Madeleine Roch (August 10, 1883 in Mureaux,

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () is a former department of France, which encompassed the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris. Its prefecture was Versailles and its administrative number was 78. Seine-et-Oise was disbanded in ...

– December 9, 1930 in

Gaillon-sur-Montcient Gaillon-sur-Montcient (, ) is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Yvelines department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or co ...

) was a French actress.

Life and career

She was a student at the Conservatoire national de musique et de déclamation in Paris and received a first prize for tragedy in 1902 in the role of Roxane in Racine's '' Bajazet''. In 1903, at the age of twenty, she joined the

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 ...

and became a member in 1912. The Comédie-Française exhibited a sculpted portrait of her. After her death, a street (the Rue Madeleine Roch) in her home town was named after her; she is buried in the municipal cemetery there. A memorial plaque can be found on the Promenade des Marronniers, the former natural theater in

Lectoure Lectoure (; Gascon: ''Leitora'' ) is a commune in the Gers department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is located north of Auch, the capital of the department, south of Agen and approximately northwest of Toulouse. In 1 ...

, where she performed for the last time on August 3, 1930. René Berton wrote ''La Voix du mur, poème dialogue à la mémoire de Madeleine Roch'' (The Voice of the Wall, 1931) in memory of Madeleine Roch. She was featured in a 1976 comic book.

Famous roles

Her career at the '' Comédie Française'' began with the role of Hermione in ''Andromache'' (1903). She also played the title role in ''

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 With ...

'', Dona Sol in '' Hernani'', the title role in '' Iphégenie'', among many others. She had an early film role playing the title role in the 1908 film ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre. Its first appearance in print was in the First Folio published ...

''. She was later considered to be one of the most talented actresses at the ''Comédie''. When she died at the age of 47, the critic Philip Carr said she was "an actress with a beautiful diction and a fine voice, a noble dignity and simplicity of emotion and an absolute sense of consecration to her art."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roch, Madeleine 1884 births 1930 deaths Comédie-Française 20th-century French actresses