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 Condé-sur-l'Escaut (, literally ''Condé on the Escaut''; pcd, Condé-su-l'Escaut) is a commune of the Nord department in northern France. It lies on the border with Belgium. The population as of 1999 was 10,527. Residents of the area are kno ...

, 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 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 ...

's '' L'Île des esclaves''. After several years in the provinces she returned to

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

. Succeeding, however, at last, she had the courage to select the title-role of ''

Phèdre ''Phèdre'' (; originally ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'') is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. Composition and premiere Wit ...

'', and she obtained a veritable triumph. During her twenty-two years at this theatre, dividing the honors with her rival Marie Françoise Dumesnil, she filled many of the classical roles of

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

, and created a great number of parts in the plays of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

, Marmontel, Bernard-Joseph Saurin,

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 esca ...

and others. She retired in 1766, and trained pupils for the stage, among them Mlle Raucourt. 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.

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

See also

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References