Théâtre Historique
Théâtre Historique (1847–1850) | |
![]() Design for the facade of the Théâtre Historique (1846) | |
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Address | 72 boulevard du Temple, 9th arrondissement Paris |
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Coordinates | 48°52′02″N 2°21′53″E / 48.86734°N 2.36474°E |
Capacity | 2,000 |
Construction | |
Opened | 20 February 1847 |
Demolished | 1863 |
Architect | Pierre-Anne Dedreux (1788–1849) |
The Théâtre Historique, a former Parisian theatre located on the
Founding
Dumas tells the story behind the founding of the Théâtre Historique in his 1867 memoir Histoire de mes bêtes.
By 14 March 1846 the
Building design
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_Historique_-_floor_plan_-_Godwin_1850_p34.jpg/330px-Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_Historique_-_floor_plan_-_Godwin_1850_p34.jpg)
The awkward site, wedged between two buildings at the front, and wide at the back on the rue des Fossés du Temple, "required great skill in adapting it to its new purpose."
Above the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_Historique_-_interior_-_Chauveau_1999_p373.jpg/330px-Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_Historique_-_interior_-_Chauveau_1999_p373.jpg)
The entrance vestibule (marked A in the plan) was as narrow as the facade, only 60 feet (18 m) long and 14 feet (4.3 m) high. A foyer, located on the floor above the vestibule, provided access to the exterior balcony and was "surprisingly warm" with tones of white-gold enhanced with the dark red of the velvet coverings of the divans and chairs, and light from elaborate chandeliers of a "fantastic and capricious design."[4]
The shape of the auditorium was quite different from most Parisian theatres of the time, being an ellipse the long axis of which was aligned parallel to the stage rather than perpendicular to it. This arrangement was reminiscent of Pallidio's 16th-century theatre, the Teatro Olimpico, in Vicenza. The long axis, from the back of the boxes on one side to the other, was 65 feet (20 m) in length, while the short axis was 52 feet (16 m). The exceptional width of the opening to the stage, at 36 feet (11 m), was considered advantageous to the presentation of spectacle, while the shape of the house favored excellent sight lines and good acoustics, since it brought most of the spectators closer to the stage.[8]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_Historique_ceiling_-_Walsh_p11.jpg/310px-Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_Historique_ceiling_-_Walsh_p11.jpg)
The striking oval ceiling was designed and painted by Charles Séchan,
The theatre was designed to accommodate two divergent types of audience, that of the working class common to the boulevard du Temple and that of the most brilliant society of Paris, on whom the directors of the theatre depended as their patrons. "What was desired, therefore, was a building so arranged that the élite of Parisian society might find every provision for their comfort without in any way trenching upon that of the ordinary public of the theatres of the Boulevard."[8]
Three large balconies were flanked either side by Corinthian pavilions with two levels of stage boxes crowned with highly ornamented circular pediments. The lower box on the left (C in the plan) was especially luxurious and was originally intended for the use of the Duke of Montpensier. It was connected by a short passageway to an adjoining circular salon (also C). The first tier was fronted with a balustrade and included dress-circle seating (B) in front of rows of boxes, each with its own small private sitting room behind it. Two large amphitheatres (one of which is marked D) extended back from the second and third tier balconies, providing a large number of less expensive seats. Finally, above the third tier, were two small lateral balconies, sometimes referred to as the gods. The capacity of the house was said to be about 2,000.[9]
Name
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_Historique_interior_view_1847_-_Hemmings_1979_pl_6c_after_p122.jpg/370px-Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_Historique_interior_view_1847_-_Hemmings_1979_pl_6c_after_p122.jpg)
Originally the theatre was supposed to be named after its primary patron, the Duke of Montpensier, but his father Louis-Philippe did not think it proper that a theatre should be named after his son.
By this time Dumas had already departed on a trip to Spain, to attend the wedding of the Duke of Montpensier to the Queen of Spain's fourteen-year-old sister,
Opening
The opening, on 20 February 1847 with Dumas's play adapted from his novel La Reine Margot, was an eagerly awaited event, and the duke and his new bride were also expected to attend. The audience for the galleries began forming queues 24 hours ahead, even though it was the middle of winter. It helped, however, there were soup-sellers and bakers with bread hot from the ovens, and bundles of straw which could be purchased by those who wished to lie down.[4]
List of premieres
Date[14] | Title | Genre | Subdivisions | Author(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
20 February 1847 | La reine Margot (after Dumas' novel) | drama | 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Maquet |
11 June 1847 | Intrigue et Amour (after Schiller's play) | drama | 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas |
3 August 1847 | Le chevalier de Maison Rouge | drama | 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Maquet |
15 December 1847 | Hamlet, prince de Danemark (after Shakespeare's play) | verse drama | 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Paul Meurice |
3 February 1848 | Monte-Cristo I (after Dumas' novel) | drama | 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Maquet |
4 February 1848 | Monte-Cristo II (after Dumas' novel) | drama | 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Maquet |
25 May 1848 | La marâtre | drama | 5 acts | Honoré de Balzac |
10 August 1848 | Le chandelier
|
comedy | 3 acts | Alfred de Musset |
14 October 1848 | Catalina | drama | 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Maquet |
17 February 1849 | La jeunesse de mousquetaires (after Dumas' novel) | drama | 5 acts and epilogue | Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Maquet |
26 July 1849 | Le chevalier d'Harmental | drama | prologue and 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Maquet |
1 October 1849 | La guerre des femmes | drama | 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Maquet |
22 November 1849 | Le comte Hermann | drama | 5 acts and epilogue | Alexandre Dumas |
30 March 1850 | Urbain Grandier | drama | prologue and 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Maquet |
1 June 1850 | Pauline | drama | 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Grangé, Xavier de Montépin |
3 August 1850 | La chasse au chastre | fantasy | 3 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Auguste Maquet |
August 1850 | Les frères corse (after Dumas' novel) | drama | 5 acts | Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Grangé, Xavier de Montépin |
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Dumas 1867, pp. 226–227.
- ^ Lecomte 1906, p. 2.
- ^ a b Walsh 1981, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d Chauveau 1999, pp. 371–376.
- ^ Pougin 1889, p. 258.
- ^ Wild 1989, pp. 96, 504.
- ^ Lecomte 1906, p. 4.
- ^ a b c Godwin 1850, pp. 33–34.
- ^ a b c d Galignani 1848, pp. 462–463; Godwin 1850, pp. 33–34; Galignani 1859, pp. 476–477; Gautier 1859, pp.42–43; Chauveau 1999, pp. 371–376.
- ^ Walsh 1981, p. 7.
- ^ Hemmings
- ^ a b Lecomte 1906, p. 7.
- ^ Hemmings 1979, p. 141.
- ^ The information in this table is from Garreau 1984, p. 54.
Bibliography
- Chauveau, Philippe (1999). Les théâtres parisiens disparus, 1402–1986. Paris: Amandier. ISBN 9782907649308.
- Dickinson, Linzy Erika (2000). Theatre in Balzac's 'La Comédie humaine'. Amsterdam: Rodopi. ISBN 9789042005495.
- Dumas, Alexandre (1867). Histoire de mes bêtes. Paris: Michel Lévy frères. View at Google Books.
- Galignani's New Paris Guide (1848). Paris: A. and W. Galignani. View at Google Books.
- Galignani's New Paris Guide for 1859. Paris: A. and W. Galignani. View at Google Books.
- Garreau, Joseph E. (1984). "Dumas, Alexandre, père" in Hochman 1984, vol. 2, pp. 51–55.
- Gautier, Théophile (1859). Histoire de l'art dramatique en France depuis vingt-cinq ans (5e série). Paris: Hetzel. View at Google Books.
- Godwin, George (1850). Buildings & Monuments, Modern and Medieval. London: The Builder. View at Google Books.
- Hastings, Walter Scott (1917). The Drama of Honoré de Balzac (dissertation). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University. View at Google Books.
- Hemmings, F. W. J. (1979). Alexandre Dumas: The King of Romance. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 9780684163918.
- ISBN 9780070791695.
- Hostein, Hippolyte (1878). Historiettes et souvenirs d'un homme de théâtre. Paris: Dentu. View at Google Books.
- Lecomte, Louis-Henry (1906). Histoire des théâtres de Paris: Le Théâtre historique, 1847–1851 — 1862 — 1879–1879 — 1890–1891. Paris: H. Daragon. View at Google Books.
- McCormick, John (1993). Popular Theatres of Nineteenth Century France. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415088541.
- .
- Schopp, Claude (1988). Alexandre Dumas: Genius of Life, translated by A.J. Koch. New York: Franklin Watts. ISBN 9780531150931.
- ISBN 9780714536590.
- .
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