The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 ...

s in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. 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 theatre in France to have its own permanent troupe of actors. The company's primary venue is the

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.Wild ...

, which is a part of the Palais-Royal complex and located at 2,

Rue de Richelieu The Rue de Richelieu is a long street of Paris, starting in the south of the 1st arrondissement at the Comédie-Française and ending in the north of the 2nd arrondissement. For the first half of the 19th century, before Georges-Eugène Haussma ...

on Place André-Malraux in the

1st arrondissement of Paris The 1st arrondissement of Paris (''Ier arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le premier'' (the first). I ...

. 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 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 ...

. 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 of name.

History

The Comédie-Française was founded on 8 August 1680 by a decree of

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 Ver ...

merging the only two Parisian acting troupes of the time, the troupe of the

Guénégaud Theatre 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 ...

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 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 ...

and the Troupe de Molière. Two years later they received a royal grant of 12,000

livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...

per year; and seven years later they received their present designation. Thus the 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 Armande-Grésinde-Claire-Élisabeth Béjart (1645 – 30 November 1700) was a French stage actress, also known under her stage name Mademoiselle Molière.Scott, Virginia (2010). Women on the stage in early modern France : 1540-1750''. Cambridg ...

, her husband, Guérin d'Estriché, La Grange, Mlle Champmeslé, Baron, Hauteroche, and

Raymond Poisson Raymond Poisson (1630–1690) was a French actor and playwright. Mainly a comic actor, he used the stage names Crispin in comedy and Belleroche in tragedy.Gaines 2002, p. 374. Career Poisson joined the company of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Pari ...

. The repertoire consisted of the collection of theatrical works by Molière and

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

, along with a few works by Pierre Corneille,

Paul Scarron Paul Scarron (c. 1 July 1610 in Paris – 6 October 1660 in Paris) (a.k.a. Monsieur Scarron) was a French poet, dramatist, and novelist, born in Paris. Though his precise birth date is unknown, he was baptized on 4 July 1610. Scarron was the fi ...

and

Jean Rotrou Jean Rotrou (21 August 1609 – 28 June 1650) was a French poet and tragedian. Life Rotrou was born at Dreux, city of the current department of Eure-et-Loir, in Centre-Val de Loire region. He studied at Dreux and at Paris, and, though three years ...

. In the 18th century, the 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 Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

'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 "Théâtre de la Nation". On 3 September 1793, during 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, the Théâtre de la Nation was closed by order of the Committee of Public Safety for putting on the allegedly seditious play ''

Pamela Pamela may refer to: *''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740 *Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname * Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela" * MSC ''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 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 ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

(Salle Richelieu, next 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 ...

;

théâtre du Vieux-Colombier The Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier is a theatre located at 21, rue du Vieux-Colombier, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1913 by the theatre producer and playwright Jacques Copeau. Today it is one of the three theatres in Paris u ...

; Studio-Théâtre).

COVID-19 pandemic

Since October 2020, and because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the Comédie-Française had to close as it is the case for all other theaters in France. The Comédie-Française having a permanent troupe of actors, it was decided to switch temporarily to an online program, including readings of the full text of In Search of Lost Time, and an online initiative called ''Théâtre à la table'' where actors of the troupe play works in the repertoire after a one week rehearsal. Online attendance for this initiative was unexpectedly high, including people outside of Paris and in other countries. In May 2021

Éric Ruf Éric Ruf (born 21 May 1969), is a French actor, set designer and theatre director. He appeared in more than thirty films since 1995. He joined the Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state ...

, the managing director of the Comédie-Française, declared that 30% of the public of the online program never went to the Comédie-Française, and that they would continue this program even after the reopening.

Theatre buildings

The Comédie-Française has had several homes since its inception in 1680 in the Salle Guénégaud. In 1689, it was established in a theatre across from the Café Procope. From 1770 to 1782, the Comédie performed in the theatre in the royal palace of the Tuileries. In 1782, the company moved into the Salle du Faubourg Saint-Germain, designed by architects

Marie-Joseph Peyre Marie-Joseph Peyre (1730 – 11 August 1785) was a French architect who designed in the Neoclassical style. Biography He began his training in Paris with Jacques-François Blondel at l'École des Arts, where he met Giovanni Niccolo Servan ...

and

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 Comédi ...

and located on the site of today's Odéon. Since 1799, the Comédie-Française has been housed in the Salle Richelieu (architect

Victor Louis Victor Louis (10 May 1731, Paris – 2 July 1800, Paris) was a French architect, disqualified on a technicality from winning the Prix de Rome in architecture in 1755. Life He was born Louis-Nicolas Louis in Paris. He did not adopt the name Vic ...

) at 2,

rue de Richelieu The Rue de Richelieu is a long street of Paris, starting in the south of the 1st arrondissement at the Comédie-Française and ending in the north of the 2nd arrondissement. For the first half of the 19th century, before Georges-Eugène Haussma ...

. This theatre was enlarged and modified in the 1800s, then rebuilt in 1900 after a severe fire.Wild 2012, pp. 99–100, 383–384. The actress Jane Henriot was the only casualty of the fire.

Theatrical troupe

The membership of the theatrical troupe is divided into "sociétaires" and "pensionnaires". The former are regular members of the organisation and as such receive a pension after 20 years of service, while the latter are paid actors who may, after a certain length of service, become "sociétaires". The names of nearly all the great actors and dramatists of France have, at some time in their career, been associated with that of the Comédie-Française.

Administrators of the Comédie-Française

The chief administrator of the Comédie-Française has been given the title ''administrateur général'' since Simonis' term of 1850. Before that, a variety of titles were given.

Notes

Bibliography

* Brockett, Oscar G.; Hildy, Franklin J. (2008). ''History of the Theatre'', tenth edition. Boston: Pearson. . * Clarke, Jan (1998). ''The Guénégaud Theatre in Paris (1673–1680). Volume One: Founding, Design and Production''. Lewiston, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press. . * Gaines, James F. (2002). ''The Molière Encyclopedia''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. . * Hartnoll, Phyllis, editor (1983). ''The Oxford Companion to the Theatre'' (fourth edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * Laugier, Eugène (1853). ''Documents historiques sur la Comédie-Française pendant le règne de S. M. l'Empereur Napoléon Ier''. Paris: Firmin-Didot. Copie
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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, ...

. * Maurice, Charles (1860). ''Le Théâtre-Français, monuments et dépendances'', second edition, revised and enlarged. Paris: Garnier. Copie
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. * Sanjuan, Agathe; Poirson, Martial (2018). ''Comédie-Française: une histoire du théâtre''. Paris: Éditions du Seuil. . * Trowbridge, Simon (2020). ''The Comédie-Française from Molière to Éric Ruf''. Oxford: Englance Press. . * Wild, Nicole (2012). ''Dictionnaire des théâtres parisiens (1807–1914)''. Lyon: Symétrie. . .

External links

Comédie-Française's website

The Comédie Française Registers Project
includes performances from 1680 to 1791. {{DEFAULTSORT:Comedie-Francaise 1680 establishments in France Theatres in Paris National theatres Buildings and structures in the 1st arrondissement of Paris Theatre companies in France Opera history