Théâtre de Paris
Encyclopedia
The Théâtre de Paris is a theatre located at 15, rue Blanche in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It includes a second smaller venue, called the Petit Théâtre de Paris.
It was directed by Fortunée Hamelin, a celebrated member of the Merveilleuses ('marvelous women') of the Directoire
era.
In 1811, the Folie-Richelieu was transformed into a park, then demolished completely in 1851 in the redevelopment under Baron Haussmann
to make way for the church of Sainte-Trinité de Paris with part of the site becoming a roller skating rink. In 1880, part of the rink, thanks to the architects Aimé Sauffroy and Ferdinand Grémailly, became the Palace Théâtre and, after a further restoration in 1891 by Édouard Niermans
, the Casino de Paris
. After that, the rest of the rink, near the present rue Blanche, was demolished to make way for the Nouveau-Théâtre.
.jpg)
The first director of the Nouveau-Théâtre, actor and stage director Aurélien Lugné-Poë
, an associate of André Antoine
, introduced the Norwegian Henrik Ibsen
and the Swedish August Strindberg
to Parisian audiences, before leaving to found the Théâtre de l'Œuvre
in 1893.
In 1906, the actress Gabrielle Réjane
bought the theater, renovated it and gave it a new new name, the Théâtre Réjane. She produced among other works the French premiere of L'oiseau bleu by Maurice Maeterlinck
in 1911 and successfully played her signature role of Madame Sans-Gêne
by Victorien Sardou
at the theatre.
The producer Léon Volterra bought the hall in 1918, and on 12 August 1919, he inaugurated the Théâtre de Paris. (Réjane having stipulated in the contract that the theater could not retains her name.) Volterra run the theatre until 1948, when it was taken over by Marcel Karsenty and the comedian Pierre Dux
. The actress and director Elvira Popescu
took over in 1955 along with Hubert de Mallet, managing it for ten years, before she left to go to the Théâtre Marigny
.
Under Alain de Leseleuc (1965–1975) and Robert Hossein (1975–1990) the theatre specialized in musical works, particularly Offenbach
opérettes and opéras-bouffes, such as La Périchole
directed by Maurice Lehmann, La belle Hélène
directed by Jérôme Savary
, and Le pont des soupirs
directed by Jean-Michel Ribes
. It also produced musicals like Starmania and Cats
.
Since January 2002, Stéphane Hillel has been artistic director of both theatres.
History
The first theatre on the site was built by the Duke of Richelieu in 1730. Baron Ogny bought it in 1779 and renamed it Folie-Richelieu. Then during the First EmpireFirst French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
It was directed by Fortunée Hamelin, a celebrated member of the Merveilleuses ('marvelous women') of the Directoire
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
era.
In 1811, the Folie-Richelieu was transformed into a park, then demolished completely in 1851 in the redevelopment under Baron Haussmann
Baron Haussmann
Georges-Eugène Haussmann, commonly known as Baron Haussmann , was a French civic planner whose name is associated with the rebuilding of Paris...
to make way for the church of Sainte-Trinité de Paris with part of the site becoming a roller skating rink. In 1880, part of the rink, thanks to the architects Aimé Sauffroy and Ferdinand Grémailly, became the Palace Théâtre and, after a further restoration in 1891 by Édouard Niermans
Édouard Niermans
Édouard Niermans is a French film director, screenwriter and actor. His film The Return of Casanova was entered into the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* It Only Happens to Others...
, the Casino de Paris
Casino de Paris
The Casino de Paris, located at 16, rue de Clichy, in the 9th arrondissement is one of the well known music halls of Paris, with a history dating back to the 18th century. Contrary to what the name might suggest, it is a performance venue, not a gambling house...
. After that, the rest of the rink, near the present rue Blanche, was demolished to make way for the Nouveau-Théâtre.
Aurélien Lugné-Poe
Aurélien-François Lugné-Poë born Aurélien-François-Marie Lugné was a French actor, theatre director, and scenic designer best known for his work at the Théâtre de l'Œuvre, one of the first theatrical venues in France to provide a home for the artists of the Symbolist Movement at the end of the...
, an associate of André Antoine
André Antoine
André Antoine was a French actor, theatre manager, film director, author, and critic who is considered the father of modern mise en scène in France.-Biography:...
, introduced the Norwegian Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
and the Swedish August Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
to Parisian audiences, before leaving to found the Théâtre de l'Œuvre
Théâtre de l'Œuvre
The Théâtre de l'Œuvre is a Paris theatre, located atop cité Monthiers, at 55 rue de Clichy in the 9° arrondissement in Paris, France. It is best known as the theatre where Alfred Jarry’s nihilistic farce Ubu Roi premiered in 1896....
in 1893.
In 1906, the actress Gabrielle Réjane
Gabrielle Réjane
Gabrielle Réjane was the stage name of Gabrielle-Charlotte Reju, , a French actress.Born in Paris, the daughter of an actor, she became a pupil of Régnier at the Conservatoire, and took the second prize for comedy in 1874. Her debut was made the next year, during which she played attractively a...
bought the theater, renovated it and gave it a new new name, the Théâtre Réjane. She produced among other works the French premiere of L'oiseau bleu by Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
in 1911 and successfully played her signature role of Madame Sans-Gêne
Madame Sans-Gêne
Madame Sans-Gêne may refer to:*Marie-Thérèse Figueur , French female soldier*Cathérine Hübscher, wife of Marshal of France François Joseph Lefebvre, whose life has been dramatised in:...
by Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
at the theatre.
The producer Léon Volterra bought the hall in 1918, and on 12 August 1919, he inaugurated the Théâtre de Paris. (Réjane having stipulated in the contract that the theater could not retains her name.) Volterra run the theatre until 1948, when it was taken over by Marcel Karsenty and the comedian Pierre Dux
Pierre Dux
Pierre Dux was a French actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1932 and 1990.-Selected filmography:* The Reader * Section spéciale * Z * Is Paris Burning?...
. The actress and director Elvira Popescu
Elvira Popescu
Elvira Popescu was a Romanian-born French stage and movie actress and theatre director.-Life and career:Born in Bucharest, Popescu studied drama at the Conservatorul de Artă Dramatică, under the guidance of Constantin Nottara and Aristizza Romanescu. She made her debut at the National Theatre...
took over in 1955 along with Hubert de Mallet, managing it for ten years, before she left to go to the Théâtre Marigny
Théâtre Marigny
The Théâtre Marigny is a theatre in Paris, situated near the junction of the Champs-Élysées and the Avenue Marigny, in the 8th arrondissement. It was originally built to designs of the architect Charles Garnier for the display of a panorama, which opened in 1883...
.
Under Alain de Leseleuc (1965–1975) and Robert Hossein (1975–1990) the theatre specialized in musical works, particularly Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
opérettes and opéras-bouffes, such as La Périchole
La Périchole
La Périchole is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French-language libretto based on the 1829 one act play Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived on 13 March 1850 at the Théâtre-Français...
directed by Maurice Lehmann, La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène , opéra bouffe in three acts, is an operetta by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...
directed by Jérôme Savary
Jérôme Savary
Jérôme Savary is a French theater director and actor. His work has democratized and widened the appeal of musical theater in France, drawing together and blending such genres as opera, operetta, and musical comedy.- Biography :...
, and Le pont des soupirs
Le pont des soupirs
Le pont des soupirs is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Hector-Jonathan Cremieux and Ludovic Halévy.-Performance history:...
directed by Jean-Michel Ribes
Jean-Michel Ribes
Jean-Michel Ribes is a French actor, playwright, screenwriter, theatre director and film maker. Since 2002 he has been the managing director of the Théâtre du Rond-Point.- Awards :* 2001: Plaisir du Théâtre Award...
. It also produced musicals like Starmania and Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
.
Since January 2002, Stéphane Hillel has been artistic director of both theatres.
Petit Théâtre de Paris
Elvira Popescu created a second venue with 300 seats, converted from costume workshops, which she first called the Théâtre Moderne before renaming it the Petit Théâtre de Paris. This second theatre is still functioning.Nouveau-Théâtre
- 1892: Rabelais, play by Oscar MéténierOscar MéténierOscar Méténier was a French playwright and novelist. In 1897 he founded Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol in Paris, planning it as a space for naturalist performance.-Life:...
- 1894: Nos bons chasseurs, vaudeville by Charles Lecocq, text by Paul Bilhaud and Michel CarréMichel CarréMichel Carré was a prolific French librettist.He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing libretti. His libretto for Mirette was never performed in France but was later performed in English adaptation in...
- 1897: Brouillard du matin, play by Jacques CopeauJacques CopeauJacques Copeau was an influential French theatre director, producer, actor, and dramatist. Before he founded his famous Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris, he wrote theater reviews for several Parisian journals, worked at the Georges Petit Gallery where he organized exhibits of artists' works...
- 1906: Le Réformateur, play by Edouard RodEdouard RodEdouard Rod , a French-Swiss novelist, was born at Nyon, in Switzerland, studied at Lausanne, where he wrote his doctoral thesis about the Oedipus legend , and Berlin, and in 1878 found his way to Paris.In 1881 he dedicated his novel, Palmyre Veulard, to Zola, of whom...
Théâtre Réjane
- 1908: Qui perd gagne, play by Pierre VéberPierre VéberPierre-Eugène Veber was a French playwright and writer.-Theatre 1897–1910:*1897: Dix ans après, comedy in one act, with Lucien Muhlfeld, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre de l'Odéon 5 April 1897...
- 1911: L'Orfeo, opera by Claudio MonteverdiClaudio MonteverdiClaudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
(first modern staged performance)
Théâtre de Paris
- 1929–1931: Trilogie marseillaise (first two parts: Marius and Fanny) by Marcel PagnolMarcel PagnolMarcel Pagnol was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. In 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the Académie Française.-Biography:...
, with Orane Demazis, RaimuRaimuRaimu was the stage name for the French actor Jules Auguste Muraire .-Biography:Born in Toulon in the Var département, he made his stage debut there in 1899. After coming to the attention of the then great music hall star Félix Mayol who was also from Toulon, in 1908 he was given a chance to work...
and Pierre FresnayPierre FresnayPierre Fresnay was a French stage and film actor.Born Pierre Jules Louis Laudenbach in Paris, France in 1897, he was encouraged by his uncle, the actor Claude Garry, to pursue a career in theater and film... - 1948: Tovaritch by Jacques Deval, with Elvira Popesco
- 1956: Tea and SympathyTea and SympathyTea and Sympathy is a 1953 stage play in three acts by Robert Anderson.-Broadway premiere:It received its premiere on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on September 30, 1953 in a production by The Playwrights' Company, directed by Elia Kazan and designed by Jo Mielziner. The play starred...
by Robert Anderson, with Ingrid BergmanIngrid BergmanIngrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute... - 1961: 'Tis Pity She's a Whore'Tis Pity She's a Whore'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a tragedy written by John Ford. It was likely first performed between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre. The play was first published in 1633, in a quarto printed by Nicholas Okes for the bookseller Richard Collins...
by John FordJohn Ford (dramatist)John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
, directed by Luchino ViscontiLuchino ViscontiLuchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
, with Romy SchneiderRomy SchneiderRomy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian...
and Alain DelonAlain DelonAlain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot... - 1962: The SeagullThe SeagullThe Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
by Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
, directed by Sacha PitoëffSacha PitoëffSacha Pitoëff was a French film actor and theater director.Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Pitoëff played his first film role in 1952. Appearing in over 50 movies, he is probably best known for his performance in Alain Resnais' enigmatic Last Year at Marienbad , as a character known simply as "M"...
, with Romy SchneiderRomy SchneiderRomy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian... - 1967: Henri IV by Luigi PirandelloLuigi PirandelloLuigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written...
, directed by Sacha Pitoëff, with Claude JadeClaude JadeClaude Marcelle Jorré, better known as Claude Jade , was a French actress, known for starring as Christine in François Truffaut's three films Stolen Kisses , Bed and Board and Love on the Run . Jade acted in theatre, film and television... - 1993: Tailleur pour dames by Georges FeydeauGeorges FeydeauGeorges Feydeau was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque. He is remembered for his many lively farces.-Biography:Georges Feydeau was born in Paris, the son of novelist Ernest-Aimé Feydeau and Léocadie Bogaslawa Zalewska. At the age of twenty, Feydeau wrote his first comic...
, with Jean-Paul BelmondoJean-Paul BelmondoJean-Paul Belmondo is a French actor initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s.-Career:Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, west of Paris, Belmondo did not perform well in school, but developed a passion for boxing and football."Did you box professionally very long?" "Not very long... - 1998: Variations énigmatiques by Éric-Emmanuel SchmittÉric-Emmanuel SchmittEric-Emmanuel Schmitt is a French dramatist, novelist and fiction writer. His plays have been staged in over fifty countries all over the world.- Life :...
, with Alain Delon - 1999: Les portes du ciel by Jacques AttaliJacques AttaliJacques Attali is a French economist, writer and senior civil servant.Former adviser to President François Mitterrand and first president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, he founded the non-profit organization PlaNet Finance and was nominated President of the Commission for...
, with Gérard DepardieuGérard DepardieuGérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor and filmmaker. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite and has twice won the César Award for Best Actor... - 1999: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman and based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey....
after the film by Miloš FormanMiloš FormanJan Tomáš Forman , better known as Miloš Forman , is a Czech-American director, screenwriter, professor, and an emigrant from Czechoslovakia. Two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, are among the most celebrated in the history of film, both gaining him the Academy Award for...
, with Bernard TapieBernard TapieBernard Tapie is a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Ministre de la Ville in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy, a businessman specializing in recovery for bankrupted companies, among which Adidas is the most famous ; and owner of sports teams... - 2000: Becket ou l'honneur de DieuBecketBecket or The Honor of God is a play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's murder in 1170. It contains many historical inaccuracies, which the author acknowledged.-Background:Anouilh's...
by Jean AnouilhJean AnouilhJean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1943 play Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles' Classical drama, that was seen as an attack on Marshal Pétain's...
, with Bernard GiraudeauBernard GiraudeauBernard Giraudeau was a French actor, film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer.-Life:Giraudeau was born in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime. In 1963 he enlisted in the French navy as a trainee engineer, qualifying as the first in his class a year later... - 2001: Mrs. DoubtfireMrs. DoubtfireMrs. Doubtfire is a 1993 American comedy film starring Robin Williams and Sally Field and based on the novel Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. It was directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup...
after the movie from Chris ColumbusChris Columbus (filmmaker)Christopher Joseph "Chris" Columbus is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Columbus had his largest success with the first two films in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, along with Home Alone, the last...
, with Michel Leeb - 2005: AmadeusAmadeusAmadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979...
by Peter ShafferPeter ShafferSir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
, with Lorànt Deutsch and Jean PiatJean PiatJean Piat is a French actor and writer.-Life:Piat was born in Lannoy, Nord. He enlisted in the Comédie-Française on 1 September 1947, and became a member on 1 January 1953. He left the Comédie-Française on 31 December 1972, and became an honorary member the following day... - 2008: On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson, with Jean Piat, Maria Pachomius and Beatrice Agenin