Marie Champmeslé (''
née'' Desmares; 18 February 1642 – 15 May 1698) was a
French stage actress.
Biography
She was born in
Rouen of a wealthy family; her father's name was Desmares. She made her first appearance on the stage at Rouen with
Charles Chevillet Champmeslé (1645-1707), who called himself sieur de Champmeslé, and they were married in 1666. By 1669 they were playing in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
at the
Theatre du Marais, her first appearance there being as Venus in
Boyer's ''Fête de Vénus''. The next year, as Hermione in
Jean Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...
's ''Andromaque'', she had a great success at the
Hotel de Bourgogne.
Her intimacy with Racine dates from then. Some of his finest tragedies were written for her, but her repertoire was not confined to them, and many an indifferent play - like
Thomas Corneille
Thomas Corneille (20 August 1625 – 8 December 1709) was a French lexicographer and dramatist.
Biography
Born in Rouen some nineteen years after his brother Pierre, the "great Corneille", Thomas's skill as a poet seems to have shown itself e ...
's ''Ariane'' and ''Comte d'Essex'' - owed its success to her natural manner of acting, and her pathetic rendering of the hapless heroine. ''
Phèdre
''Phèdre'' (; originally ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'') is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris.
Composition and premiere
Wit ...
'' was the climax of her triumphs.
She and her husband deserted the Hotel de Bourgogne for the
Théâtre Guénégaud
The Salle de la Bouteille or Salle du Jeu de Paume de la Bouteille, later known as the Hôtel eGuénégaud or Guénégaud Theatre, was a 1671 theatre located in Paris, France, between the rue de Seine and the rue des Fossés de Nesle (now 42 ...
.
[ When the latter company merged into the new ]Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...
, ''Phaedre'' was selected for the opening on 26 August 1680 (see Troupe of the Comédie-Française in 1680). Here, with Madame Guerin as the leading comedy actress, she played the great tragic love parts for more than thirty years.La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his '' Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Eu ...
dedicated to her his novel ''Belphegor'', and Boileau immortalized her in verse.
Family
* Her husband Charles distinguished himself both as actor and playwright.
Notes
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Champmesle, Marie
1642 births
1698 deaths
French stage actresses
Actors from Rouen
17th-century French actresses
Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française