Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré)

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This article is about a former Parisian theatre on the rue Saint-Honoré. For the current theatre with this name on the rue de Montpensier, see Théâtre du Palais-Royal.
View of the Palais-Royal in 1679. The theatre was in the east wing (on the right).

The Théâtre du Palais-Royal (French pronunciation:

Académie Royale de Musique from 1673 to 1763, when it was destroyed by fire.[1] It was rebuilt and reopened in 1770, but again was destroyed by fire in 1781 and not rebuilt.[2]

First theatre

Cardinal Richelieu

The Palais-Royal was originally known as the Palais-Cardinal, since it was built in the 1630s as the principal residence of

Jacques Le Mercier to begin work on a larger theatre, located east of the entrance courtyard to the south. The new theatre was built between 1639 and 1640 "at the staggering cost of 300,000 livres—of which 100,000 livres was allocated to stage machinery."[5]

The hall, initially known as the Grande Salle du Palais-Cardinal (Large Hall of the Palais-Cardinal), was one of the earliest theatres in France to use the

stage curtain, raised and lowered by a roller behind the arch.[7] It had two balconies, a capacity of about 3,000 spectators and a stage equipped with the latest in theatre machinery.[8]

The theatre opened on 14 January 1641 with a performance of

Gazette de France of 19 January described the beauty of the Grande Salle and the "majestic ornaments of this superb stage upon which, with transport difficult to express and which was followed by a universal exclamation of astonishment, appeared delicious gardens with grottoes, statues, fountains, and great terraces above the sea."[11] The report also describes elaborate lighting effects: "The sky was lit by the moon ... night was imperceptibly succeeded by day, the dawn and the sun."[11] The play was followed by a ball in a different setting, "circumscribed by the laws of Poetry."[11] "The curtain fell, a golden 'bridge' was rolled out from the stage to the foot of the royal scaffold, and the curtain rose on a great room painted in perspective, gilded and enriched by magnificent ornaments, and lit by sixteen chandeliers. Her Majesty crossed the 'bridge' to the stage followed by ladies and the ball began."[12]

On 7 February 1641, Richelieu produced in the Grande Salle the last of the political ballets of

King Louis XIII's reign, the Ballet de la prosperité des armes de France. According to Robert M. Isherwood, Richelieu brought the celebrated Italian designer of sets and stage machinery Giacomo Torelli to Paris for the production.[13] The ballet had several sets depicting the fields of Arras, the plain of Casal, the snow covered Alps, as well as a stormy sea and hell and heaven. The sets were changed rapidly via a system of weights and levers.[14]

Gabriel Gilbert's play Téléphonte was probably produced in the theatre in 1641 and performed by the combined troupes of the Théâtre du Marais and the Hôtel de Bourgogne.[15] Richelieu's last production there was Desmarets' play Europe, a political allegory celebrating Richelieu's career and "the triumph of France over her enemies on the Continent."[16] The play was in rehearsal in the Grande Salle when Richelieu died.[16]

Cardinal Mazarin

Upon Richelieu's death on 4 December 1642, he left the property to Louis XIII, and it became known as the Palais-Royal, although the name Palais-Cardinal sometimes still continued to be used.

Italian theatre and music, and Mazarin arranged for Italian actors and singers to come to Paris to perform.[20] The establishment of a resident Italian opera became state policy, and the Palais-Royal became the venue for a number of Italian productions.[5]

The first, on 28 February 1645, was a comédie italienne, which may have been

écus (90,000 livres).[28]

Molière

The troupe of

Le malade imaginaire (10 February 1673).[29]

Paris Opera

Lully's Armide as performed at the first Salle du Palais-Royal in the revival of 1761

On the death of his old collaborator,

Hôtel de Guénégaud and re-used the theatre as the opera house of the Académie royale de Musique (the name of the Paris Opera at the time). Lully had much building work done on it in order to allow the installation of new stage machinery designed by Carlo Vigarani, capable of supporting the imposing sets of the operas he would later put on here. This replaced the old machinery designed by Giacomo Torelli in 1645.[1] After Vigarani's modifications the theatre had a total capacity of about 1,270 spectators: a parterre for 600 standing, amphitheatre seating for 120, and boxes with balconies accommodating another 550. The stage was 9.4 meters across and 17 meters deep, with space in front for the orchestra 7.6 meters across and 3 meters deep.[30]

Fire of 1763

Several of Lully's operas (

Dardanus (19 November 1739), and Zoroastre (5 December 1749).[31]

The Opera's first theatre was destroyed by fire on 6 April 1763.

Second theatre

1780 plan of the Palais-Royal with Moreau's opera house in the lower right quadrant

The City of

Pierre-Louis Moreau Desproux and was the first purpose-built opera house in Paris.[34] It had a capacity of more than 2,000 spectators.[35]

The new theatre opened on 20 January 1770 with a performance of Rameau's

Echo et Narcisse (24 September 1779). Among the many other works premiered here are Piccinni's Atys (22 February 1780), Grétry's Andromaque (6 June 1780), Philidor's Persée (27 October 1780), and Piccinni's Iphigénie en Tauride (23 January 1781).[37]

The theatre continued to be used by the Opera until 8 June 1781, when it too was destroyed by fire. The

Salle des Menus-Plaisirs on the rue Bergère.[2]
Destruction of the second Salle du Palais-Royal by fire
8 June 1781
9 June

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b c d Coeyman 1998, pp. 60–71.
  2. ^ a b Pitou 1983, pp. 26–30.
  3. ^ Ayers 2004, p. 47.
  4. ^ Gady 2005, p. 302.
  5. ^ a b Powell 2000, p. 21.
  6. ^ Lawrenson 1986, p. 157, 204.
  7. ^ Wiley 1960, p. 198.
  8. ^ Goldfarb 2002, p. 240.
  9. ^ Clarke 1998, pp. 1–2, 19–20.
  10. ^ Bjurström 1962, pp. 117–118.
  11. ^ a b c Translated and quoted by Scott 1990, p. 87.
  12. ^ Scott 1990, p. 87.
  13. ^ Isherwood, 1973, pp. 107–113. According to Bjurstrom 1962, p. 122, Torelli first arrived in Paris in June 1645, and his first production there was the Paris premiere in December 1645 of La finta pazza in the large hall of the Hôtel du Petit-Bourbon. He had also designed the scenery and machines for this opera's premiere in Venice during the Carnival season of 1641.
  14. ^ Isherwood 1973, p. 109. Bjurström 1962, p. 116, states Prosperité des armes de France was produced in the same setting as Mirame, based on the Mémoires de Michel de Marolles, Amsterdam 1755, vol 1, p. 237. However, Marolles only states that the machines, not the settings, were the same as for Mirame.
  15. ^ Lancaster 1966, p. 390; Lawrenson 1986, p. 156.
  16. ^ a b Wiley 1960, p. 266.
  17. ^ Ayers 2004, p. 47; Bjurstrom 1961, p. 123.
  18. ^ Kleinman 1985, pp. 139, 145.
  19. ^ Kleinman 1985, pp. 175–176.
  20. ^ Kleinman 1985, p. 184.
  21. ^ Powell 2000, p. 21–22.
  22. ^ Powell 2000, p. 22; Anthony 1992; Isherwood 1973, p. 121.
  23. ^ Nestola 2007, pp. 125–146.
  24. ^ Naudeix 2022, pp. 219–220.
  25. ^ Isherwood 1973, p. 121.
  26. ^ Isherwood 1973, p. 123.
  27. ^ Scott 1990, p. 89.
  28. ^ a b c Isherwood 1973, p. 125.
  29. ^ Garreau 1984, pp. 417–418.
  30. ^ Harris-Warrick, Rebecca (1992). "Paris. 2. 1669–1725" in Sadie (1992) vol. 3, pp. 856–857.
  31. ^ Simeone 2000, p. 181.
  32. ^ Pitou 1983, p. 26; Ayers 2004, pp. 47–48.
  33. ^ Harris-Warrick, Rebecca. "Paris. 3. 1725–1789" in Sadie 1992, vol. 3, pp. 860–864.
  34. ^ Mead 1991, p. 45.
  35. ^ Pitou 1983, p. 26, gives a capacity of 2,500. Simeone 2000, p. 181, says it held 2,000.
  36. ^ Pitou 1983, p. 26, and Mead 1991, p. 45, both say it opened on 20 January 1770. Simeone 2000, p. 181, says it opened on 26 January 1770.
  37. ^ Pitou 1985, pp. 566–567.
Sources
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