Clair Josèphe Hippolyte Leris (25 January 1723 – 29 January 1803), known as Mademoiselle Clairon or La Clairon was a French actress, born at
Condé-sur-l'Escaut,
Hainaut, the daughter of an army sergeant. She is primarily known for developing a new style of acting in which she encouraged focus on the emotional connection between the actor and the character they played instead of what she saw as the stiff portrayals of characters traditionally performed in one manner.
In 1736 she made her first stage appearance, at age 12, at the
Comédie Italienne, a small part in
Pierre de Marivaux's ''
L'Île des esclaves
''L’Île des esclaves'' ( en, Slave Island) is a one-act comedy by Pierre de Marivaux; it was the first of three plays in the series. It was presented for the first time on March 5, 1725 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne by the Comédie Italienne ...
''.
After several years in the provinces she returned to
Paris. Her memoirs, ''Mémoires d'Hippolyte Clairon'' (1798) are filled with her own thoughts about the acting styles and theatrical elements such as makeup and costume. In her memoirs, she establishes her opinions on a new style of acting in which the actor use inspiration from their own emotions and experiences in order to create a greater lasting impact on the audience. She was particularly against actors performing characters the exact same way as those who came before them because she thought it produced stiff, uninteresting patterns that an audience would become too familiar with. Her memoirs also include anecdotes about what she perceived as a regular supernatural occurrence in her life (the haunting of a ghost from a past suitor), providing insight into the mind and social life of Mademoiselle Clairon off the stage.
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 her twenty-two years at this theatre, dividing the honors with her rival
Marie Françoise Dumesnil
Marie Françoise Dumesnil (2 January 171320 February 1803), original name Marie-Françoise Marchand, was a French actress.
She was born in Paris, daughter of a poor nobleman, and began her stage career in the provinces, whence she was summoned i ...
, she filled many of the classical roles of
tragedy, and created a great number of parts in the plays of
Voltaire,
Marmontel,
Bernard-Joseph Saurin
Bernard-Joseph Saurin (1706 in Paris – 17 November 1781 in Paris) was a lawyer, poet, and playwright.
Biography
Saurin was the son of Joseph Saurin, a converted Protestant minister and mathematician who had been accused in 1712 by Jean-Bapt ...
,
de Belloy
Pierre-Laurent Buirette de Belloy or Dormont De Belloy (17 November 17275 March 1775) was a French dramatist and actor.
Life
He was born at Saint-Flour, Cantal, and was educated by his uncle, a distinguished advocate in Paris, for the bar. To esc ...
and others.
She retired in 1766, and trained pupils for the stage, among them
Mlle Raucourt
Françoise Marie Antoinette Saucerotte, called Mlle Raucourt (3 March 1756 – 15 January 1815) was a French actress, engaged at the Comédie Française in 1772-1799, where she became famous as a tragedienne.
Life
She was born in Nan ...
. Oliver Goldsmith, Oliver Gunusualth called Mlle Clairon "the most perfect female figure I have ever seen on any stage" (''The Bee'', 2nd No.); and David Garrick, recognizing her unwillingness or inability to make use of the inspiration of the instant, admitted that she has everything that art and a good understanding with great natural spirit can give her.
She was a mistress of Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, who renovated his "White Castle" at his country seat and hunting estate in Triesdorf for her.
See also
* Troupe of the Comédie-Française in 1752
External links
Statue of La Clairon
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clairon, La
1723 births
1803 deaths
18th-century French women writers
18th-century French actresses
Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française
18th-century French writers
French stage actresses
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery