Rachel Félix

Élisabeth Félix (21 February 1821 – 3 January 1858), better known only as Mademoiselle or Madame Rachel or simply Rachel, was a French actress. She became a prominent figure in French society, and was the mistress of, among others, Napoleon III and Prince Napoléon, both nephews of Napoleon I, and of Alexandre Colonna-Walewski, the illegitimate son of Napoleon I. Efforts by newspapers to publish pictures of her on her deathbed led to the introduction of privacy rights into French law.

Biography

Rachel Félix was born as Elisa-Rachel Félix on 28 February 1821, in room 13 of the Hotel Sonne in Mumpf, Fricktal, Aargau, to a family of Swiss Jewish background. Her father, Jacob Jacques Félix, was a peddler, and her mother, Esther Thérèse Hayer, was a Bohemian dealer in second-hand clothes. She had four sisters (Sophie-Sarah, Rébecca, Mélanie-Dinah, and Adélaïde "Lia") and one brother, Raphaël.

As a child, Félix earned money singing and reciting in the streets. She arrived in Paris in 1830 intending to become an actress. She took elocution and singing lessons, eventually studying under the instruction of the musician Alexandre-Étienne Choron and Saint-Aulaire. She took dramatic arts classes and debuted in ''La Vendéenne'' in January 1837, at the Théâtre du Gymnase. Delestre-Poirson, the director, gave her the stage name Rachel, which she chose to retain in her private life as well.

Rachel was described as a very serious and committed student. She was admired for her intelligence, work ethic, diction, and ability to act. Auditioning in March 1838, she starred in Pierre Corneille's ''Horace'' at the Théâtre-Français at the age of 17.

During this time, she began a liaison with Louis Véron, the former director of the Paris Opera, which became the subject of much gossip.Agate, James, ''Rachel''. Gerald Howe, London; Viking Press, NY; 1928. During this time, from 1838 to 1842, she lived in a third-floor apartment in Paris's Galerie Véro-Dodat.

Her fame spread throughout Europe after success in London in 1841, and she was often associated with the works of Racine, Voltaire, and Corneille. She toured Brussels, Berlin, and St. Petersburg.

Although French classical tragedy was no longer popular at the time Rachel entered the stage of Comédie-Française, she remained true to her classical roots, arousing audiences with a craving for the tragic style of writers like Corneille, Racine and Molière.

She created the title role in Eugène Scribe's ''Adrienne Lecouvreur.'' Her acting style was characterized by clear diction and economy of gesture; she evoked a high demand for classical tragedy to remain on the stage. This represented a major change from the exaggerated style of those days, as society was beginning to demand the highly emotional, realistic, instinctual acting styles of the Romantics. Félix completely rejected the Romantic Drama movement happening in nineteenth-century France. She was best known for her portrayal of the title role in ''Phèdre''.

Death

Félix's health declined after a long tour of Russia. Her efforts to remain successful and the constant flux of her relationships had weakened her. She had shown symptoms of tuberculosis as early as 1841, and died early in 1858 of the disease, aged 36, in Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes, France. She is interred at Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris.

Legacy

Félix had two illegitimate sons; Alexandre-Antoine-Jean Colonna-Walewski with Count Alexandre Colonna-Walewski (illegitimate son of Napoleon I and Marie Walewska), and Gabriel-Victor Bertrand with Arthur Bertrand (son of Henri Gatien Bertrand).

Upon her deathbed, she wrote many farewell letters to her sons, family members, lovers, colleagues and theatre connections at Comédie-Française. She is buried in a mausoleum in the Jewish part of Père Lachaise Cemetery and in Paris was named after her.

The English theatre critic James Agate published a biography of her in 1928.

A modern account of her life and legacy by Rachel Brownstein was published in 1995.

The character "Vashti" in Charlotte Brontë's novel '' Villette'' was reportedly based on Félix, whom Brontë had seen perform in London.

''Rachel'', a light tannish colour, primarily for face-powder used in artificial light, is named after her. The Raschel lace-making machine was also named after her.''Oxford English Dictionary'', OED2 on CD-ROM v 1.02. Oxford University Press, 1992.<-- ISSN/ISBN, page(s) needed.

Chronological repertoire

* 1837:
** by Paul Duport (Théâtre du Gymnase, 24 April)
** by Scribe et Varner (Théâtre du Gymnase, 12 June)

At the :

* 1838:
** Camille in ''Horace'' by Corneille (12 June to 11 September)
** Émilie in ''Cinna'' by Corneille (27 September)
** Hermione in ''Andromaque'' by Racine (4 September)
** Aménaïde in ''Tancrède'' by Voltaire
** Ériphile in ''Iphigénie en Aulide'' by Racine
** Monime in ''Mithridate'' by Racine
** Roxane in '' Bajazet'' by Racine (23 November)

* 1839:
** Esther in ''Esther'' by Racine (29 February)
** Laodice in ''Nicomède'' by Corneille (9 April)
** Dorine in ''Tartuffe'' by Molière (30 April)

* 1840:
** Pauline in ''Polyeucte Martyr'' by Corneille (15 May)
** First tour in France during the summer (Rouen, Le Havre, Lyon)
** The title role of ''Marie Stuart'' by Lebrun (22 December)

* 1841:
** Toured in Belgium and England (summer)

* 1842:
** Chimène in ''Le Cid'' by Corneille (19 January)
** The title role of ''Ariane'' by Thomas Corneille (7 May)
** Toured in England and Belgium (summer)
** Frédégonde in ''Frédégonde et Brunehaut'' by Lemercier (5 November)

* 1843:
** The title role of ''Phèdre'' by Racine (21 January)
** The title role of ''Judith'' by Girardin (24 January)
** Toured in Rouen, Marseille and Lyon (summer)

* 1844:
** The title role of ''Bérénice'' by Racine (6 January)
** Isabelle in ''Don Sanche d'Aragon'' by Corneille (17 January)
** The title role of ''Catherine II ''by Romand (25 May)
** Marinette in ''Le Dépit amoureux'' by Molière (1 July)
** Toured in Belgium (summer)
** Birth of her son Alexandre in Marly-le-Roi (3 November)

* 1845:
** ''Virginie'' in Brest (3 July)
** ''Polyeucte'' in Nancy (25 August)

* 1846:
** Toured in the Netherlands, in Liège and in Lille (June)
** Toured in London (July–August)

* 1847:
** La Muse sérieuse in ''L'Ombre'' by Molière (15 January)
** Fatine in ''Le Vieux'' by La Montagne (6 February)
** The title role of ''Athalie'' by Racine (5 March)
** Toured in London, in the Netherlands, and at Liège (May–June)

* 1848:
** Birth of her second son, Gabriel, at Neuilly-sur-Seine (26 January)
** ''Horace'' (13 March)
** Toured in Amsterdam (June–October)
** ''Britannicus'' by Racine (October)

* 1849:
** ''Andromaque'' (January)
** The title role of ''Le Moineau de Lesbie'' by Armand Barthet (22 March)
** The title role of ''Adrienne Lecouvreur'' (14 April)
** Toured in west and southwest France (29 May – 31 August)

* 1850:
** The title role of ''Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle'' by Alexandre Dumas, père(25 January)
** Thisbé in ''Angelo'' by Victor Hugo (18 May)
** Lydie in ''Horace et Lydie'' by François Ponsard (19 June)
** Toured in London, Hamburg, Berlin, Potsdam, Bremen, Vienna and Munich (July–October)

* 1851:
** Toured

* 1853:
** Toured

* 1854:
** Toured in Warsaw, Saint Petersburg and Moscow (January–April)

* 1855:
** Toured in New York and in the United States (September–December)
** The troupe separated in Cuba in December

