luigi Lablache
Luigi Lablache (6 December 1794 – 23 January 1858) was an Italian opera singer of French and Irish ancestry. He was most noted for his comic performances, possessing a powerful and agile bass voice, a wide range, and adroit acting skills: Lepo ...
, Antonio Tamburini
Antonio Tamburini (28 March 1800 – 8 November 1876) was an Italian operatic baritone.Randel (1996) p. 900.
Biography
Born in Faenza, then part of the Papal States, Tamburini studied the orchestral horn with his father and voice with Aldo ...
, Giovanni Battista Rubini
Giovanni Battista Rubini (7 April 1794 – 3 March 1854) was an Italian tenor, as famous in his time as Enrico Caruso in a later day. His ringing and expressive coloratura dexterity in the highest register of his voice, the ''tenorino'', insp ...
and Giulia Grisi
Giulia Grisi (22 May 1811 – 29 November 1869) was an Italian opera singer. She performed widely in Europe, the United States and South America and was among the leading sopranos of the 19th century.Chisholm 1911, p. ?
Her second husband was Gio ...
, and to commission operas, including Bellini's ''I puritani
' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set to a libretto ...
'' (25 January 1835 at the first Salle Favart[Simeone 2000, p. 186.]), Donizetti's ''Marino Faliero
Marino Faliero (1274 – 17 April 1355) was the 55th Doge of Venice, appointed on 11 September 1354.
He was sometimes referred to simply as Marin Falier (Venetian rather than standard Italian) or Falieri. He was executed for attempting a coup d ...
'' (12 March 1835 at the first Salle Favart[), and ]Saverio Mercadante
Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised 17 September 179517 December 1870) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond ...
's '' I briganti'' (22 March 1836).[Johnson 1992; Loewenberg 1978, cols 764 (''I puritani''), 779 (''I briganti'').]
The Théâtre-Italien settled permanently in the Salle Ventadour
The Salle Ventadour, a former Parisian theatre in the rue Neuve-Ventadour, now the rue Méhul (2nd arrondissement of Paris), was built between 1826 and 1829 for the Opéra-Comique, to designs by Jacques-Marie Huvé, a prominent architect. The ori ...
in 1841. It saw the premiere of Rossini's '' Stabat Mater'' there in 1842. The Théâtre-Italien also produced popular works by Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...
and Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
, but the theatre was later forced to close in 1878.
Despite the closing of the Théâtre-Italien, operas continued to be performed in Italian in Paris, sometimes at the Théâtre de la Gaîté or the Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...
, but especially at the Opéra
This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names.
"Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...
.
Venues of the 19th-century Théâtre-Italien
The modern Comédie-Italienne
The present-day theatre is La Comédie Italienne, situated on the , where it was established in 1980 by the director Attilio Maggiulli.
Notes
Bibliography
* Anthony, James R. (1992). "Mazarin, Cardinal Jules", vol. 3, p. 287, 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
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
. London: Macmillan. .
* Baschet, Armand (1882). ''Les comédiens italiens à la cour de France sous Charles IX, Henri III, Henri IV et Louis XIII''. Paris: Plon
Copy
at Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
; Copie
1
2
at Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
.
*
*
* Boudet, Micheline (2001). ''La Comédie Italienne: Marivaux et Silvia''. Paris: Albin Michel. .
* Brenner, Clarence D. (1961). ''The Théâtre Italien: Its Repertory, 1716–1793''. Berkeley: University of California Press. .
*
* Campardon, Émile (1880). ''Les comédiens du roi de la troupe italienne'' (2 volumes). Paris: Berger-Levrault
Copies
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* Castil-Blaze (1856). ''L'Opéra italien de 1645 à 1855''. Paris: Castil-Blaze
Copies
at Internet Archive.
* Charlton, David (1992). "Paris. 4. 1789–1870. (v) The Théâtre Italien", vol. 3, pp. 870–871, 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
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
. London: Macmillan. .
* Di Profio, Alessandro (2003). ''La révolution des Bouffons. L'opéra italien au Théâtre de Monsieur, 1789–1792''. Paris: Éditions du CNRS
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe.
In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...
. .
* Forman, Edward (2010). ''Historical Dictionary of French Theater''. Lanham: The Scarecrow Press. .
*Gherardi, Evaristo, editor (1721). ''Le Théâtre Italien de Gherardi ou le Recueil général de toutes les comédies et scènes françoises jouées par les Comédiens Italiens du Roy ...'' 6 vols. Amsterdam: Michel Charles le Cène. Vols
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* Gossett, Philip (2001). "Rossini, Gioachino, §5: Europe and Paris, 1822–9" in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', 2nd edition, edited by Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
. London: Macmillan. (hardcover). (eBook). Also a
Oxford Music Online
(subscription required).
* Hartnoll, Phyllis, editor (1983). ''The Oxford Companion to the Theatre'' (fourth edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
* Johnson, Janet (1992). "Paris, 4: 1789–1870 (v) Théâtre-Italien", vol. 3, pp. 870–871, 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 ...
'', edited by Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
. New York: Grove. . Also a
Oxford Music Online
(subscription required).
* Loewenberg, Alfred (1978). ''Annals of Opera 1597–1940'' (third edition, revised). Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield. .
* Origny, Antoine d' (1788). ''Annales du théâtre italien depuis son origine jusqu'à ce jour'' (3 volumes). Paris: Veuve Duchesne. Reprint: Geneva: Slatkine (1970). Vols
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* Powell, John S. (2000). ''Music and Theatre in France 1600–1680''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
* Roy, Donald (1995). "Comédie-Italienne", pp. 233–234, in ''The Cambridge Guide to the Theatre'', edited by Martin Banham. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
* Scott, Virginia (1990). ''The Commedia dell'Arte in Paris, 1644–1697''. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. .
* Simeone, Nigel (2000). ''Paris – A Musical Gazetteer'', p. 239. New Haven: Yale University Press. .
* Soubiès, Albert (1913). ''Le théâtre italien de 1801 à 1913''. Paris: Fischbacher
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* Wild, Nicole ( 989. ''Dictionnaire des théâtres parisiens au XIXe siècle: les théâtres et la musique''. Paris: Aux Amateurs de livres. . (paperback)
View formats and editions
at WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...
.
External links
Le théâtre italien à Paris
*List of all the performances at th
Comédie-Italienne from 1783 to 1800
on the sit
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Opera houses in Paris
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