The Théâtre Louvois () or Salle Louvois () was a theatre located at what is today 8 rue de Louvois in the

2nd arrondissement of Paris The 2nd arrondissement of Paris (''IIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''deuxième'' (second/the second). It is governed locall ...

. Inaugurated in 1791 and closed in 1825, it was used by the Théâtre-Italien from 20 March 1819 to 8 November 1825.

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

became

Director of Music A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

on 1 December 1824.

History

* 1791–1794: building by Francescal on plans by

Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart (; 15 February 1739 – 6 June 1813) was a prominent French architect, born in Paris. Biography In 1767, Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart married Anne Louise Degrémont (1744–1829). The couple became friends ...

; inauguration on 16 August; known as the Théâtre de Louvois or Théâtre de la rue de Louvois up to January 1794, under the direction of Michel-André DelomelWild 1989, . * 1794–1796: known as the Théâtre des Amis de la Patrie from 13 January 1794 to December 1796 * 1796: direction Mlle Raucourt, as the Théâtre Français de la rue de Louvois' from 25 December 1796 to 10 September 1797 * 1798: direction César Ribié, as the Théâtre d'Émulation from 17 April to 31 December * 1799: used by the players of the Théâtre de l'Odéon from 20 March to 12 April, under the direction

Louis-Benoît Picard Louis-Benoît Picard (29 July 1769 in Paris – 31 December 1828 in Paris) was a French playwright, actor, novelist, poet and music director.Jean Gourret, '' Ces hommes qui ont fait l'Opéra'', 1984, p. 106-107. Biography Son of a lawyer, ...

* 1799–1801: known as the Théâtre des Troubadours from 1 August 1799 – 20 April 1801 * 1801–1808: used again from 5 May 1801 – 12 June 1808 by the players of the Théâtre de l'Odéon under Picard, then Alexandre Duval * 1804: becomes known as the Théâtre de l'Impératrice until June 1808, when the players returned to the new Odéon, taking the name with them * 1807: acquired in December by the state for use by 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 kn ...

as rehearsal space and for concerts, including some by the Concerts SpirituelsWild 1989, p. 232. * 1808: closed by order of Napoléon, it then served as a storage room for the Opéra, at that time performing in the Théâtre des Arts located just across the rue de Louvois from the Salle Louvois; communication between the two buildings was via an iron bridge over the rue de Louvois * 1811–1812: an annex was constructed for the storage of scenery * 1819–1825: primary venue of the Théâtre-Italien * 1821: after the closing of the Salle Favart, the theatre was used as an opera house by the Opéra, while the company was awaiting the completion of the

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 ...

. The company gave a concert on 25 May and performed operas on 1 and 15 June. Both opera performances included Rousseau's '' Le devin du village'', and the second also featured the premiere of

Adalbert Gyrowetz Vojtěch Matyáš Jírovec (Adalbert Gyrowetz) (20 February 1763 – 19 March 1850) was a Bohemian composer. He mainly wrote instrumental works, with a great production of string quartets and symphonies; his operas and singspiele numbered mo ...

's ''

divertissement ''Divertissement'' (from the French 'diversion' or 'amusement') is used, in a similar sense to the Italian 'divertimento', for a light piece of music for a small group of players, however the French term has additional meanings. During the 17th an ...

'' ''La fête hongroise''. * 1825: closing of the theatre * 1827: order issued to remove all stored scenery for the sale of the theatre Nicole Wild cites Archives nationales, O³ 1620; also a letter of 13 December 1827 from La Ferté to La Rochefoucauld states that the theatre will be sold for demolition (Wild 1989, p. 232). * 1899: demolition

Architectural drawings of 1821

File:Théâtre Louvois interior view - Donnet 1821 plate12 - GB Princeton.jpg, View of the auditorium File:Théâtre Louvois transverse section - Donnet 1821 plate12 - GB Princeton.jpg, Transverse section File:Théâtre Louvois plan - Donnet 1821 plate12 - GB Princeton.jpg, Plan

Notes

Bibliography

* Donnet, Alexis; Orgiazzi, J. (1821). ''Architectonographie des théâtres de Paris'', plates volume, plat
12
Paris: Didot l'ainé. Scanned by

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

. Credit: Princeton University Library. * Hillairet, Jacques (1985). ''

Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris ''Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris'' (''Historical Dictionary of the Streets of Paris'') is a book by Jacques Hillairet, a historian specializing in the history of Paris. It includes 5344 streets in two volumes and 2343 illustrations. It ...

'', vol. 2, 8th edition, Les Éditions de minuit, 1985, * Johnson, Janet (1992). "Paris, 4: 1789–1870 (v) Théâtre-Italien", vol. 3, , in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

. New York: Grove, . Also a
Oxford Music Online
(subscription required). * Lasalle, Albert de (1875).
Les Treize Salles de l'Opéra
', librairie Sartorius, 1875 (chapter X: ''Salle Favart (1820)'', ) * Pitou, Spire (1983). ''The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers. Genesis and Glory, 1671–1715''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. * Wild, Nicole (1989). ''Dictionnaire des théâtres parisiens au XIXe siècle: les théâtres et la musique''. Paris: Aux Amateurs de livres. , (paperback). {{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre Louvois Opera houses in Paris Music venues completed in 1791 Entertainment venues in Paris Buildings and structures demolished in 1825 Demolished buildings and structures in Paris 1791 establishments in France theatre Louvois Buildings and structures in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris Louvois Buildings and structures demolished in 1899 18th-century architecture in France Defunct opera houses

History

Architectural drawings of 1821

See also

Notes

Bibliography