References

Bibliography

''Note:'' This article relies heavily on the corresponding French Wikipedia article, from which this was partially translated in May 2006.
* Anonymous. ''Rachel et la Comédie Française''. Brussels, 1842.
* de B---, Madame, ''Memoirs of Rachel''. London, 1858.
* Barthou, Louis, ''Rachel. (Acteurs et Actrices d’Autrefois.)''. Paris, 1926.
* Brownstein, Rachel
''Tragic Muse: Rachel of the Comédie-Française''
Duke University Press, 1995.
* Coquatrix, Emile, ''Rachel à Rouen''. Rouen, 1840.
* Faucigny-Lucinge, ''Rachel et son Temps''. Paris, 1910.
* Fleischmann, Hector, ''Rachel Intime: d’après ses lettres d’amour et des documents nouveau''. Paris, 1910.
* Gautier, Théophile, ''L’Art Dramatique en France depuis vingt-cinq ans''. Six Volumes. Paris, 1859.
* Gribble, Francis H.
her Stage Life and her Real Life''
London, 1911.
* d’Heylli, Georges, ''Journal Intime de la Comédie Française (1852–1871)''. Paris, 1878.
* d’Heylli, Georges, . Paris, 1882.
* d’Heylli, Georges, ''Rachel et la Ristori''. Paris, 1902.
* Houssaye, Arsène, ''Les Confessions: souvenirs d’un demi-siècle''. Four Volumes. Paris, 1885.
* Janin, Jules, ''Rachel et la Tragédie''. Paris, 1861.
* Kennard, Mrs. Arthur, ''Rachel''. Eminent Women Series. London, 1885.
* Laplane, Gabriel, ''Rachel: lettres inédites''. Paris, 1947.
* Louvet, A., ''Mademoiselle Rachel: Etude sur l’Art Dramatique''. Paris, 1892.
* Martin, Sir Theodore, K.C.B., ''Monographs: Garrick, Macready, Rachel, etc.''. London, 1906.
* Maurice, Charles, ''Histoire Anecdotique du Theâtre''. Paris, 1856.
* Maurice, Charles. ''La Vérité-Rachel: examen du talent de la première tragédienne du Théâtre Français''. Paris, 1850.
* de Musset, Alfred, ''Un Souper chez Mademoiselle Rachel– Oeuvres Poshumes''. 1839.
* de Saint Amand, Imbert, ''Madame de Girardin elphine Gay avec des lettres inédites de Lamarine, Châteaubrieand, Mlle Rachel". Paris, 1876
* Samson, M. Joseph Isidore
''Rachel et Samson: souvenirs de thèâtre''
Paris, 1898.
* Thomson, Valentine, ''La Vie Sentimentale de Rachel d’aprè des lettres inédites''. Paris, 1900.
* Veron, Louis, ''Mémoires d’un Bourgeois de Paris''. Five Volumes. Paris, 1856
*
* Agate, James. ''Rachel''. London: Gerald Howe 1928; NY: Viking Press 1928; reprint Bronx: Benjamin Bloom, Inc., 1969.
* Brownstein, Rachel M. ''Tragic Muse''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.
* Forman, Edward. ''Historical Dictionary of French Theatre''. Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. 2010.
* Gribble, Francis. ''Rachel''. New York: Benjamin Bloom Inc., 1972.
* Richardson, Joanna. ''Rachel''. London, Max Reinhardt, 1956.

External links

Bartleby's entry on Rachel


by Albert Dresden Vandam (see Chapter VI)
*
* Song written by Jean Clause
"Galerie Véro-Dodat"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felix, Rachel
1821 births
1858 deaths
People from Rheinfelden District
19th-century French actresses
Alsatian Jews
French child singers
Swiss emigrants to France
French stage actresses
Jewish French actresses
Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française
19th-century French women singers
Tuberculosis deaths in France
19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery